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Film: Waší∙šiw ɁitdéɁ
Homelands of the Wá∙šiw People
A short documentary developed in collaboration with the Washoe Tribe Culture / Language Resources Department exploring the Wá∙šiw people's cultural revitalization efforts, intergenerational knowledge sharing, and ongoing presence across the Tahoe region.
Target release: Winter 2026-27
Project Overview
Tahoe is globally recognized for its natural beauty and environmental legacies, yet the region’s original stewards – the Wá∙šiw people, known today as the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California – remain widely underrepresented in public understandings of the Basin and its history.
This short documentary explores Tahoe through the Wá∙šiw perspective, inviting viewers into a deeper exploration of stewardship, reciprocity, and what it means to care for a place. Through interviews and depictions of cultural gatherings, the film highlights enduring relationships between land, identity, and community while offering a contemporary portrait of Wá∙šiw life and leadership – including the Tribe's ongoing cultural revitalization efforts centered around language, traditional knowledge, intergenerational learning, and relationships to place.
PHOTO CREDIT: CHRIS SEGAL
Key Themes
Place & identity
Stewardship & reciprocity
Cultural revitalization
Exploring connections to the land as an extension of community and a foundation for language and culture
Considering what it means to care for place through long-term responsibility and a commitment to listening
Highlighting ongoing efforts around language, education, and intergenerational knowledge sharing
Supporting Cultural Continuity
In addition to sharing Wá∙šiw voices about the Tribe's history and ongoing presence around dáɁaw (Lake Tahoe), the homelands of the Wá∙šiw people and an area they have inhabited, in their words, since the beginning, this film also supports the Tribe's oral history and archival work. Interviews, song recordings, and video footage from cultural activities are archived for ongoing cultural preservation and catalogued as part of Wá∙šiw living history.
PHOTO CREDIT: CHRIS SEGAL
“We’re not talking about historical stagnation, of returning to a certain way of life. We’re talking about bringing values forward into a better future. Everybody has once been indigenous to a place. How do we reconstruct those relationships?”
Washoe Tribe Culture / Language Resources Department
PHOTO CREDIT: CHRIS SEGAL
Partners
This project is led through a partnership with the Washoe Tribe Culture / Language Resources Department. Special thanks to Department members: Herman Fillmore, Lisa Enos, Mitchell Osorio, Mischelle Dressler, Melba Rakow – as well as other tribal collaborators: Benny Fillmore, Taylynn Kizer, Darlene Smokey, BillyHawk Enos, Bernadette Nieto, and more.
This film is co-directed, co-written, filmed, and edited by: Chris Segal of Chris Segal Media.
This project is generously supported by the Tahoe Fund.
Learn More About the Washoe Tribe
Tribal website with news, upcoming events, and a directory of tribal departments and resources
Stay Tuned
Get notified about film release and upcoming screenings.
PHOTO CREDIT: CHRIS SEGAL
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