The Best Work You May Never See: W+K, Director Joe Pytka Delve Into Manhattan's Indigenous Roots For American Indian College Fund

“This Is Indian Country,” a visibility campaign from the American Indian College Fund out of agency Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., is launching this Native American Heritage Month. The provocative campaign is designed to increase awareness of and conversation about Indigenous people and issues at a time when Native people are still not seen and heard by most Americans. 

Last year there was a move towards national acknowledgment of the racial inequity that has been ignored, rewritten, or deleted entirely from history for 400 years. Despite this positive movement, Indigenous people and cultures remain largely out of sight and out of mind. They were undercounted in the U.S. Census, were undertreated during COVID, and continue to be underreported when it comes to murdered and missing Indigenous people. 

Yet Indigenous people are Americans and Indigenous culture is American culture. 

People live in places with names like Manhattan, Minneapolis, or Chicago; vacation in Montauk, and swim in Malibu. But they can’t out of ignorance—or won’t out of guilt—discuss the people whose lands they occupy. This campaign invites America to not only name check the rivers, lakes, schools, sports teams, and every single cabin at summer camp, but more importantly, understand Native people are here and acknowledge their contributions and their right to be fully visible and have their voices heard. 

The American Indian College Fund is launching “This Is Indian Country” to ensure Americans think about Indigenous people every time they talk about them. The package of spots--directed and shot by Joe Pytka--includes this one which delves into the Indigenous roots of NYC, namely “Manhattan.”