Cultural Visibility Through Dance and Film: Kenneth Shirley and Isabella Madrigal

We are excited to spotlight two more fellows from the 2025 First People’s Funds Artist in Business Leadership (ABL) and the Native Performing Arts fellowship programs.

The following performers and artists illustrate how Indigenous creativity and professional development thrive through participation in the First Peoples Fund fellowships. The artists come from varying backgrounds and artistic fields, and all showcase a deep passion for their arts and community through film, dance, and storytelling.

Artists in Business Leadership

Multidisciplinary artist Kenneth Shirley (Navajo), a 2025 Artist in Business Leadership fellow, is working on a new show to debut in New York City at the Joyce Theatre. To add to this momentous occasion, Kenneth plans to create a film to document him and the entire cast of dancers as they develop and participate in performances as part of their residency at the Joyce Theatre. 

Kenneth’s love for dance started at home at an early age. His mother, Mary Shirley, introduced him to dancing when he was just 2 years old. An accomplished fancy shawl dancer in her own right, Mary would take Kenneth to powwow dance circles when he was young, eventually evolving into his desire to become a  Men’s Fancy War Dancer. In 2015, he performed at his community college in Phoenix, Arizona, and the experience completely transformed how he saw himself as a dancer, educator, and leader in his field. This urged him to develop dynamic methods of sharing and educating his peers about his Indigenous heritage. Since then, his dance career has led him to perform internationally across the United States, at notable events and places like the 2023 Super Bowl, the Sydney Opera House, and Lincoln Center.

“I've been fancy-dancing since I was two years old. It's like a dancer-style that comes from Oklahoma. It's more fast-paced and upbeat and faster type movements; it's also supposed to be a healing dance and bring blessings to anybody who goes through a hard time emotionally and spiritually gives 'em the uplift.”

Alongside his love of dance, Kenneth has been in filmmaking since he was 8 years old, which led him to pursue a degree in filmmaking at  Arizona State University. He built his own company called Indigenous Enterprise, in 2015 after he completed documentaries and a TV show that is now in process. 

In 2023, his work “Borders” was showcased at film festivals internationally, and that same year he was nominated with an Emmy for a short film called “If Cities Could Dance” with PBS. In building his business, Kenneth has always kept the idea of community and Indigenous visibility through his work. His fellowship with First Peoples Fund will help bring together dancers, animators and filmmakers for their upcoming theatre show at the Joyce Theatre in New York.

“I just want to [be] somebody that kind of went all out with everything that they do, whether it's filmmaking or dancing. I just wanted to be able to push the culture forward to be able to uplift our people to new heights and new grounds.”

Alongside his love of dance, Kenneth has been in filmmaking since he was 8 years old, which led him to pursue a degree in filmmaking at  Arizona State University. He built his own company called Indigenous Enterprise, in 2015 after he completed documentaries and a TV show that is now in process. 

In 2023, his work “Borders” was showcased at film festivals internationally, and that same year he was nominated with an Emmy for a short film called “If Cities Could Dance” with PBS. In building his business, Kenneth has always kept the idea of community and Indigenous visibility through his work. His fellowship with First Peoples Fund will help bring together dancers, animators and filmmakers for their upcoming theatre show at the Joyce Theatre in New York.

“I just want to [be] somebody that kind of went all out with everything that they do, whether it's filmmaking or dancing. I just wanted to be able to push the culture forward to be able to uplift our people to new heights and new grounds.”

Native Performing Arts Fellowship

2025 Native Performing Arts Fellow Isabella Madrigal (Cahuilla Band of Indians of Turtle Mountain Chippewa descent). Isabella started her career in acting and screenwriting when she was young and she attended a performing arts high school to deepen her artistic commitment. She acted, wrote, and co-directed her first play, “Menil and Her Heart,” when she was 16. The play focuses on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People (MMIWG2S). She found inspiration at home with family through songs and language revitalization, such as her father, Luke Madrigal's, work with Cahuilla bird songs. She was also influenced by working with other Indigenous organizations, artists, and activists, such as her mentor, Abigail Hawk, who co-authored a 2018 report addressing the data crisis of MMIWG2S. Isabella continued to focus on film through her studies at Harvard College, where she won the prestigious Harvard Hoopes Thesis Prize for her screenplay, “Menil and Her Heart.”

“Aside from the native representation, I wanted to go back to our ways of knowing and our stories and see what kind of wisdom could be applied to contemporary situations…And in going back to the stories, I saw a wisdom and a connection to the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples.”

Bridging the aspects of Indigenous storytelling and film-making, Isabella and her sister Sophia are the Co-Directors of the Luke Madrigal Indigenous Storytelling Nonprofit, named after their father, who passed in 2020, which produces and creates films, theater performances, and art workshops dedicated to uplifting Indigenous voices. Recently, Isabella was a 2023-2024 filmmaking recipient of the Center for Cultural Power’s Culture Bearer Award. 

Going forward, Isabella will be training and continuing her coaching in acting while also working with her sister to lead workshops and support Indigenous film creators. 

“At the heart of a lot of what I do is rooting the understanding that Indigenous cultural knowledge systems and oral traditions and artistic expressions are essential to the wellbeing of Indigenous communities. So I believe that stories are medicine, and our culture is medicine.”

With First Peoples Fund's support, Kenneth Shirley and Isabella Madrigal are advancing their artistic careers and fostering a greater sense of community and cultural pride for the younger generation of Indigenous dancers and filmmakers. Their dedication to blending traditional dances and stories in theatre and film demonstrates the power of Indigenous artistry in shaping the future of arts and culture. As they continue to develop their careers, Kenneth Shirley and Isabella Madrigal stand as pillars in their communities to share the stage and cultural knowledge as medicine for people across the nations.