Celebrating RNCI Legacy - Red Nation Celebration Institute

Joanelle Romero

Joanelle Romero is more than a pioneering icon and visionary leader – she is a trailblazing Native Indigenous woman who has helped reshape the landscape of American cinema and the entertainment industry.

Celebrating 30 Years of Excellence

Amplifying Native Indigenous content creators in front of and behind the camera, since 1995.

The nonprofit enterprise Red Nation Celebration Institute (RNCI) along with its partners of inclusion, hosts screenings and events year-round throughout the United States, as well as abroad and online, to celebrate Native Indigenous independent storytelling, help artists refine their craft, and reach global audiences.

Founded 1995 by Joanelle Romero is the longest standing Native Women-Led, Indigenous media arts cultural pioneer nonprofit enterprise in the Entertainment Industry.

Legacy Project

Cultivating Change Through Storytelling

Joanelle Romero is a renowned, award-winning director, producer, actress, humanitarian, and advocate who founded the Red Nation Celebration Institute® (RNCI) in 1995. For more than three decades, she has dedicated her career to advancing Native Indigenous representation, creating opportunities for Native storytellers, and transforming how Native people, cultures, and histories are seen and understood through film, television, and popular culture.

Through RNCI, Romero has launched groundbreaking initiatives including the Red Nation International Film Festival, Red Nation Television Network, Native Women in Film Festival, and Native Indigenous Student Academy for Cinematic Arts, creating platforms for Native filmmakers, artists, and youth to tell their stories and shape their own narratives.

Her work stands at the intersection of cinema, cultural preservation, human rights, education, and systemic change, establishing a lasting legacy of Native leadership in the entertainment industry.

Natives in Charge of Their Narrative.™
Who Tells the Story Matters®.

The Legacy

Continues...

A Visionary Is Born

Her work stands at the intersection of cinema, cultural preservation, human rights, education, and systemic change, establishing a lasting legacy of Native leadership in the entertainment industry.

Natives in Charge of Their Narrative.™
Who Tells the Story Matters®.

Red Nation Celebration Institute

Red Nation Celebration Institute® (RNCI) The Creative Enterprise by Natives Delivering to All People the Stories that Shape our World. Red Nation Celebration Institute, the longest-running and most successful Native women-led Indigenous impact media arts and cultural nonprofit organization, stands as a cornerstone of Native leadership in the entertainment industry.

It is the first Indigenous nonprofit to receive funding from the City of Los Angeles, serving over 575 Native Nations in the U.S. and a total of 1,200 globally. Headquartered in Los Angeles, with an additional office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, RNCI continues to drive meaningful representation and visibility for Native and Indigenous voices in media and the arts.

Based in Los Angeles with office in Santa Fe New Mexico.

Red Nation Television Network

Red Nation Television Network® (RNTV) is the first streaming entertainment media company in the U.S. and worldwide, predating Netflix and others. Founded by Native Indigenous women, RNTV remains a Native and Indigenous content provider, delivering programming celebrating culture, heritage, education, entertainment, and lifestyle.

Founder and CEO Joanelle Romero is a director, producer, and actor, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences member, and founder of Red Nation Celebration Institute®, the longest-running Native women-led Indigenous media arts and cultural nonprofit enterprise in entertainment.

Based in Los Angeles with an office in Santa Fe, RNTV serves Indian Country and the entertainment industry, representing 570+ Native Nations, amplifying 5,000+ creators, and supporting 2,700+ filmmakers through RNIFF, including 280 films directed by women since 2017.

Red Nation International Film Festival

Empowering Native Indigenous Storytellers Since 1995.

Red Nation International Film Festival (RNIFF) is the largest Native Indigenous Film Festival in the world and the first in Los Angeles. A program of Red Nation Celebration Institute (RNCI).

Serving over 570+ Native Nations while amplifying more than 5000+ Native and Indigenous content creators through its streaming company Red Nation Television Network, supporting 2780+ Native Indigenous filmmakers through its Red Nation International Film Festival, including films directed by women through its Native Women in Film & Television in All Media, since 1995. In the last seven years RNCI has screened 280 films directed by women.

Los Angeles is home to the largest urban American Indian and Alaska Native population in the country, with over 200 tribes, including the original peoples of this land: the Tongva, Tataviam, and Chumash.

RNCI Red Nation Awards

Since 1995, the RNCI Red Nation Awards has honored outstanding artistic achievements in television, film, comedy, music and the arts. The show is an integral part of RNCI’s mission and is held on the last day closing the Red Nation International Film Festival. RNCI’s mission is to create greater opportunities for American Indian & Indigenous families in the United States. As a national television special with a cause, the RNCI Red Nation Awards demonstrates how inclusion strengthens the entertainment industry and diversity strengthens our country by promoting fair, accurate, and representative portrayals of American Indian & Indigenous image.

