On this edition of SNAPSHOTS, we are celebrating Native American Heritage Month with the recent release of a brand new, award-winning short documentary, Tiger.
The film highlights an Indigenous, award-winning, internationally acclaimed artist and elder, Dana Tiger, her family, and the emotional resurgence of the iconic 1980s Tiger t-shirt company.
Here to talk with me about the amazing doc is EP/Director Loren Waters!
Welcome to SNAPSHOTS, Loren!
Thank Yeah, thank you. I’m really excited to talk with you.
The first question that I have for you is, how did you discover the story of Dana Tiger and her family?
Yeah, so Dana is a member of my community. I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and we have a lovely, thriving indigenous arts community here. And Dana, coming from a family of artists, is a painter, and so I was an extras casting director on the show “Reservation Dogs”, which is on Hulu. Sterlin (Harjo), the creator of that show, wanted Dana on as an extra. So, that’s how we connected a couple of years ago. We just really clicked. And I got to learn more about her story. I was really drawn to her art because she paints these strong portraits of native women. That was the first time I saw myself in paintings, and I wanted to learn more about her.
The film itself came about very serendipitously. I really wasn’t planning on making a film about Dana, but after knowing her for about a year and a half, I had a camera package in between jobs, and wanted to take advantage of having access to it, so I went out and filmed with her. I had no idea what I was going to walk in on, but it was the first day she had been silk-screening the tiger T-shirts since 1990, almost 30 years later. And had we not planned that at all? I just knew we needed to build back the film in some way and make it happen.
You said in another interview that you wanted to make sure this film was something Dana and her family could be proud of and were involved in. How did you ensure that with the Tiger family?
So of course, us having the relationship before we started filming was really important to me. Knowing what she was sharing with me, it’s very sensitive to some folks, but for her, it was her way of keeping her loved ones close, which was by talking about them. I knew she would be comfortable sharing that on camera. As we worked through the film’s process, I would send her cuts. Every time we had a new cut, we’d see if she had any notes or thoughts. She really only had one note to share along the way. We added the scene with her and Donnie getting married to ensure that he had his own part in the story, as it’s essential to her support system.
Being transparent in what the intention of the film is, the whole process, what music we were going to use, and what images were going to be in there. And that for me, that’s really important, because I want to make sure that we’re not harming anyone in our community as we’re making a film. And knowing that film is a tool for change, for telling powerful stories, but also wanting to mitigate any negative consequences that could come from it.
I want to talk about the cinematography for a moment—it was so serene, so beautiful. The amazing cuts and shots really put the story together. I understand that your partner was the cinematographer, correct?
Robert Hunter. He’s my partner and cinematographer on this film. It was our first time collaborating in this way. We were operating on a low budget —mainly him and me — but he was handling the lighting and the camera. He was able to bring some of my ideas to life, and I’m like, “Okay, is it crazy if we do her interview on the diving board? Like, can we even do that? Is that something I/we would do if Dana were okay with it?” And he was like, “I mean, we can ask her.” And so she was down. And I think that that was the opportunity in that space to have the freedom to come up with ideas and not have to have the powers that be to answer to. I think it really allowed us to have that creative freedom with the cinematography.
It was one of the most amazing cinematographies I’ve seen in a short documentary in a long time.
No, thank you so much. I’ll pass that along to Robert.
I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. As we know, November is Native American Heritage Month, and your partner is a cinematographer. You’re the director, and Black Belt Eagle Scout is providing the fantastic music. Talk about the importance of working with other native collaborators in Tiger.
I think in all of my work, I really try to prioritize working with Native folks. And Robert —it was a no-brainer to collaborate with him on the Black Belt Eagle Scout song. We initially had Childish Gambino songs in place during the rough cuts. I wanted to figure out what song might go well there. I always try to do the first thing I do, especially with music. I’ll go through any Native artists that I know, and listen to songs and think about, “okay, would this fit? Is this the vibe before branching out to non native folks?” I want to uplift our community as much as I can through my artwork.
We had a song by one of our elders at the beginning and end of the film. He’s also best friends with Dana. And the song carries a lot of significance because it was written on the Trail of Tears about two sisters who were separated, which made me think of Dana and her siblings. I think the intentionality and the incorporation of Native artists who have made their own, you know, brilliant work to uplift it. We can all rise together. I think that’s really important to me.
