"Move Aside," New Ad Campaign for American Indian College Fund, Highlights Potential of Tribal College Graduates in Workplace

DENVER, CO – At the heart of the American Indian College Fund’s latest PSA campaign, “Move Aside,” is the unwavering potential of tribal college students. Launching on Indigenous Peoples’ Day in partnership with Wieden+Kennedy Portland, the campaign shines a light on the growing number of Native Americans with college degrees (more than 300,000) while centering on and celebrating the Indigenous experience.

W+K Creative Director Patty Orlando and creative team members Robin Maxkii and Brad Trost saw an opportunity to create something unapologetically Native subverting the formal and outdated everyday symbolism and language of corporate America and breaking tribal stereotypes. Directed by Erica Tremblay of the Seneca-Cayuga (most notably known for her film, Fancy Dance), the film is based on the simple concept of bringing to life a cover letter, where we witness a Native graduate (her character played by Reservation Dogs’ Elva Guerra) preparing to take on her promising future ahead.

Guerra’s character explains that she has over 20,000 years of experience and mentoring from the generations of Native elders’ hands who came before her. Tribal colleges helped her develop her skills; her culture helped her develop her knowledge; and in the final scene, she looks forward to taking this job opportunity—and other applicants can “Move Aside” — as seen in the ending tagline.

While creating the film, the W+K trio ensured every detail of the campaign was rooted in Native culture by presenting traditional elements in authentic and unexpected ways. The Indigenous crew, wardrobe, production design and props, and even the iconic muscle car symbolize freedom, happiness, and confidence.

“The campaign line is ‘Move Aside’ and that is what we tried to do. Rather than working in our usual way, we engaged an up-and-coming director from Reservation Dogs, Erica Tremblay,” Orlando said. “From there things just fell into place as she brought in Indigenous crew partners and actress, Elva Guerra, from Oklahoma. The shoot took on a life of its own, with Erica calling out crew calls in her native Iroquoian language. I think you can feel all these decisions and intentions in the finished work.”