Each November, in celebration of American Indian Heritage Month, the entertainment community and film fans around the world turn their attention to RNCI Red Nation Awards. Interest and anticipation builds as we lead up to the RNCI Red Nation Awards LIVE broadcast on Red Nation Television Network, when hundreds of movie lovers tune in to watch the glamorous ceremony and learn who will receive the highest honors in native filmmaking.

Native Women In Film & Television

The First and Largest Festival Dedicated to the Representation of Native & Indigenous Women Filmmakers.

The Native Women in Film & Television in All Media Festival (NWIFTV) is a groundbreaking media initiative created to address the persistent lack of representation, visibility, and inclusion of Native and Indigenous women across film, television, and all media.

Our mission is to raise global awareness of the vital role Native women play as filmmakers, directors, producers, writers, actors, creators, and cultural storytellers. This work is directly connected to the urgent crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP), particularly Native and Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people.

Representation matters because visibility can help affirm identity, challenge stereotypes, and ensure Native women are not erased from the stories that shape public consciousness.

Each year, NWIFTV presents a curated selection of films directed by Native and Indigenous women in the lead-up to the Academy Awards, placing Native women filmmakers and their work at the forefront of the entertainment industry.

Native Indigenous Student Academy for Cinematic Arts

The Native Indigenous Student Academy of Cinematic Arts is an international student academy dedicated to excellence in filmmaking, cinematic arts, storytelling, and creative competition.

The Academy’s roots date back to 1995, when RNCI established its youth initiative under the guiding principle “Native Youth Matter — If We Can See It, We Can Be It.” Since its founding, RNCI has intentionally created opportunities for Native and Indigenous students to participate in the creative process and have their work seen and celebrated.

Since 1995, Native and Indigenous students have been welcomed and encouraged to submit their films and creative work through RNCI’s Red Nation International Film Festival (RNIFF), creating a longstanding pathway for emerging young storytellers to enter the cinematic arts.

The Academy builds upon this 30-year commitment by providing students with opportunities for film education, mentorship, creative development, industry exposure, professional networking, and competition. Students are connected with filmmakers and entertainment professionals while gaining insight into the many careers available both in front of and behind the camera.

The Academy is designed to ensure that Native and Indigenous youth are not simply audiences for cinema—they are filmmakers, storytellers, creators, and future leaders shaping the industry.

Human Rights Initiatives

Red Nation Celebration Institute’s Human Rights Initiatives use film, media, storytelling, and cultural advocacy to raise awareness and inspire action on critical issues impacting Indigenous communities and humanity as a whole.

Through Only One Water, RNCI addresses climate action and environmental responsibility by amplifying Indigenous knowledge, traditional ecological practices, and the urgent need to protect water as a sacred and essential resource for all life.

Through Why We Wear Red, RNCI advances awareness, remembrance, and advocacy for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Relatives (MMIWG2S), bringing visibility to the ongoing human rights crisis through media, storytelling, and public engagement.

Together, these initiatives demonstrate RNCI’s commitment to using the power of arts and culture to advance justice, protect communities, honor Indigenous voices, and create meaningful social change.

Hollywood Bureau

Native Indigenous Industry Policy & Public Affairs Council

The Red Nation Celebration Institute® (RNCI) operates at the intersection of entertainment, media, public policy, education, advocacy, and cultural leadership. Founded in 1995, RNCI is the entertainment industry’s longest-running Native women-led Indigenous media arts and public affairs advocacy organization, advancing Native and Indigenous representation, equity, and leadership across film, television, media, and popular culture.

Through its Hollywood Bureau Native/Indigenous Industry Policy & Public Affairs Council, RNCI serves as a strategic liaison between Indian Country and the entertainment industry, advocating for meaningful representation, access, economic opportunity, and Native leadership.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, with an office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, RNCI works nationally and internationally with Native Nations, Indigenous communities, filmmakers, artists, students, educators, cultural leaders, policymakers, and industry professionals.

Through film festivals, television, education, youth development, cultural preservation, human-rights initiatives, and public affairs, RNCI creates platforms for Native people to tell, produce, preserve, distribute, and control their own narratives, while creating pathways for the next generation.

Explore All Year Round Programs

The nonprofit enterprise Red Nation Celebration Institute along with its partners of inclusion, hosts screenings and events year-round throughout the United States, as well as abroad and online, to celebrate Native Indigenous independent storytelling, help artists refine their craft, and reach global audiences.

