Producer/Director14 Videos

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Pulling Together, 2003

2003 verité documentary for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe near Tacoma, WA. Reflecting the traditions of their ancestors, the Muckleshoot canoe “family” learns to put the group before the individual in order to survive the often treacherous waters of Washington’s Puget Sound. Chronicling their 14-day odyssey during Tribal Canoe Journey – 2003, filmmaker James M. Fortier […]

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Hakela: The Last One, 2011 (Work-In-Progress Sample)

A work-in-progress sample for an aborted documentary project from 2011 that never received funding from ITVS, National Georgraphic’s All Roads Fund, nor Vision Maker Media. “Hakela: The Last One” chronicles the story of Lakota tribal member Calvin Spotted Elk, the great-great-grandson of the famed Lakota, Chief Spotted Elk. Chief Spotted Elk, who came to be […]

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Gifts From the Elders Trailer, 2013

The trailer for the documentary Gifts from the Elders, 2013, written, produced, directed, and edited by James Fortier. “Gifts from the Elders” follows five Anishinaabe youth on a summer research project with their Elders, whose stories guide them on a journey back to proceeding generations that lived a healthy lifestyle off of the land. Their […]

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From These Silent Ashes: Mormons, Utes, & the Black Hawk War, 2009 (WIP Sample)

A work-in-progress sample that never received funding to continue, but the story is still there waiting to be told. This 60-90-minute documentary for PBS will, for the first time, bring to light the little known history of the Ute warrior Noonch, better know as Black Hawk, who’s leadership, and in the eyes of some, whose […]

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Bluebird CPAs, Branding Video, 2016

Rebranding video for Bluebird CPAs, LLC. Produced, shot and edited by Turtle Island Productions’ James Fortier, for Naqmayam Communications

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07:31

Searching for Sequoyah Trailer, (PBS Premiere Nov. 2021)

Official trailer for Searching for Sequoyah. National PBS premiere November, 2021. Searching for Sequoyah chronicles the life and accomplishments of the legendary 19th century Cherokee visionary, Sequoyah (George Guess), through the oral stories of five modern day Sequoyah descendants. While much is known about Sequoyah’s Cherokee writing system or syllabary, very little is known about […]

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03:41

Memoir of a Choctaw Indian Pt. 2, 2013

This was shot in 2013 on a Canon 5D III in Wadi Rum, Jordan for Choctaw author and playwright LeAnne Howe’s forthcoming eBook “Memoirs of a Choctaw in Jordan” (Working title). Shot and edited by James Fortier.

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Memoir of a Choctaw Indian Pt. 1, 2013

This was shot in 2013on a Canon 5D III in Wadi Rum, Jordan for Choctaw author and playwright LeAnne Howe’s forthcoming eBook “Memoirs of a Choctaw in Jordan” (Working title). Shot and edited by James Fortier.

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Mis-qui-Kiweninne “Red Face Man”, 2023 (Teaser)

The Hudson’s Bay Co., Nicol Finlayson and the Scottish-Oji-Cree legacy he left behind in Northern Ontario A work-in-progress documentary film and companion book proposal. The history of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Nicol Finlayson and the cultural and family legacy he left behind; from northern Ontario’s Long Lake to historic Fort William (Thunder Bay), on to […]

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Wawatay: Maker of Light, 2023

“Wawatay: Maker of Light” is a sequel to my 2013 documentary “Gifts from the Elders” to mark the original film’s 10th anniversary, using hours of mostly unused footage filmed at Heron Bay/Pic River (Biigtigong Nishanaabeg First Nation Reserve) in 2012. It is more of a long form music video set to verité cinema footage to […]

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Path of Renewal: A Decade of Transformation in Native Community Development, 2010

Produced in 2010 for the non-profit Oweesta, Corp. in South Dakota. Narrated by Michael Horse. This is the short version. There is also a more detailed and story-driven 30- minute version. “Journey through the last decade and discover how Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are addressing critical barriers to economic development, enriching the lives […]

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Gathering Together, 2006

“Gathering Together” was produced, directed, shot and edited by James Fortier in 2006 for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe near Tacoma, WA. Gathering Together goes behind the scenes to chronicle the story of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe’s first traditional potlatch in over a century as host of the 2006 Tribal Canoe Journey. As a sort of […]

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Playing Pastime: American Indians, Softball & Survival, 2006

Documentary short, 30 minutes from 2005. This was a work-in-progress sample that screened at a few film festivals but never received completion funding for the proposed 90-minute verité documentary LeAnne Howe and I envisioned. The story is still out there waiting though. When most people think of baseball, the last thing that comes to mind […]

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Bad Sugar, 2008

Bad Sugar: Episode 3 of the national PBS series “Unnatural Causes: Is Society Making Us Sick?” 2008. Producer/Director/Co-DP   Dupont-Columbia Broadcast Journalism Award. The Pima and Tohono O’odham Indians of southern Arizona have arguably the highest rates of Type 2 diabetes in the world. A century ago, the disease was virtually unknown here, but the subsequent […]