The American Indian Film Festival (AIFF) is a grass-roots organization honoring independent film by Indigenous Peoples from North America.  We strive to embrace the multitudes of artistry crafted by Native People, and as such also embrace Indigeneity from a hemispheric perspective by actively ignoring the borders that have served to separate people.  We believe that the medium of film is another way for us to tell stories and to embrace new and old traditions of oral histories and self-empowerment.   The AIFF at Bellevue College also honors the legacy of its founder, Phil Lucas, and the college’s commitment to cultural pluralism by introducing both the campus and area communities to works created by and with artists from Indigenous Peoples in North America.  In doing this, the AIFF also strives for the continued sharing of knowledge from both Tribal and academic perspectives so that these frames of reference remain critically engaged from an artistic standpoint.