Native American Advocate Sonny Skyhawk and Nash Bridges, Jaime Gomez, Launch Native Spectrum, Focusing on Native American, Latinx Stories and Talent
Longtime entertainment industry Native American advocate Sonny Skyhawk, founder of the nonprofit American Indians in Film, Television, and Music, and actor/writer Jaime Gomez (Nash Bridges), will lead Native Spectrum, a new company that has a robust multi-project development slate of traditional and contemporary stories based on Native American and Latinx folklore and culture.
Native Spectrum will concentrate on television projects for network, cable and streaming services and later expand into feature films. Two projects are currently being pitched: a one-hour drama set in the multi-billion-dollar Indian gaming industry and a one-hour drama focusing on the murder and disappearance of Native American and Indigenous girls and women.
Skyhawk is a citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Nation of South Dakota who traces his familial lineage to Chief Spotted Tail, a Lakota War Chief. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, he is known for roles in Young Guns II, Nightbeasts, and The Homecoming of Jimmy Whitecloud. For the four decades, Skyhawk has been a respected advocate for Native American talent through his nonprofit. In addition, he has been a cultural consultant on numerous projects including the ABC miniseries Dreamkeeper, John Woo’s feature film Windtalkers, Geronimo: An American Legend, Unforgiven, Mystic Warrior, and Tom Horn.
As an advocate, Skyhawk successfully negotiated Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television networks leading to increased recognition, employment, and career internships for American Indians in the television industry.
“Exploring these stories of the American Indian and other indigenous cultures is both artistically long overdue and good business for the entertainment industry,” says Skyhawk.
“Native American folklore and contemporary culture present a limitless trove of untapped stories and characters. With a vast array of network and streaming outlets looking for original content, Native Spectrum will be a bridge to that material and creatives. We don’t want one more generation of Native American youth to feel invisible in the mass culture. Today’s challenging times underscore the need for inclusivity and unity among all people and cultures in ways we never could have anticipated.”
Gomez, whose heritage is Mexican and Tarahumara Indian, has been a successful working actor for 30 years. He is best known for his series regular role on the hit CBS series Nash Bridges, for which he received multiple ALMA (American Latino Media Arts) nominations. Other acting credits include feature films Training Day, Crimson Tide, Clear and Present Danger and TV episodic work on series: Dexter, 90210, Rizzoli & Isles, CSI: Miami, among others. As a writer, producer and director, he has completed the feature film In the Blink of an Eye and the documentary Quincy Coleman: It’s All in the Song.
“I believe that the performing arts are a mirror of what society is and, more importantly, can be,” says Gomez. “In these troubled times it’s imperative for the voiceless to be represented in the mass media. Our stories are not Native stories or Latinx stories, they are the stories of America, and are deeply woven into the tapestry of our great nation. It’s time for us to be heard.”