Tomás Karmelo Amaya

Tomás Karmelo Amaya was born for the A:shiwi, Rarámuri, and Yoeme tribes. He is a creative director, filmmaker, writer, visual artist, and Indigenous futurist. His work focuses on creating opportunities for healing by embracing intentionality and Indigenous teachings in all forms of expression. He was raised in West Phoenix, Arizona on the ancestral homelands of The O’odham, Yavapai, Piipaash, Maricopa, and Yaqui tribes. His work has been published and featured with the New York Times, CNN, Now This News, Nike, Patagonia, Hasselblad, and Apple among several others. He and his wife, Siera Begaye Amaya, co-own Kanion, a creative agency and production company based out of Phoenix, Arizona. As a public speaker and educator, his most recent keynote was at Princeton University’s Carl A. Fields Center for Equality + Cultural Understanding to speak on visual storytelling, kinship, and community.