Queerokee Double Feature

Circle Cinema, Palomino Books and Music, and Rez Film Club invite you to a FREE double feature of two new Native short films in support of the Cherokee Art Market from Fri 10/9-Mon 10/12!

Queerokee Double Feature will include Ahyoka directed by Schon Duncan and Julie Takes a Walk directed by Shea Vassar and Frankie Pedersen. See them first at Circle Cinema on Fri 10/9, 5:30pm FREE, then walk over to Palomino Books and Music just across the street for a Q&A with Schon Duncan, Ahyoka Youngdeer, and Shea Vassar.

The films will have encore screenings Sat 10/10-Mon 10/12 at 12pm, 3:30pm, and 7pm in screen 4 in support of the Cherokee Art Market and Indigenous Peoples' Day. Celebrate Native art and creativity throughout Tulsa and the surrounding area with Official Cherokee Art Market Weekend Stops — a collection of local businesses, galleries, cultural destinations and community spaces. Visit https://cherokeeartmarket.com/official-weekend-stops/ for more.

About the films

Ahyoka (ᎠᏲᎧ) - 14min - Documentary - dir. Schon Duncan

ᎠᏲᎧ is a portrait of Ahyoka Youngdeer, Cherokee culture bearer, teacher, and two-spirit activist. Weaving her own life with a traditional Cherokee story about a crooked-face boy, Ahyoka traces how exclusion was never a Cherokee value and reminds us what it truly means to be a Keetoowah person.

Schon Duncan (ᎤᎶᎩᎳ) is a citizen of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, a Cherokee language teacher, filmmaker, writer and community advocate. They currently teach Cherokee at the University of Oklahoma, where their courses center on conversation and the cultural history of the Cherokee peoples. Duncan co-directed the award-winning documentary ᏓᏗᏬᏂᏏ: We Will Speak, which follows Cherokee speakers and learners in their efforts to sustain the language. He has also contributed to Cherokee-language media through ᎢᎾᎨᎢ (Inage'i), a children's television series, and ᎠᏅᏛᏁᎵᏍᎩ (Anvdvnelisgi), a compilation album of new Cherokee songs across multiple genres. In 2025, Schon was honored by the UKB as a “Keetoowah Tradition Keeper.” As a 2024 Forge Project Fellow and 2025 Rooted Future Fund recipient, Duncan continues to create Cherokee-language films and resources that connect traditional knowledge with future generations. Their teaching, scholarship, and creative practice all seek to sustain and expand spaces for Cherokee language, identity, and futures. Their work frequently focuses on how traditional stories can reconnect queer-identifying individuals to their traditional communities to remain and strengthen cultural continuity.

Julie Takes a Walk - 14min - Comedy - dir. Shea Vassar and Frankie Pedersen

Julie's life choices have been dictated by her family but this all changes when she is told just moments before her own wedding that she is adopted. Confused and shocked, she runs away and follows the only clue she has to a small town on the other side of Oklahoma. That's where Julie meets the stoic yet secretly sweet Cass, a Native bartender who would rather be reading or fixing up an old car than in any sort of social setting. They both can feel the instant chemistry which only furthers the identity crisis Julie is having.

Shea Vassar (Cherokee Nation) is a writer and comedian currently based in Oklahoma. She graduated from film school at Hunter College and went on to pursue a Masters of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma. Shea was a 2024 Sundance Native Labs Artist in Residence while in development with a version of 'Julie Takes a Walk'. When not dreaming up ironic yet funny fictional scenarios, she is probably watching a WNBA game with her cats.

Frankie Pedersen (Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation) is a director, writer, and filmmaker. Born and raised in New York City, she earned her BFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University with a concentration in directing. Since 2022, she has worked as a production assistant in film and TV and is soon to be a DGA assistant director. She has worked on projects from Starz, HBO, FX, CBS, Amazon Prime, A24, and Netflix, to name a few. In her free time, she likes to play rugby, write stupid reviews on Letterboxd, and do anything that continues to further the bisexual agenda.

About Cherokee Art Market: One of the largest Native American art shows in Oklahoma, the Cherokee Art Market features nearly 170 prominent artists representing tribes from across the United States and Canada. Showcasing the best in Native jewelry, pottery, textiles, paintings, sculptures and more, the market has brought together Native artists and art collectors for more than two decades to celebrate exceptional works of art. Visit https://cherokeeartmarket.com/ for more on the event Oct 11-12 at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa, and additional weekend stops in Kendall Whittier and throughout Tulsa.

About Palomino Books and Music: Palomino Books and Music is a multilingual bookstore, listening room, and workshop space in the historic Kendall-Whittier community of Tulsa, OK. This multi-service community hub provides a curated inventory of new and used literature that reflects Tulsa’s cultural vibrancy, a performance and retail space showcasing local musicians, and hosts workshops to promote neighborhood engagement, education, and literacy. Visit https://www.palominobooksandmusic.com/ for more. Located across the street from Circle at 2411 E Admiral Blvd.

About Rez Film Club: Rez Film Club is presented by the Native Circle Advisory Board at Circle Cinema and proudly sponsored by the Flint Family Foundation and Cherokee Film.