People of the West – Episode 2

Docuseries: Directed by Bradley Munoa, Christopher Naraanii Cegielski, Phillip Montgomery, and Josh Baker Produced by Pechanga Studios (Temecula, CA) (Filmed in Mexico & California, including in Carmel & Big Sur/Ohlone Ancestral Lands) People of the West is a ten-part, premium documentary series that tells California’s Indigenous history through Native voices. Drawing from oral storytelling, rare archival materials, cinematic visuals, and educational consultation, the series will serve as the definitive account of California’s Indigenous history and is being adapted for inclusion in the state’s ethnic studies curriculum. The brutal reality of California’s mission system unfolds through the story of Aha’ya and Atsia of the Ohlone. Families are torn apart as forced baptisms, disease, starvation, and systemic abuse define life under Junípero Serra and the soldiers. Expert voices reveal how the missions operated as engines of colonization, using whippings, sexual violence, and forced labor to control Native people. Yet amid devastation, acts of resistance and survival endure, culminating in uprisings that challenged Spanish domination. FILMMAKER Q&A TO FOLLOW . Runtime: 60:00, Founders Theatre