‘Honor Song’ nominated for an award at the Big Sky Film Festival

By Marshall Baker
Navajo Times

Across Indian Country, it is not uncommon to find many communities with members who have served in the military or are currently active duty. Native Americans have a lengthy history with U.S. military service, especially the Navajo Nation. “Honor Song,” a short documentary by Ryan Begay, is a deep dive into this history and pays tribute to the Native American veterans in New Mexico.

“It really speaks to the intersection of culture and military service,” said Begay. It was announced earlier this year that the film has been nominated for an award at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, for “Films that honor the character, tradition, and imagination of the American West.” The festival will run from Feb. 14- 23 in Missoula, Montana, and gives Begay the opportunity to share with the world what he believes is a story untold.

Military service and warrior culture in general have a big role and history within Native American communities. There are songs and ceremonies that speak to the duty served both in the past and present, and in some cultures being a warrior that protects their people is the highest honor anyone can have.

Warrior culture

Warrior culture is interwoven into Native American DNA, and it reflects in their enrollment numbers across all branches. According to the U.S. Army, historically Native Americans have the highest record of military service per capita when compared to other ethnic groups and have 9,000 members currently in the total force.

Begay is a veteran himself, having served in the Air Force doing space operations like working space missile warning systems and GPS satellites. But it was after his time served that he found his new passion: filmmaking.

“Getting into the film industry, it was very impactful because it showed a lot of what can be done with story, and how it can change or affect the audience,” said Begay. “Which I found really exciting and saw it as a really powerful tool.”

He got his start taking classes at Colorado Film School, which led him to eventually receive his bachelor’s in new media art from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Filmmaking was always something he enjoyed, but he never thought it would become his career. He has gone from doing production assistant work to owning his own production company and producing his own films. Today, he hopes his most recent project – Honor Song – gives Native American veterans the flowers they deserve.

“The journey was amazing, just listening, just being able to sit there and listen to the experiences and their perspective on this was just mind blowing,” said Begay.

Perspectives of Natives in the military

The short documentary is of the perspectives of Native American military members from New Mexico. It features veterans and active-duty members of all branches and different eras, with every service branch included. The veterans featured come from the Acoma Pueblo, Zuni Pueblo, Jicarilla Apache, and the Navajo Nation to name a few.

“Being the director, I was looking more towards ‘What are their stories? What are their connections?’ That’s what I want to get to,” said Begay.

The film is now being recognized for awards, but it was a very tedious process getting it off the ground. The project was funded by the state of New Mexico, through efforts led by New Mexico Sen. Benny Shendo Jr. Funds were set aside to have something created for Native American veterans, and Begay was awarded these funds and the opportunity to create a project after applying. The project was originally centered around code talkers to be premiered at a grand reopening of a veterans museum in Santa Fe, but complications caused this to fall through.

Begay’s very own production company, Sovereign Minds Productions, led the way in this project alongside the New Mexico Media Arts Academy, the New Mexico Division of Economic Development, the New Mexico Film Office, and among others. What Begay sought out to do with Honor Song was capture the stories of the many Native Americans veterans in New Mexico and give reverence to those who served.

“I pushed it to 20 minutes because I needed this story of my brothers and sisters in arms to be told as much as it could be,” said Begay. “I think one question we all get to is, ‘Why are you signing up for White Man’s War? Why are you signing for a system that oppresses you?’”

It’s a question that many Native American veterans face: why serve a country and military that has historically oppressed you? Not every veteran has the same answer, and it’s that kind of perspective that Begay is looking to provide for viewers.
“The way the stories are woven together, we did a fantastic job because you are right there with them, you’re right there as an audience member,” said Begay. “You’re listening to these stories, and you gain understanding of where they come from and how it affected them, how the culture plays a big part in their life and in their military service, and you understand the pain they go through. You know the hurt, the loss, the struggle, the sacrifice they had to endure.

Many of us will never grasp the sacrifice and struggle that some of these men and women had to endure, but Begay hopes that this film can provide some of that understanding. “It moves fast, but it also leaves you wanting more at the end,” said Begay.

Changing tide, ‘Cleaning’s a Cakewalk’

Begay is part of a changing tide across many industries, where Indigenous creatives are being included in spaces where historically they have not been before. With the film slated to be shown at the Santa Fe film festival as well, it is this kind of recognition that is changing narratives for Indigenous creatives not just in film, but in fashion, art, music, and many other professions.

At the conclusion of Honor Song, he pursued another project titled “Cleaning’s a Cakewalk,” a short film that is almost entirely in Navajo featuring young actors having to clean up their chapter house and learning the values of hard work. The film will be featured on FNX (First Nations Experience), and he hopes that Honor Song will find a distributor as well.

As the credits roll at the conclusion of the film, the audience is shown a compilation of many different servicemen and women of both the past and present. Statistically speaking, Native Americans make up a small portion of the total U.S. armed forces, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less or their contributions should go unnoticed. The story of Native Americans in the military is one that is often untold, but Begay is looking to change that as he showcases his film across the country within the coming months.

“We’re a big part of this, you may not see us because we’re less than 1 percent of the military population, but we’re here. We’re serving and we’re proud of it,” said Begay. “I think it’s special they get that recognition, because that’s what I set out to do.”
Begay hopes a distributor will pick up the film but says it will be available to watch at the festival virtually as well as additional plans to have it available to view from home. The Santa Fe Film Festival will run from Feb. 21-23.

 

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