{"id":70536,"date":"2017-11-07T13:12:03","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T23:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=70536"},"modified":"2019-03-13T15:14:28","modified_gmt":"2019-03-14T01:14:28","slug":"chris-eyre-selected-as-inouye-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2017\/11\/07\/chris-eyre-selected-as-inouye-chair\/","title":{"rendered":"Award-winning Native American filmmaker Chris Eyre selected as Inouye chair"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"Chris<\/p>\n

Chris Eyre<\/strong>, award-winning director and producer of more than 15 feature films, has been named the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa<\/a> fall 2017 Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals<\/a>. <\/p>\n

An enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes, Eyre was until recently chair of the film school at Santa Fe University of Art and Design. His film, Smoke Signals<\/em> (1998) was the first feature film directed by a Native American to receive a national theatrical release. Upon the release of Skins<\/em> (2002) starring Graham Green, People Magazine<\/em> called Eyre \u201cthe pre-eminent Native American filmmaker of his time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Eyre\u2019s numerous accolades also include being named a 2007 USA Rockefeller Foundation Fellow.<\/p>\n

“Chris Eyre is the pre-eminent Native American filmmaker. His experiences and wisdom should be inspirational to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s growing Indigenous Film Community as well as the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Academy for Creative Media’s<\/a> Indigenous Film Program,” said Thomas Brislin<\/strong><\/a>, associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. “As a long-time chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Senator Inouye, and Maggie as well, believed deeply in public history and the importance of documenting the first hand experiences of indigenous peoples. Chris Eyre is a choice—and voice—with whom they would have been pleased.” <\/p>\n

While in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, Eyre will present several class lectures at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa and UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span>. <\/p>\n