Yvette Walker
With KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker. This is IE Latino Voices, where we invite representatives from Latino led and Latino serving organizations to share their stories and their impacts in our region. Joining me today is Frank Blanquet, manager of FNX, First Nations Experience television. Thank you so much for being with us today, Frank.
Frank Blanquet
Thank you for having me. Pleasure being here.
Yvette Walker
So Frank, how did you become involved in FNX and now leading the platform focused on indigenous communities?
Frank Blanquet
I was a student here at San Bernardino Valley College in the radio, television and film department. And the very first project that I touched when I came in as a student was a series called People of the Pines, and that series really paved the way for what the FNX channel is today. It was a partnership with the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel tribe, and that project was by the beginning of a partnership with the tribe that led to the eventual launch of the FNX channel.
Yvette Walker
So how did FNX emerge as an authority of Indigenous communities?
Frank Blanquet
You know, it's being out in the community. You know, being a microphone and a platform for community members. I think, you know, being here in this region, we started working with San Manuel, Yuhaaviatam, and Morongo and Soboba and Agua Caliente and Torres Martinez, Spotlight 29 so we worked with a lot of the local tribes. And then as we moved out, you know, started doing work with Pechanga, started working with tribes along the coast, which would be the state recognized tribes, or tribes that don't have federal recognition. We've worked across the country now with tribes like all over the US, but we've also expanded. We've worked in Canada, we've worked in Mexico, we've worked in New Zealand, and so really offering representation to Indigenous communities worldwide, but starting homegrown.
Yvette Walker
What's most exciting is the fact that this is the first ever of its kind broadcasting and content of FNX and Indigenous communities. What has the feedback been?
Frank Blanquet
You know, the community has taken very well to FNX, and I think when you're improperly represented in mainstream media - You think of Kevin Costner movies in general when they pertain to Native people. John Wayne movies, cowboy and Indian movies, where you grow up as a native person, thinking that you're the bad guy, and then you don't want to be native anymore. You know, it's that change that I think FNX started really having a lot of, I don't want to say that we started, but on a broadcast side, on this grand a scale, I think we were the first national broadcaster and really lending a voice to these Indigenous stories. You know, having something on a consistent basis that you're always going to tune into this channel and it's always going to represent you. I think the feedback was almost immediately positive.
Yvette Walker
What is the key message you're focused on delivering about our Indigenous communities?
Frank Blanquet
That we're still here. Part of the problem with the stereotypes that we've been getting in mainstream media is that you always look at Native people on horseback, you know? And I think we're changing that. We're showing Native people in current forms. We're showing Native people as actors and actresses, directors. We're showing them as doctors and lawyers. Native people are contemporary people, and I think that's the biggest change that I think we want to establish.
Yvette Walker
Well, one story you shared with me really stood out, and that was an audience member that had been following FNX for 15 years from the time they were five years old. What kind of impact was made on this person's life, knowing that he felt connected and he felt like he had a place in the world to turn to that reflected his culture?
Frank Blanquet
We were at a conference, and we were walking in to this building, and the very first interaction that we had was this young man. And when we walked in, we had our camera equipment and we had our FNX shirts on and he looked at the FNX logo, he's like, "Wow, you guys are with FNX. That's all I watched when I was growing up." And, you know, and for somebody that's now 20, next year, will be 15 years old, and he's had representation for most of his life, and that's the change that we really want to see in our communities, having that sense of pride instilled in our youth from an early age to make sure that they grow up with confidence and self value that maybe wasn't present before or might actually had a negative impact before.
Yvette Walker
Well, that's such a noble cause, transforming a narrative from being stigmatized to being celebrated and triumphant. What are your goals as you look at the horizon of celebrating 15 years dedicated to elevating the stories of Indigenous communities?
Frank Blanquet
I think continuing what we're doing. You know, we've been in existence since September of 2011 and we wanted to give our youth things that we had also, but with a native spin, right? We thought back when we were in high school, like we got home and we turned on MTV and watched music videos, right? And we wanted to give that to our Native youth. So we launched a music series called The AUX - Aboriginal Unity Experience that airs every Friday still to this day since it launched, but we want to make sure that we continue in that path as offering, you know, these types of programming. And we launched our app on May 1. Before that, we were still broadcasting, and we're in 34 states, growing that trying to be in all 50 states across the country. But with the app, it immediately put us in every household with high speed internet capabilities. We want to be the go to hub for our native communities and for outside communities looking for native content. We want to be that hub where you know that you're going to get proper and authentic Native stories, Native centric stories, Indigenous stories, on FNX. And the app gives us not only that capability here in the US, but it's already set up to be an international app. And you'll start seeing more of that either at the end of 2025 or in 2026 we expect to be an international app.
Yvette Walker
Well, that is a very exciting update. How can the community support FNX? And in addition to catching a segment on the app, what channel? What other programming platforms can they catch an episode?
Frank Blanquet
Well, here in the Inland Empire, on KVCR, we're 24.2. We launched as a digital sub channel of KVCR. And across the country, if you want to know how you could watch the channel, fnx.org, is going to tell you where we're available. But also you can watch the station by downloading the app. The app is available on Roku, fire stick, Apple phones, Android phones, smart TVs, so it's one of the most accessible ways for any public television broadcaster to be viewed by people that want to consume Native content. And as far as funding goes, we're grant funded, viewer supported, just like any other PBS station you know, which I think public television right now, in general is in trouble. But on the FNX page, there is a support so fnx.org/support is one of the ways that you can help FNX out.
Yvette Walker
Frank, thank you so much for your work and for your dedication to delivering this truly revolutionary educational resource for people around the world.
Frank Blanquet
Well, thank you. I'm very happy to be here, and KVCR is near and dear to me, because this is where I got my career start, and so I'm happy to help any way that I can.
Yvette Walker
Frank Blanquet is the manager of FNX, First Nations Experience television. Join us again next week for IE Latino Voices. You can find this story and others on our website, at kvcrnews.org/IELatinoVoices. IE Latino Voices is produced by KVCR Public Media and is funded by generous support from the CIELO Fund at IECF, uplifting and investing in the IE's Latino community. For KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker.
