Fowler Films: Yáamay: An Ode to Blooming

Yáamay: An Ode to Blooming is a lyrical short film centering the voices and experiences of contemporary California Indigenous women. Built on original poetry, the film unfolds as an intimate journey through identity, memory, and the enduring legacies of California’s Native communities.

Through a dynamic montage of modern footage, archival material, and animatic sequences, Yáamay moves fluidly between the personal and the collective, the past and the possible. The women featured reflect on their relationships to land, culture, family, and futurity, offering perspectives that are deeply rooted yet forward-looking. Embracing complexity, its highs and lows, histories and dreams, questions and revelations, the film honors Indigenous women across generations. By inviting viewers into these layered stories, Yáamay uplifts narratives too often overlooked and celebrates the continued presence, creativity, and leadership of California Indigenous communities.

Join the Fowler Museum at UCLA for a screening and conversation with co-directors Camaray Davalos and Casse Kíihut, poet/producer Avelaka Macarro, and poet Marlene’ Dusek. Following the discussion, light refreshments will be served in the Courtyard.

Casse Kihúut Alaniz (Payómkawish) is a queer Indigenous/Mexicana artist and filmmaker who grew up in McAllen, Texas. She is a citizen of the Pechanga Band of Indians. Her work seeks to dismantle racist representations of Indigenous peoples in media and to decolonize filmmaking processes through Native-centered protocols and practices. Centered on the complexities of identity, her projects explore intersections of Indigeneity, sexuality, and belonging.

Camaray Davalos (Payómkawichum/Xicana) is a writer and storyteller whose work explores Indigenous social and environmental issues, gender roles, and identity through prose, poetry, film, and collage. A graduate of Humboldt State University with a degree in Native American Studies and a minor in Environmental Management, she won the 2020 Native Voices at the Autry Short Play Festival Audience Prize and received the Achievement in Screenwriting Award at the 12th Annual Native American Media Awards (LA SKINS FEST) for her short film Woman Who Blooms at Night. She is a lead editor of Yáamay: An Anthology of Feminine Perspectives Across Indigenous California.

Marlene’ Dusek (Payómkawichum, Lipay-Kumeyaay, Kuupangaxwichem/Czech) is a woman, daughter, partner, and auntie within her family and community. A traditional cultural practitioner and land steward, her work centers on Indigenous foods, plant medicines, and kúut kíimawish (cultural fire). She has been in relationship with her homelands since childhood and grew up on the Rincon Indian Reservation. Marlene’ is also a weaver, poet, artist, photographer, and educator. She holds a BS in Environmental Management, Protection, and Planning, and an MA in Environment and Community with a focus on Indigenous Natural Relative Management. She is a contributor to “Regeneration” in Yáamay: An Anthology of Feminine Perspectives Across Indigenous California and its companion film, and served as a community advisor, contributor, and artist for the Fire Kinship exhibition at the UCLA Fowler Museum.

Avelakayawaywish “Avelaka” Macarro (Payómkawish) is a citizen of the Pechanga Band of Indians (Payómkawichum). She graduated from UC Berkeley in 2018 with degrees in Media Studies (emphasis in journalism) and Film & Media Studies. She currently runs the Native Pathways Mentorship Program at the University of Washington and previously oversaw the Riverways Educational Partnerships program, serving as the American Indian/Alaska Native admissions counselor. Macarro is a lead editor of Yáamay: An Anthology of Feminine Perspectives Across Indigenous California, published in Fall 2023.

This program is presented in partnership with the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA