Every second Monday evening of each month, Vision Maker Media and The Ross Media Arts Center present free in-person public screenings that feature Native American films by and about Native Americans and Alaska Natives. The Native American Film Series showcases stories about cultural heritage, art, history, music, civic leadership, youth, and more. Please verify screening time with the theater.

Scha’nexw Elhtal’nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life is an hour-long documentary inspired by the late Chexanexwh Larry Kinley, a Lummi fisherman and tribal leader who embodied a belief in tribal sovereignty. The film follows two Lummi families fishing for sockeye. As they come to grips with a depleting fishery, Larry asks: “Who Are We Without Salmon?” Celebrating the resilience and adaptive natures of salmon and the people, the film is a reflection on a spiritual life way centered on respect and gratitude for salmon.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Tah-Mahs Ellie Kinley moderated by Patrick O’Meara.

Tah-Mahs Ellie Kinley is a commercial fisher who comes from a family where every single generation since time immemorial has harvested the Salish Sea. Additionally, she is President of the Sacred Lands Conservancy, a Native-led non-profit committed to the protection of the Salish Sea; an elected member of Lummi Nations Fisheries and Natural Resource Commission; a former contractor for Lummi Nation’s Sovereignty and Treaty Protection Office; a founding board member of SeaFeast; and a member of the Working Waterfront Coalition. She is an Executive Producer on the feature documentary Resident Orca, the story of the captive orca Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Tokitae/Lolita), and is co-author of the bilingual Xwlemi Chosen (Lummi language) / English children’s book Sa’Le Q’ewet Netse’lh / Our Hearts Beat as One.

Patrick O’Meara joined Vision Maker Media in 2024 as Cultural Education Director. Prior to Vision Maker Media, Pat served seven years as the Social Studies Teacher Leader for Lincoln Public Schools (NE), directing curriculum and assessment for nearly 200 K-12 social studies teachers and co-teaching the first-year tenure course for new social studies educators. Before his district office role, Pat served twenty-six years as a classroom teacher. Pat holds a bachelor’s degree in history and English and a master’s degree in Historical Studies. At Vision Maker Media, Pat curates’ Indian education programs for VMM’s iNative Shorts for Kids YouTube channel and PBS Learning Media, supporting VMM’s standing as the premier national media source for and about Native Americans. Pat also develops and presents educational sessions at national conferences such as National Indian Education Association, National Educational Television Association, National Council on Social Studies, and research on a new Native media project about Indigenous science.