b'imagineNATIVEinitial threeBest Film, Best Short andthe retrospective is a great way to see howJohnson hopes the growth continues. Best Experimentalto its current rosterfar weve come, Monture says. I hope we can maintain all of the of 20. Lindsay Monture, the organizationsprogramming and opportunities that we artistic director who is also Kanyenkeh:kaimagineNATIVEs 25th year also saw thecurrently have and still grow, she says. from Six Nations, describes a growinglaunch of an artist spotlight directory There are exciting initiatives happening need to uplift Indigenous performancesomething that has been in the worksright now, and wed love to keep artists and actors: especially now, asfor years. The hope is that with morethem around. Indigenous star power is increasing andsponsorship and funding, we can continue Indigenous actors are becoming house- to build and expand on this resource soLickers-Sage dreams of a big-budget hold names. anyone, including educators and curators,film one day being launched at the can access the database and bringfestival. To see imagineNATIVE at the With the organization growing in capacity,Indigenous talent into their communities,forefront of a big premiere like that reach and categories, so too has the needJohnson says. for more staff. What once began withwould be incredible, she says. After Lickers-Sage and some support from aAlthough it can be hard to envision theall, we are still that gutsy film festival 25 former partnering organization has noworganizations future in the years ahead,years later. blossomed into around 15 permanent employees and 40-45 contracted staff during high season. The festival also welcomes over 100 dedicated volunteersConnect to that work to make the festival a success.Perhaps the most unique factor of theIndigenous power behind imagineNATIVE is the consistent leadership of IndigenousLearning and women. We are aware that the world in general doesnt reflect Indigenous women in leadership, Johnson says. But asCommunityMohawk women, it comes natural for us to be guided by matriarchy. Johnson cites mentorship as a majorThe Centre for Indigenous Relations, Knowledge factor in the organizations ability to& Learning (CIRKL) is your connection to:uplift Indigenous women in leadership positions. You cannot be in a position of2+2 PathwayPartnerships and researchleadership without having a mentality ofIndigenous coursesKanakti:yo and Hoop Dancementorship, she shares. Realistically, in arts administration, a lot of young folksIndigenous Knowledgegathering spacesare starting their careers here. One ofLearning Outcomes (IKLOs) the benefits of this job is being able to help and further those who are early in their careers.For more information, please visit Monture was a direct benefit of thatmohawkcollege.ca/CIRKLmentorship and cites imagineNATIVE as a crucial part of her career development: I started my career at imagineNATIVEIndigenous Student Services provides:after I completed film school and received plenty of mentorship. While MontureCultural awareness Student loungeexplored a few other opportunities, she& activities Peer Tutoringfound her way back to imagineNATIVE 10 years later, calling it a full-circle moment.Student services coaches Counselling MARKING THE 25TH MILESTONE For more information, please visit The organization celebrated their 25thmohawkcollege.ca/ anniversary with a wide range of program- Indigenous-Studentsming including familiar festival highlights as well as new additions, including one retrospective that tells the story of how imagineNATIVE came to be. It includes an archival showcase, old photos and plenty of now-digitized documentation the organization has collected over the years. Whether youre a long-time attendee of the festival or attending for the first time, Ontario Native Womens Association25'