Indigenous Media Production as ‘Ceremony’ of Cultural Resurgence

Abstract

This study aims to describe how the selected Dumagat/Remontado youth in Tanay, Rizal developed their Indigenous media through a participatory media approach following strategic and culturally meaningful ways to preserve and transmit Indigenous knowledge and practice. I used Indigenous Research Methodologies (IRMs) by engaging the participants in an “Indigenous Knowledge and Participatory Media Workshop” where they produced a video documentation. Data were obtained utilizing the Anishinaabe Symbol-based reflection method, where the participants were providing their own interpretation of the developed media material. 

It can be surmised that through the collaborative development of Indigenous media, participants articulated their subjectivities—not through static representations, but through an ongoing dialogue between internal belonging and external societal forces shaping the recognition and contestation of their indigeneity. They reflect how they are deeply rooted in the land—the rivers, mountains, and forests—and project growing into new roles as advocates for their rights and culture through media production. In this way, they offer not only a new perspective on what it means to be Indigenous today but also an important voice in the ongoing conversations about culture through Indigenous media development.