You’re absolutely right—another question, along the same lines. Since you mentioned you worked on Reservation Dogs, which I love and miss that show. Do you feel the portrayal of Native Americans in film, television, streaming media, and beyond has moved in the right direction? Especially, we have Killers of the Flower Moon that just came out recently.
Finally, after all these years, it is moving in the right direction. We have some incredible filmmakers to thank for that. Sterlin Harjo and many, many others have been doing this work for 20 years or longer to increase the accurate representation of indigenous people. I think working on “Reservation Dogs” really burst open the floodgates for native talent at a higher level and also showed contemporary Native stories in a relatable way.
A lot of audiences didn’t realize it, but learned a lot from what we were able to put on screen. And so I’m just really grateful to have been a part of that. I was also on “Killers of the Flower Moon”. And then “Fancy Dance” is a feature on Apple TV+ starring Lily Gladstone. And then now “The Low Down”. Having an industry that prioritizes more indigenous voices and has us telling the stories. It will deepen the quality of it, and you’ll be able to feel it from the inside out of every part of the story.
Indeed, it has, and I’m glad that it’s come a long way, and that we have some great Native American actors, actresses, and people behind the scenes, such as you, who are blazing the trail and continuing to blaze it to this day.
And some other exciting projects are coming up —just talking about what’s next? You know, “Tiger” is on its campaign for the Oscars. It was just released on the Criterion Channel and a free website called First Nations Experience for streaming. And then Dana and I have been working on another project —a narrative film loosely inspired by her brother, Chris Tiger. So there’s a lot more — like the creative energy flowing and the support from the community we’ve received — and we’re excited to continue making films about our community.
Speaking of awards, your documentary has been earning so many accolades, and I especially want to talk about it since we just lost the outstanding Robert Redford. What was your initial reaction to earning the short film Special Jury Award for directing at this year’s Sundance Film Festival?
After hearing about Robert’s passing, it was devastating. I never got to spend time with him, but he’s been close with a lot of my colleagues and has made it very clear that he supports indigenous filmmakers in cinema. I respect him and his journey for that. And receiving that award was shocking. I was —I’ve never been in so much shock. I went up on stage, grabbed the award, and, like, walked off. Tio, who was giving me the award, was like, “You should probably say something.” And I was like, “Oh, shit, you’re right. I should.”
I was just so out of it. Knowing I was able to receive this award and screen Tiger in the last year of Robert Redford’s legacy, and still be able to pass it on, means a lot. I hope that you know that for many more years to come, there can be several other indigenous films that receive awards at Sundance. And while I’m not the first, I’m one of the few, and I’m feeling really grateful for that.
Now, what generational traditions do you have within your family that are special and close to you?
So every year, we have our Stomp Dance ceremonies, which are part of the ceremonies we do with our southeastern tribe. It’s like on Labor Day weekend. We call it the Cherokee holiday. And it is special because Dana Tiger and I have been able to spend that time together, go out, be with family, dance, and sing. It’s essential to keep our traditions close to us whenever we can, and also to be able to share that with people who might not have access to it. That’s one of the things we do annually, and we hope to continue that for years to come.
That’s wonderful to hear. What advice would you have for future film directors, our next generation of documentary filmmakers?
One thing I would say is that you don’t have to go too far to find compelling, engaging stories that need to be shared. I’ve seen on the circuit a lot of people who go searching for the next story. While I think that is great, I also believe there are many vibrant, dense, and special stories within and around you. I think we can be just as successful sharing stories we know — and, honestly, even better.
I think the stories come out to be, and I think that — that is why indigenous people should be telling our own stories, because we know it and we know it best. But I would say, keep making things that inspire you. Keep telling stories, even though people say you shouldn’t be doing it, or you get rejection because there’s a lot of it. I think the more you persist in making your art, the more you’ll know you’ll be able to make more of it in the future.
That’s excellent advice. My last question is this: Who influenced you to become a filmmaker?
I feel like the first person who comes to mind is someone I just loved before I even knew I was going to be a filmmaker —just her TV shows. Issa Rae was the first person who deeply inspired me with what she did—putting two black women, best friends, on screen and making a hit show out of it —and from there, you know, people in my community have been my biggest inspirations. Erica Tremblay is one of the directors on Rez Dogs. Danis Goulet, like native women who are out there doing it and making their own projects, is just a person who has continually inspired me to, you know, write films and get out there and do what I love. And so, yeah, it’s a continual inspiration.
The award-winning documentary short is “Tiger” and it’s now on FNX (First Nations Exchange) and streaming on The Criterion Channel and AMC+.
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