Native Youth, ages 15-30, can apply to receive $20,000.00 to pursue their dream of telling Native stories, preserving traditional storytelling, and increasing Native representation in various forms of media!
Indigenous peoples have strong storytelling traditions. Stories are used to communicate, entertain, share generational knowledge, and explain the world around us. For centuries, storytelling was the main form of education as stories were used to pass on tribal and familial history and to teach cultural values. Today, many Natives in the media are using their platforms to tell their traditional stories and the stories of Native people and tribal communities across the country. They are using storytelling to bring awareness to issues in Indian Country and celebrate the beauty of Indigenous people and culture.
A systematic erasure of cultures and the removal of Native people from their traditional lands and family systems has left many Native communities fighting to preserve languages, customs, and storytelling traditions and has led to a devastating lack of Native representation in mainstream media. 2024 Dreamstarter applicants are encouraged to use visual, oral, written, or digital storytelling to undertake projects that will help uplift Native voices and allow Native perspectives and stories to be heard. There is no one better to tell the story of Indigenous people than you.
What are some examples of these types of storytelling?
- Visual Storytelling
- Drawings, sculpture, painting, photography, dancing
- Oral storytelling
- Songs, cultural workshops, discussion groups, radio/podcast, spoken word
- Written
- Novels, picture books, comics, poetry, journalism
- Digital
- Documentaries, blogs, social media, videos, storyteller marketing, graphic design
If you are interested in applying or would like to know more about the Dreamstarter program, please visit: https://indianyouth.org/dreamstarter/
