This is a still from “Ahyoka” which will be screened at The Way We See The World, an event spotlighting Indigenous pop culture organized by the Museum of the Cherokee People. (Photo contributed)
By ANN TOINEETA
One Feather Intern
Schon Duncan, a member of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, reminds us of Cherokee values and the true meaning of community with their new short film “Ahyoka” (ᎠᏲᎧ), a portrait of Ahyoka Youngdeer. Through telling Ahyoka’s story, Duncan emphasizes the importance of inclusivity while also honoring a good friend.
“Ahyoka” will be screened at The Way We See The World, an event spotlighting Indigenous pop culture organized by the Museum of the Cherokee People. The event will be held on Friday, Aug. 7 in the Council Fire Ballroom at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The following is a brief synopsis of the film:
“ᎠᏲᎧ is a portrait of Ahyoka Youngdeer, Cherokee culture bearer, teacher, and two-spirit activist. Through her own life story, woven together with a traditional Cherokee story about crooked-faced children left in the woods and their return to community, Ahyoka traces how exclusion from school, family, and her own people, was never written into Cherokee values. It was imported. An elder’s story reveals what was always true: she was never the problem. Through her journey, ᎠᏲᎧ reminds Cherokee people that Keetoowah is a lifeway. And we must live it.”
In their director’s statement, Duncan explained that they made this film because they, as a nonbinary queer Cherokee, know what it’s like to wonder whether there was a space for them in their own community.
“This film is my attempt to turn back toward my community with love and honesty, to ask how we became a people who leave people out, and to remember that we were never supposed to,” they said.
The initial inspiration for “Ahyoka” came from “Naughty Little Peeptoe,” “a posthumous portrait of a gay man” directed by Garth Maxwell.
“It sparked something in me: we so often say and reflect on the best things about a person only after they’re gone, and I didn’t want to wait until it was too late,” Duncan said. “It’s important to give people their flowers while they’re still here, just as important to elevate their work and voice while we still have them. I know this as a language learner and teacher. I know this as someone who has seen that kind of loss. I was also wrestling with how I was raised to treat people, set against watching my own community exclude certain kinds of Cherokee people. I wanted to reflect that back to my community while honoring a friend who has made an impact on us all.”
Duncan further expanded on the importance of Ahyoka in their life and how the film is a way for them to thank her for her love and support.
“She carries our culture in her everyday life, and she shares it in a deeply Cherokee way,” they said. “There’s a way of understanding Cherokee identity that rises above the politics of recognition, and Ahyoka is an exemplary, important example of that.”
While Duncan does not want to tell audiences how to interpret their work, they did say Ahyoka’s story reflects the value of showing love to everyone despite differences, which is “the heart and root of what it means to be Cherokee.”
“To help, provide for, and support each other in becoming the best version of ourselves has been our instruction as Cherokee people since time immemorial,” they said. “The diversity in who we are as individuals has always been the source of our strong communities. Sometimes we fail at being this way to each other. Sometimes following this path makes things harder for us in the colonial world. The easy path is not always the right one, and I think I have always been hard-headed.”
“Ahyoka” is the first film Duncan has built from scratch and solely directed. With such a big task, they are thankful to have a great team.
“I’m incredibly proud of the all-Cherokee team we assembled to make this film,” they said. “Every one of them has a fingerprint on it, and I’m a better filmmaker for having them bring their own expertise to the work. As a group of Cherokee artists, we have shown that we can create something that is just for us, and if others take something from that, then even better.”
To learn more about “Ahyoka”, follow @ahyokafilm on Instagram. Reserve your free tickets for The Way We See The World via the event’s Eventbrite page.