Founded 1995 by Joanelle Romero is the longest standing Native Women-Led, Indigenous media arts cultural pioneer nonprofit enterprise in the Entertainment Industry.

World's First Native Indigenous Film Commissions

Economic Development of Native Lands™in partnership with the Entertainment Industry

Red Nation Celebration Institute made history in 2015 at American Film Market. It was the first time that Native Indigenous presence had a main stage at AFM. Establishing ground-breaking initiatives being the first time in the entertainment industry these four initiatives had a global audience.

Native Film Market | RNCI Crew Directory | California Native Indigenous Film Commission | New Mexico Native Indigenous Film Commission

RNCI NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS CREW WORLDWIDE DIRECTORY

Creating Systemic Change through Film & Television

The program is led by Red Nation Celebration Institute with Global partners, it’s a pathway that focuses on entry-level, below-the-line opportunities for Native and Indigenous talent.

The RNCI Indigenous Film Crew Directory provides qualified Native and Indigenous candidates for behind the camera, below the line positions to help studios and producers who want to have more diverse and inclusive film crews for their productions. A cohesive strategic comprehensive database for the entertainment industry.

We connect underrepresented Native and Indigenous crew members to hiring managers who practice inclusive outreach.

Podcast Series

Red Nation Celebration Institute Podcast Series is an episodic storytelling platform dedicated to amplifying Native and Indigenous voices, perspectives, and narratives across film, television, media, and the arts. Rooted in RNCI’s mission of “Who Tells the Story Matters,” the series creates a space for authentic conversations, cultural exchange, and the preservation of Indigenous stories.

Available through Red Nation Television Network (RNTV) and the Red Nation Films YouTube Channel, the RNCI Podcast Series features live virtual play readings, filmmaker conversations, and engaging discussions with Indigenous and industry leaders, including directors, producers, actors, artists, and storytellers.

Through each episode, RNCI continues to expand access to Indigenous creativity, celebrate artistic excellence, and provide a platform where Native and Indigenous creators are seen, heard, and valued.

RNCI Podcasts Series with USC Bedrosian Center (In-person from 2017-2019)

American Indian Heritage Month In the City of Los Angeles

Collective Sovereignty

Red Nation Celebration Institute created and founded the American Indian Heritage Month in the City/County of Los Angeles in 2005 and officially recognized in 2006 by the State of California and the City of Los Angeles and in the State of New Mexico 2008.

Red Nation Celebration Institute (RNCI) is the first American Indian & Indigenous nonprofit enterprise organization to be funded by The City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department in 2000.

Celebrating 30 Years of Excellence

Amplifying Native Indigenous content creators in front of and behind the camera, since 1995.

Founded 1995 by Joanelle Romero is the longest standing Native Women-Led, Indigenous media arts cultural pioneer nonprofit enterprise in the Entertainment Industry.

Ways To Support

Voices Reclaimed

Digitizing and Reserving Native Indigenous Archives for Future Generations.

Year-Round Programs

Hollywood Bureau Native Indigenous Industry

Policy & Public Affairs Council

Native Film Market

Industry Conversations & Podcasts

Human Rights Initiatives

Uses film, media, storytelling, and cultural advocacy to raise awareness and inspire action on critical issues impacting Indigenous communities and humanity as a whole. Together, these initiatives demonstrate RNCI’s commitment to using the power of arts and culture to advance justice, protect communities, honor Indigenous voices, and create meaningful social change.

As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States, we recognize that the art of cinema is only 131 years young. RNCI is 31 years young: launched a century after the birth of motion pictures, and created to ensure that Native and Indigenous peoples would have a place not only in the story, but in shaping the stories being told. This is our moment to come together in truth, storytelling, and celebration… to honor the extraordinary achievements of Native and Indigenous filmmakers and to recognize the excellence that has always been here, waiting to be seen, heard, and celebrated.

Archiving The Legacy- RNCI Language, Cultural & Film Initiative

"Thank you for supporting RNCI, I hope that you will continue to support this wonderful organization so that it can continue to inspire folks and that all of you will continue to share your creatively with the world and that more youth folks can learn from you, be inspired by you and have success into the future."
Deb Haaland 54th United States Secretary of the Interior

‘As the former Chief of the Cherokee Nation, the second largest Indian tribe in the country, I enthusiastically support your efforts on behalf of Indigenous peoples. I applaud your efforts’
Wilma Mankiller, First Female Chief of Cherokee Nation

Marketing & distribution

Celebrating 30 Years of Excellence

Red Nation Celebration Institute (RNCI) turns 30 in 2025, three decades of content!

RNCI The Creative Enterprise by Natives delivering to all people the stories that shape our world. RNCI has began the process of archiving and digitizing years of content and will be available to public in 2025.