Joanelle Romero is an American filmmaker and actress. Romero, who says she has a Native American identity, is the founder and president of Red Nation Television Network and

Red Nation International Film Festival The Red Nation Film Festival is a film festival focused on films about indigenous people. The festival was founded in 1995 and is curated by Joanelle Romero. History The Red Nation Film Festival was founded in 1995 by Joanelle Romero, also ...

. Romero's film ''American Holocaust: When It’s All Over I’ll Still Be Indian'' was short-listed for an Academy Award in the Documentary Short Branch category. In 2007, she was designated a

Women's History Month Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with ...

honoree by the

National Women's History Project The National Women's History Alliance (NWHA) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to honoring and preserving women's history. The NWHA was formerly known as the National Women's History Project. Based out of Santa Rosa, California sinc ...

Personal life

Romero was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1957. Her mother, actress Rita Rogers (1936–2012), was born Ida Mae Aragón in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Joanelle grew up in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and says she is "a citizen of

Mescalero Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, located in south-cen ...

Chiricahua Apache Chiricahua ( ) is a band of Apache Native Americans. Based in the Southern Plains and Southwestern United States, the Chiricahua (Tsokanende ) are related to other Apache groups: Ndendahe (Mogollon, Carrizaleño), Tchihende (Mimbreño), Sehend ...

, Dinétah,

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Paiu ...

Nations and is Spanish Sephardic". She states she is of

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

descent.

Career

Romero was shortlisted for an Academy Award, for her documentary short, ''American Holocaust: When It’s All Over I’ll Still Be Indian'', narrated by

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...

. Romero directed, produced, wrote and scored the music for the film that compares the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

with the United States governments treatment of American Indians and the lasting effects on contemporary culture. In 1991 Romero founded Spirit World Productions. She was inspired to create Spirit World Productions due to the lack of Native representation in the entertainment industry. Spirit World released ''American Holocaust: When It’s All Over I’ll Still Be Indian'', a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

narrated by

. Romero directed, produced, wrote and scored the music for the film that compares the

with the United States' government treatment of American Indians and the lasting effects on contemporary culture. As an actress Romero has appeared in films including ''

The Girl Called Hatter Fox ''The Girl Called Hatter Fox'' is a 1977 American TV movie starring Ronny Cox and directed by George Schaefer (director), George Schaefer. It was the first film produced by EMI Television (they released ''The Amazing Howard Hughes'', but bought th ...

'' (1977 TV movie based on the novel by Marilyn Harris), 1982's ''

Barbarosa ''Barbarosa'' is a 1982 American Western film starring Willie Nelson and Gary Busey about a young cowboy on the run from the law who partners with a famous ''bandito'' and learns about life from him. "One of the best overlooked westerns of th ...

'' and ''

Parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

'', and ''

Powwow Highway ''Powwow Highway'' is a 1989 comedy-drama film from George Harrison’s Handmade Films Company, directed by Jonathan Wacks. Based on the novel ''Powwow Highway'' by David Seals, it features A Martinez, Gary Farmer, Joanelle Romero and Amanda ...

. Romero founded the nonprofit organization Red Nation Celebration Institute (RNCI) in 1995. In 2005 she received the Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Award for "the vision to see the truth … and the courage to speak it". Romero started the first Native American Heritage Month in Los Angeles in November 2005, garnering her the title "The First Lady" of American Indian Heritage Month. Romero has been a member of the American Film Academy since 2016.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Joanelle American humanitarians Women humanitarians American people of Jewish descent American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent American filmmakers American folk musicians Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from Albuquerque, New Mexico Living people Musicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico Activists from California 21st-century American women