Concept development team.
Exploration and development of the concepts behind successful storytelling from the Okanagan Valley First Nations communities. If your community has a story you’d like to tell us about, please get in touch.
Whitney Cardenas
HORSE ‘WRANGLER’/FIREFIGHTER/ FIRESMART COORDINATOR
Whitney Cardenas, whose heritage includes Mexican DNA, is a Penticton Indian Band member, self-described as an “Indigenous creature, with a lil bit of spice”.
Cardenas is a horse wrangler who listens to horses rather than whispering to them. She has integrated much of what she has learned from her uncles all of whom are well-known Penticton Indian band horsemen.
Whitney is keenly aware of the importance of bio-diversity in the natural environment on the 46,000 acres of PIB land. She is currently looking to develop effective means of managing the feral horse populations.
This dynamic gal is a member of the Penticton Indian Band firefighting team and is also the Firesmart Program coordinator.
Whitney will be appearing in the upcoming film ‘If Wishes Were Horses” an LA production by Eva Cohen. She is in REZ13’s ‘Settler’ Questions and will also be a key character in ‘Horse Culture as Medicine’.
Whitney’s specialties: Fire. Training Horses.
Photo: REZ13
Jonathan Kruger
DIRECTOR OF INDIGENOUS RELATIONS WESTERN CANADA AT SODEXO.
FORMER CHIEF OF PENTICTON INDIAN BAND
Kruger held two terms as Chief of the Penticton Indian Band (PIB) from 2008-2016 after serving on Council for eight years. His leadership was built on the platform of creating a Comprehensive Community Plan (CCP) and a Land Use Plan. The success of the CCP plan, lead Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) to choose Jonathan to champion and provide mentorship to other First Nations working on CCP projects.
From the outset of his leadership he advocated separating business from politics and was a proponent in the creation of the Penticton Indian Band Economic Development Corporation. He created a business-friendly environment opening PIB and Certificate of Possession (CP) holders, up for business opportunities.
Since 2017 Jonathan Kruger has been with Sodexo developing business relations with Canadian Indigenous communities throughout the Canadian territories.
He loves being on the land in his territory and believes in the Okanagan Nation Declaration “for the good of all, for all time.” Reconciliation is a critical target for Kruger who often is called to speak on the subject. For more on Jonathan read his interview on Sodexo.
Jonathan’s specialties: Business. Business Development. Tourism Development.
Photo: REZ13
Filming to resume, spring of 2025…
March 1, 2025
This spring, REZ13 will be getting back to filming for our Horse Culture as Medicine documentary.
The documentary shows the inherent value horses have in healing for people who have either directly experienced trauma or who have inherited it through intergenerational trauma. According to the Washington Post, “Intergenerational trauma can stem from biology, learned behaviors and even the collective experiences of a group. Some research suggests that trauma can affect a person's DNA and potentially influence the health of future generations far removed from the traumatic event.”
In Horse Culture as Medicine, our film is partially about overcoming inherited trauma. The key characters of the film are mainly youth who are working with horses, both riding and training, as a way to achieve confidence, discipline, and self-esteem and to overcome inherited trauma.
REZ13 will also focus on a value-added approach of training feral horses at risk of being sold “by the pound.”
Stay tuned for more details, clips and photos as we progress in filming.
