I wasn't public with this bc I was afraid of the backlash, but I was chosen to be in last year's Indigenous Fellows Animation Labs (the 2nd one) and I was originally so happy about it. I ended up rescinding my participation for the program days before however. 1/
A week and a half before the program got started, I got this article on my newsfeed: daily-times.com/story/news/loc…. "Navajo filmmaker Kody Dayish adds another reward". My heart dropped when I saw who gave him the award. LA Skins Fest, the one behind the Animation Labs program. 2/
Kody Dayish was arrested for battery (domestic violence) back in 2013 in Shiprock, NM. Years later, in Durango, CO at 2018, he would be at the Durango Films Festival where I would be a volunteer. I had attended his film screening the night before my shift. 3/
The next day I had a FB notification that was calling for his arrest and/or any info on his whereabouts. He had lured a woman (also Navajo) to his hotel room because she was interested in a photoshoot (that he offered) after they met at a bar. He would then assault her. 4/
After that he would prevent her from leaving the room, and hid her cellphone so she couldn't call for help. After some time, he finally let her go. The entire case in detail can be read here, but TW for sexual assault: durangoherald.com/articles/21196… 5/
I was shocked at the time, doing my shift, and I knew he would be at the film festival around noon as he had another screening. He never showed up, and my superior told me that they had called him beforehand to not attend. He later gave himself willingly to the police. 6/
After some tense weeks, the case ended with a simple 1-year probation. Not for the sexual assault, or the wrongful imprisonment; simply for the "telephone obstruction". A misdemeanor that could be easily removed from his file later. daily-times.com/story/news/cri… 7/
I knew the victim's sibling, and I had contacted them privately through online messaging. I asked if they would pursue the case, and the victim's sibling said no. Kody Dayish was too "famous" and the case was already putting so much stress on them. 8/
As a victim of sexual assault as well, I was disgusted to see that members of the Navajo Nation continued to endorse and support Dayish. I would see comments saying that the victim was a liar, that she was only in it to be famous or to get money. It was saddening and upsetting.9/
So please, imagine, being in my position, seeing the man that ruined a young woman's life, getting accolades for his movie called "Parole", of which he received the Emerging Filmmaking Award at the 14th annual LA Skinsfest. A movie most likely based on his parole experience. 10/
The movies his also known feature the depiction of the abuse and assault of Indigenous women (not explicit, but very much hinted at), with the knowledge that he was charged for battery and arrested for sexual assault. Making money off of hurting the women in his own circles. 11/
I could not, in good faith and personal convictions, attend the Animation Labs. I would not associate myself with a sexual predator. It may have been a lost opportunity, but I remember his victim, who had everything taken from her that night she thought she could trust him. /end
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