How many Indigenous films have you watched? Films made by, for and about Indigenous lives. How about “Smoke Signals” (1998)? “Real Injun” (2009), “Barking Water” (2009) or “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World” (2017)?
Well, lucky for you, Don Dexter, owner of the Don Dexter Art Gallery here in Eugene, has taken up the task of organizing an Indigenous Film Night series, with the help of the Hult Center, to make space and time to show all of those films and build community. “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World,” the last of the series, was shown on Nov. 5. With a powerful ending, the audience was left asking: What’s next?
Dexter has been a part of the local community since 1994, working as a dentist. Dexter has been curating art for 25 years and opened a gallery in 2023 to represent other artists and showcase art at a gallery level rather than a craft street market level. With a motto of “ABC: always building community,” Dexter hoped to use the gallery’s art to bring Eugene together.
“The gallery is Indigenous owned with Indigenous values,” Dexter said. A large portion of the gallery’s time is spent on that, building a space to gather the community. Starting film nights once a month after the gallery’s opening was a way of doing that.
Dexter mentioned the gallery would fit about 15 to 25 people for their film night until the Hult Center reached out to him, intending to combine ideals and help raise awareness and acceptance of Indigenous lives. They offered him a space to hold a larger audience. Their first screening was in June 2025 with “Smoke Signals.” Jen Cumberworth, director of community and creative learning at the Hult Center, said, “We expected around 30 to 50 attendees and were thrilled when over 200 people came.”
“People stood to watch the movie,” Dexter said, and once the film had come to an end, everyone in the audience bombarded him with the question: What’s next?
That was when Dexter came up with the idea for a series of three films to be shown with the help of the Hult Center. Starting with “Real Injun” (2009) in September, then “Barking Water” (2009) in October and finally “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World” (2017) this November.
The final film, “Rumble,” is a documentary showcasing Native artists and traditional Native music, which contributed to the music industry, especially in the rock genre. Dexter said, “For me, it was about awareness and pride; there really isn’t an awareness of the contribution that has been made, but when that comes, there is an incredible pride.”
And with the series coming to an end, the audience has asked for more films and events from the gallery and the Hult Center. Dexter plans to continue his contribution to the community by continuing the film nights.
“Our intentions are claiming belonging in that we want to claim our belonging in places we either didn’t feel invited, didn’t feel safe, didn’t feel welcome and didn’t feel a part of. In opening this up, we were hoping to claim belonging for the Indigenous community who may not feel this is a place they belong,” Dexter said.
The Hult Center has also made its intent clear with its priority of inclusion and diversity for the sake of all of Eugene: “seeing and hearing stories from a wide range of communities helps us all better understand one another,” Cumberworth said. “It builds empathy, connection and a stronger, more inclusive community overall.”
The Hult Center and the Don Dexter Gallery have made it their mission to continue to give these films a space in the Eugene community to foster acceptance and strength in our city. So whether you are a cinephile or have never seen an Indigenous film, Dexter and the Hult Center give you an opportunity to build community. “Whether you’re interested in live music, theater, dance or film,” Cumberworth said, “the Hult Center is a place where all students can feel welcome and inspired.”
