Phil Lucas facts for kids

Phil Lucas (1942 – February 4, 2007) was an American filmmaker. He mostly made movies about Native American themes. He worked as an actor, writer, producer, director, and editor. He made over 100 films and TV shows. In 1979, he helped create Images of Indians for PBS. This five-part series looked at how Native Americans were shown in Hollywood Westerns. It explored the problem of stereotypes.

Early Life and Journey

Phil Lucas was born in 1942 in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. He was part of the Choctaw Native American Nation. When he was in his early twenties, he was a musician in New York. Later, he traveled to Central America. There, he became a photographer. He worked for advertising companies. In the 1960s, Phil joined the Baháʼí Faith. He even wrote songs for them, like Mount Your Steeds, O Heroes of God! and World Citizen. After a big earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua, in 1972, he returned to the American West. He then started making films.

Awards and Recognition

Phil Lucas was called the "foremost (Native American) film documentarian." This was said by Hanay Geiogamah, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Lucas won about 18 awards or nominations. These awards were given between 1980 and 2003.

• 1994: For The Native Americans, he won an Emmy Award for Television Series.
• 1999: For Allan Houser/Haozous: The Lifetime Works of an American Master:
  • Best Documentary at the Santa Fe Film Festival.
  • Taos Mountain Award at the Taos Talking Pictures Film Festival.
  • It was an Official Selection at the Native Forum of the Sundance Film Festival.
• 2002: Restoring the Sacred Circle won the Best Public Service Award. This was at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco.
• 2003: Lucas won the CINE Eagle Award for his film Vis à Vis: Native Tongues.

Filmmaking and Television Work

Lucas worked on popular TV shows. He also covered important issues within the Native American community. In 1979, he helped finish a series of documentaries. These were about the Portrayal of Native Americans in film. The series was called "Images of Indians." He worked with Robert Hagoplan on this project.

Exploring Stereotypes

"Images of Indians" was a five-part series. It looked at how Native Americans were shown in movies. It also questioned how these Hollywood images affected Native Americans' own self-image. Lucas and Hagoplan made the first part, "The Great Movie Massacre." This film was about the myth of the "savage Indian" versus figures like Buffalo Bill.

Directing and Acting Roles

In 1987, Phil Lucas directed Honor of All. This film was about an Alkali Lake band of Indians in British Columbia. He used interviews and dramatic scenes from a 1986 documentary. This helped create the 1992 film The Honour of All.

Lucas also acted in popular TV series. He played characters and gave cultural advice. These shows included Northern Exposure (1990–1991) and MacGyver. He also produced, wrote, directed, and edited many movies and documentaries. In 1993, Lucas co-directed the American Indian Dance Theatre for PBS. This was part of the Great Performances/Dance in America series.

Working with Other Artists

Also in 1993, Pierce Brosnan starred in The Broken Chain for TV. Lucas played a Mohawk character in this story. It was about the Iroquois during the Revolutionary War. In the same year, Lucas produced, directed, and wrote Healing the Nation. In 2003, for Vis à Vis: Native Tongues, Lucas brought together an Australian Aboriginal artist and an American Indian performance artist.

Phil Lucas was married to Nancy Gross for over 25 years. They had four children: Amy, Jason, Jessy, and Sara. Lucas also had one son, Josh Lucas, from a previous marriage.

Later Life and Teaching

Phil Lucas later moved to Issaquah, Washington. He taught film at Bellevue Community College in Washington. He taught there for the last eight years of his life. In 2003, he started an American Indian Film Festival at the college. He passed away in Bellevue, Washington on February 4, 2007. He is survived by his fourth wife, Mary Lou, and five children.

See also

• Baháʼí Faith and Native Americans
• Nipo Strongheart, another leading Native American linked to Hollywood, and a Baháʼí.