The Podcast Artwork
The podcast artwork for Actors and Ancestors was conceptualized by Joel and made up of two overlapping elements: the medicine wheel and the old “Indian Head Test” used for calibrating TVs in the 1940s.
The medicine wheel colours come through much stronger than the calibration test to symbolize the perseverance of Indigenous actors and creators, the power of seeing Indigenous Peoples authentically portrayed on screen, and the steadily turning tide in the industry.
Why is the imagery important? 🎞️
The Medicine Wheel is a recognizable symbol in many Indigenous teachings. It is a circle with black, white, yellow, and red quadrants, which symbolize the four directions, seasons, phases of life, and wholeness.
The “Indian head test” is a graphic that was projected by broadcasters in the 1940s to tune black and white TVs for brightness and contrast, using circles and lines to ensure the frame was aligned. The image of an Indigenous man in a headdress was front and centre, used to calibrate the greyscale. Technology evolved and the graphic has since fallen out of use and into the public domain.
In the context of ongoing land theft, violence, and genocide, a disembodied “Indian head” broadcast into homes across North America speaks volumes about the history of Indigenous representation on TV.
That’s why it’s being used to represent a podcast for Indigenous actors in film and TV today.
Historically, the entertainment industry has played a significant role in erasing Indigenous Peoples and in shaping dominant cultural attitudes.
From perpetuating harmful stereotypes, positioning Indigenous people as existing only in the past, to having white actors perform in “redface” instead of employing Indigenous actors, the entertainment industry has been a driving force in mythologizing, erasing, and sanitizing violent histories of colonization.
The “Indian head” Test is particularly poignant in understanding the hurdles and stereotypes Indigenous actors have overcome to finally be seen and represented on screen authentically and meaningfully.
Actors and Ancestors aims to inspire industry change and allow Indigenous actors their own space to share their stories, wisdom, and dreams.