Wisdom Carriers

Indigenous Voices. Women’s Stories. Wisdom for Our Future.

Wisdom Carriers is an ongoing film project from Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival in collaboration with Firewatch Media. Guided by Diné storyteller Sunny Dooley, the project amplifies the voices of Native American women across the Four Corners whose traditional knowledge of food sovereignty, land stewardship, and ecological balance offers vital lessons for our shared future.

This unique cultural and conservation film aligns with FlagShakes’ mission to elevate empathy—bringing audiences face-to-face with stories that bridge science, heritage, and community care.

Experience stories from the first three interviews now

These completed shorts feature:

  • Cynthia Wilson (Diné, Monument Valley, UT)
  • Beata Tsosie-Peña (Santa Clara Pueblo, Santa Clara, NM)
  • Twila Cassadore (San Carlos Apache, San Carlos, AZ)

Meet the Women of Wisdom Carriers

The full-length film will ultimately share the voices of women leaders across the Four Corners:

  • Cynthia Wilson (Diné, Monument Valley, UT): Nutritionist, advocate, and founding member of the Women of Bears Ears initiative. Director of the Traditional Foods Program at Utah Diné Bikéyah.
  • Beata Tsosie-Peña (Santa Clara Pueblo, Santa Clara, NM): Educator, birthworker, and Indigenous permaculture designer. Leader of the Española Healing Foods Oasis and advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives.
  • Twila Cassadore (San Carlos Apache, San Carlos, AZ): Forager, food educator, and advocate for Indigenous food sovereignty, teaching traditional foodways across Apache communities.
  • Rose Marie Williams (Diné, Tuba City, AZ): Farmer and culture-keeper working with her husband Daniel Williams to steward traditional lands and crops.
  • Upcoming Interviews:
  • Alistair Bitsoi (Diné): Farmer and storyteller sharing two-spirit wisdom—bridging modern life with traditional ecological knowledge.
  • Melanie Kirby (Tortugas Pueblo, Taos, NM): Beekeeper, gardener, and teacher, director of Zia Queenbees Beekeeping Company.

Support the Project

If you would like to help carry this vision forward, you can make a tax-deductible contribution to the project.

Please note your gift is for Wisdom Carriers. Every donation helps preserve and share these voices with the world.

Wisdom Carriers is made possible through the generosity of community partners and donors. We are deeply grateful for the support of:

  • Taitanchi Foundation
  • Ann Brown
  • BBB Revenues
  • City of Flagstaff
  • Creative Flagstaff
  • Flagstaff 365
  • Geofamily Foundation
  • Jessica Miller
  • Lynn Morley
  • Wright-Ingram Institute

Project Progress

With one more year of filming and editing, Wisdom Carriers will be completed as a full-length feature documentary. Already, audiences at the Flagstaff Festival of Science are experiencing these stories in short-film form, and the impact has been profound.

About the Filmmakers

Wisdom Carriers is produced by Firewatch Media.