Chris Eyre

Cheyenne/Arapaho · actors

Chris Eyre (born 1968) is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma and the most influential Native American filmmaker of his generation. He directed "Smoke Signals" (1998), the first feature film written, directed, and co-produced by Native Americans to receive a wide theatrical release — it won the Audience Award at Sundance. Eyre went on to direct "Skins" (2002), "Edge of America" (2003), and numerous television episodes including "Friday Night Lights" and "Reservation Dogs." Adopted at birth and raised by a non-Native family in Oregon, he reconnected with his tribal heritage as a young man. He studied at NYU Film School and has mentored countless Indigenous filmmakers throughout his career.