Welcome to Indigenous Roots Productions
Mission
Indigenous Roots Productions (IRP) empowers indigenous communities preserving and celebrating their cultural heritage through oral history filmmaking and folkloric music production.
Vision
IRP seeks to build a diverse indigenous archive supported by consistent research methodology providing evidence for local, regional, and global patterns impacting indigenous peoples.
News
Current Project: Watering Seeds in México
Features two films: Ma Tikyolitikan Tonemilis [Recuperando Tradiciones] & Espíritu
Collaboration with Náhuatl community partners made possible through alliance with Mexican company, Mexi-HA founded by Janette Casas
Focus:
Dia de Muertos traditions of the Nahuas in San Agustín Oapan and San Miguel Tacuiciapan
Environmental Analysis of Alto Balsas including water biochemical analysis
Oral History Research on Maize, Ancestral Food, and Community
Click on each video to learn more about our project! (Be sure to select 4K and Subtitles, if necessary)
Oral History
A narrator-centered process of gathering the personal, in-depth historical accounts of individuals and communities. Stories are heard directly from narrators and presented with respect to their community’s values and point of view.
Images:
The Urubamba valley has been home to various indigenous groups, a significant portion of whom speak Quechua - the language of the Inca.
Darbuka is a form of drum used by many indigenous groups throughout the Middle East including Assyrians and Beduins.
Folkloric Music
Folk music embodies the sound and history of indigenous groups around the world. The lyrics often tell stories of ancestors while the instruments' materials signify peoples' connection to their land.
Oral History Association
Partner Member
IRP is a proud Partner Member of the OHA. We encourage all independent practitioners and organizations to review the Association's Resources to assist with methods and ethics when carrying out Oral History Research. Click the OHA Logo to learn more!
Guidestar Listing
Indigenous Roots Productions' listing on Guidestar by Candid ensures you that your donations are supporting a trustworthy organization. Click our Silver Seal to visit our Candid Nonprofit Profile to learn more.
Land Acknowledgement
IRP acknowledges its home state of Arkansas (US) as the original land of the Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw. These nations - along with others like the Cherokee and Choctaw - were forcefully displaced from their homelands initiating centuries of marginalization and tragedy. Click each nation's name to learn more about how Arkansas' First Peoples survive and thrive today in spite of these injustices!
Indigenous Roots Productions is a not-for-profit organization exempt under IRC Section 501(c)3 founded in Little Rock, AR (Summer 2023)
EIN: 93-2407995
All website photos taken by Samuel Tamo on travels prior to and since the establishment of IRP.
Header Image: Laguna Humuntay has been a sacred laguna of the Quechua people (often referred to as the Inca) for more than a millennium. Accessing the lake is meant to be reserved for sacred cleansing of Quechua shaman.