Internationally acclaimed Native American filmmaker Phil Lucas

BELLEVUE, WASH. – Phil Lucas, Emmy-winning, internationally known producer of feature films and documentaries, died February 4, 2007, of natural causes. He was 65.

Mr. Lucas, a resident of Issaquah, had been an instructor at Bellevue Community College since 1999.

A Choctaw Native American, Mr. Lucas was a pioneering filmmaker -- one of the first Native Americans to take control of the camera in an industry where native voices are rarely heard. His creative legacy remains not only as entertainment but as important historical documentation of the American Indian experience.

In an extraordinary career spanning four decades Mr. Lucas wrote, produced or directed 107 feature films, television series and documentaries, including the feature film Broken Chain, starring Pierce Brosnan, and several PBS documentaries about Native Americans.

In 1980 Mr. Lucas produced the breakthrough PBS series Images of Indians, hosted by Will Sampson. The series challenged Hollywood stereotypes of Indians and their damaging effects on native people. Phil Lucas Productions went on to create dozens more groundbreaking programs on issues affecting indigenous peoples.

Mr. Lucas won numerous awards for his productions, including an Emmy for his work on Turner Broadcasting System’s highly acclaimed “Native American” series, and an Emmy nomination for his film Dances for a New Generation, a documentary about the American Indian Dance Theater. His 1986 television production, Honour of All, the true story of how the Alkali Lake Band of Indians in British Columbia conquered alcoholism in their remote community, won the prestigious international public television INPUT award and inspired native recovery movements around the world.

Mr. Lucas’ film on American Indian artist Alan Houser garnered awards at the Santa Fe and Taos film festivals, and he was personally honored at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival for his work. Most recently, Mr. Lucas won a Cine Eagle award for Native Tongues, part of the Vis-à-vis Series on PBS.

In addition to being an exceptionally talented filmmaker, Mr. Lucas was a gifted teacher, first at the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation in Seattle, later at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and the University of Lethbridge in Canada, and finally at Bellevue Community College, where he was the primary force behind the college’s annual American Indian Film Festival.

“In the American Indian tradition, Phil was incredibly generous with his wealth of knowledge,” said Bellevue Community College President Jean Floten. “It will be impossible to fill the void that this great man has left.”

Mr. Lucas is survived by his wife, Mary Lou, and his five children, Josh, Amra, Jason, Jessy, and Sara.

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