DezBaa’ Uses Film to Teach Young and Old About the Secret Life of Bugs and What They Mean to the Navajo Nation

DezBaa’ is a Navajo actor, screenwriter, director, and filmmaker born in Santa Fe and raised in Española, New Mexico. She is a citizen of the Diné Nation and a professor of Indigenous Cinema at Northern New Mexico College.

Silver Lining commissioned this work from DezBaa’ as part of the small.artists Mini Doc series, supported by Wells Fargo.

Her path to storytelling began in science. DezBaa’ holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Amherst College and worked as a geologist for the Navajo Nation’s Division of Natural Resources before pivoting to film. She holds two MFAs from the Institute of American Indian Arts — one in screenwriting, one in creative nonfiction. Her name was given to her as a child by the late Dr. Fred Begay, a family friend and the first Navajo physicist. It means: She’s Going on a Raid.

On screen, DezBaa’ is known for three seasons as Helen Atcitty on AMC’s Dark Winds and for roles alongside Jessica Chastain, Julianne Moore, Christian Bale, and Michael Shannon. She was also a staff writer on Season 2 of Dark Winds.

Her current project turns toward a smaller, older story — a small business dedicated to teaching communities, young and old, about the secret life of insects and why their survival is bound up with the survival of the Navajo people.