WINUBA is named for a mountain in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, a place connected to my Nüümü (Owens Valley Paiute) community and identity. Our people have lived in Payahuunadü for generations, and Winuba has been a presence in my life since I was a child. Mountains don’t announce themselves. They stand through changing seasons, witness generations of stories, and remain rooted in place.
~ Little Sky Vasquez
The Work Behind WINUBA
My work in storytelling began with a question: Who gets to tell the stories of our communities, and which stories get heard?
In 2012, after reading too many mainstream news stories focused on the negative things happening in Indian Country, I wanted to create space for different stories. I started Brightside of Rez, a blog focused on the people, ideas, and positive things happening in tribal communities. I began by listening to Native youth and community members and creating a place where they could share their stories and experiences in their own words.
“Along the way, I had opportunities to produce Native cooking videos with an Indigenous diabetes prevention program and Wassaja, an FNX television show highlighting Indigenous people doing extraordinary things. My experience working with nonprofits and Tribal communities gave me a foundation for production, even as television was new to me. The opportunities came together at the right time, and this is where the work began.”
That inspiration led me to start a blog sharing positive stories from tribal communities and, eventually, to video storytelling. What began with interviewing Native youth grew into producing Native cooking videos, working on a daily Indigenous news program and live election-night broadcasts, documenting community gatherings, and interviewing elders and others whose experiences are part of our living history.
What started as frustration over the stories that weren't being told became a journey of listening, learning, producing, and documenting.
