Tso Inspired produces award-winning educational multimedia projects, provides media arts education,
and consulting in communications and development. Specializes in place-based media arts.
Place-Based Media Arts
"Place-Based Media Arts" is the integration of Media Arts Literacy with Place-Based Education. Place-based media arts projects are designed to assist students in creating meaningful multimedia projects that engage students in curriculum and community. Through these projects students learn the tools necessary to evaluate and navigate media influences as well as how to effectively participate in global conversations. While place-based education has often had an aversion to technology out of concern for its tendency to distract students from their immediate surroundings and distrust their own senses, we see that the media arts can do just the opposite when used intentionally as a way of reconnecting students to place. Place-Based Media Arts is grounded in the pedagogy of place-based education, and looks to the ideals of the youth-led media justice and empowerment movements.
The Making of Yellow Woman: A Demonstration Project
Rachel Tso's Thesis Film on Place-Based Media Arts Education. Demonstrates the benefits of a Place-Based Media Arts Education and how the Curriculum works. Chronicles the making of Camille Manybeads Tso's award winning film, "In the Footsteps of Yellow Woman" which was made as a Demonstration Project of Place-Based Media Arts Education.
Place-Based Education: The STAR 3-to-3rd Model
Place-Based Education: The STAR 3-to-3rd Model
A short film demonstrating how STAR School utilizes Place-Based Education in the 3-to-3rd (Age 3 to Grade 3) classes. STAR is the 1st all off-grid charter school in the country, and is recipient of the 2012 Dpt. of Ed. Green Ribbon Award. STAR is located on the southwestern edge of the Navajo Nation and serves a majority indigenous population. This film was written and produced by Rachel Tso (tsoinspired.com) made for The STAR School (starschool.org) as a part of a free training packet for educators. It is for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Examples of Student Work
In the Footsteps of Yellow Woman A docu-drama made for an 8th grade project by 13-year-old, Camille Manybeads Tso, who finds her own strengths through learning from her Grandmother and their ancestral history. She imagines what it would be like to be her ancestor, Yellow Woman, who lived through the Navajo Long Walk of 1864-1868. This film preserves the oral history of her family, and is a testament to the courage and fortitude of the Navajo people who endured the Long Walk and the cruel imprisonment at Fort Sumner. Camille conducted the interviews, researched the time period, wrote the script for the re-enactments and recruited her family to help make the costumes, direct, film, act, sing and edit this work. The re-enactments are performed by actual descendants of Yellow Woman and are filmed in many of the places where the historical events had taken place. This film is an official selection in over 50 film festivals world-wide and winner of: Young Filmmakers Spirit Award - ReelHeART Film Festival; Student Production Winner -- Kids First! Film Festival; The Dolphin (Young Filmmaker) Award -- Moondance Film Festival; Best Youth Film of the Year, Best Actor, Best Script -- Cowichan Aboriginal Film Festival ; Special Student Recognition -- Lake Arrowhead Film Festival; Most Innovative Short -- Eckerd Film Festival; Best Documentary Short -- Red Nation Film Festival 2009; Best Student Dramatic Short - Southeastern Native American Indian Film and Video Festival 2009; Best Student Docudrama - International Cherokee Film Festival 2009. Featured in over 90 film festivals internationally.
RedBird Saves the Corn Traditional Navajo Spider Woman story retold through Lightbox Animation by STAR School students Larissa Luther, Taylor Long, Makyla Allison. Story learned through the Voices Native Literature program, "Zinnia: How the Corn was Saved" by Patricia Hruby Powell. Demonstration of integration of Native Literature, Literacy, and Place-Based Media Arts under the direction of Rachel Tso. Youth Mentors Camille Manybeads Tso and Kira Butler. Winner: Second Place 2014 MY HERO International Film Festival Middle School Animation category. This film is an official selection of: MY HERO International Film Festival, The Red Nation Film Festival in Los Angeles, The American Indian film Festival in San Francisco, The Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival, and shown as a part of the Museum of Northern Arizona Navajo Show and NAU Native American and Indigenous Film Series. This film was also featured in the documentary "Valdagno, Arizona" and screened at the 2011 Venice Film Festival in Italy.
