Gabriel S. Estrada, "Queer Indigenous Cinemas: Sovereign Genders from Seven Directions" (U Arizona Press, 2026)

In this episode of New Books in Education, host Caleb Zakarin speaks with Gabriel S. Estrada, Professor of Religious Studies at California State University, Long Beach, about his groundbreaking book 'Queer Indigenous Cinemas: Sovereign Genders from Seven Directions' (U Arizona Press, 2026). Estrada traces the evolution of queer Indigenous cinema across the Caribbean, the Americas, and the Pacific, challenging dominant Hollywood narratives and centering Indigenous methodologies. He structures the book around a seven-directional framework—four cardinal directions, up, down, and center—drawing from Navajo, Chicanx, and Kanaka Maoli cosmologies to explore how spatiality, directionality, and healing are embedded in film. The conversation covers pivotal films from Navajo Nation, such as 'Drunk Town’s Finest' and 'I Am from 96,' which depict transgender and HIV-positive characters within traditional ceremonial frameworks. Estrada also examines sacred plant ceremonies in Kashkan culture, the role of mahu figures in Hawaiian sovereignty movements, and the traumatic legacy of Indian residential schools, showing how contemporary films serve as tools for intergenerational healing. He critiques Afrofuturist representations in mainstream cinema like 'Black Panther' for erasing Indigenous specificity and calls for authentic Indigenous storytelling. The episode concludes with Estrada’s personal reflections on his mixed Chicanx and Indigenous identity, emphasizing the importance of centering one’s own lived experience in scholarship. Throughout, Estrada champions film as a decolonizing medium that integrates visual art, language, and ancestral knowledge. Key takeaways include: (1) Indigenous cinema is not just about representation but about sovereignty, healing, and spatial cosmology; (2) Queer Indigenous identities are deeply rooted in tradition, not Western constructs; (3) Film is a powerful tool for intergenerational healing, especially in response to colonial trauma like residential schools; (4) Authentic Indigenous storytelling requires centering Indigenous voices, languages, and methodologies; (5) Hollywood’s portrayal of Indigenous people often erases or exoticizes them, necessitating alternative narratives; (6) Accessibility of films through platforms like YouTube and Netflix makes them vital educational tools; (7) The seven-directional model offers a decolonial framework for scholarship that resists Western linear history; (8) Personal narrative is not a distraction but a necessary component of Indigenous epistemology.