Shirley Sneve
ICT
On the surface, the acclaimed new film, “Tiger,” is about an Indigenous family’s T-shirt business. But it goes far beyond the family business.
The short documentary, which premieres Jan. 25 at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of artist Dana Tiger and her family as they forge ahead through grief after the deaths of their father, artist Jerome Tiger.
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Sundance describes the film as “a portrait of award-winning, internationally acclaimed Indigenous artist and elder Dana Tiger, her family, and the resurgence of the iconic Tiger T-shirt company.”
Director and screenwriter Loren Waters met Tiger while serving as the background casting director for the hit TV series, “Reservation Dogs,” and the two women developed a lasting friendship.
Waters, Cherokee and Kiowa, and Tiger, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation who is also of Seminole and Cherokee descent, are co-producers of the film.
“This film follows Dana through an experimental and dreamy way of her grief and also how she finds resilience through her art and surviving through many things that have happened to her and her family, “ Waters told ICT.
“This film is definitely more than just about the T-shirts,” Waters said. “I think that it is a symbol of the culture and the art that everyone knows and speaks to this story. And I think that with Dana’s father passing when she was young, when she was five years old, and then her family starting this business, they were able to sustain themselves and be really successful just through their art, which was very rare at the time, in the ‘80s.”
The film is now an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. Tickets are available for the in-person screenings at the festival in Park City, Utah, and are also available to screen the film online from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3.
Family struggles
Dana Tiger’s father was an up-and-coming visual artist, who died when she was a young child.
In an effort to provide an income for the family, Dana’s mother started the Tiger Art Gallery and the T-shirt business, celebrating her father’s artwork. She and her siblings all worked in the business.
After her brother was murdered in 1990, however, the family struggled and eventually closed the gallery and T-shirt business.
The gallery was dark for about 30 years until just a few years ago. The first day that Waters came to Dana Tiger’s house to film was the day the family dusted off the silkscreen and printed T-shirts for the first time in three decades. The Tiger Art Gallery has also reopened.
“We explore her and her family’s journey through those events, [with] the T-shirt business being something that is foundational to who they are, and then returning to that, which is really special,” Waters said.
By then, Dana Tiger had become an artist in her own right, with guidance from her uncle, painter Johnny Tiger Jr. She is perhaps best known for her watercolor and acrylic paintings that reflect the strength of Native women.
Her works now hang in galleries, universities and other institutions, and she was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in 2001. Her daughter, Christie, studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and her younger brother, Lisan, is an award-winning sculptor, according to her website.
She and her husband, Don Blair, and family also now manage the Tiger Art Gallery in Muskogee, Oklahoma, which features her work.
‘A deeper spiritual level’
Waters is well-known in the Oklahoma Native film community, working on “Reservation Dogs,” “Fancy Dance” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.” She was chosen for the 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list for her film work.
“Learning that I was on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in the media category was definitely a shocker when I woke up and got an email congratulating me,” Waters said. “I’m just honored and I hope that this recognition really gives our community a boost … just showing that being able to work on these projects like ‘Rez Dogs’ and ‘Fancy Dance’ really allows community members to shine in the best way. And that’s really what this award and recognition is about for me.”
She also shares her success with her team on “Tiger,” including Robert Hunter, Blackfeet and Shoshone Paiute, who is the director of photography. Trevor Kowalski created the soundtrack for the film.
Waters said the music and sound are integral to the film.
“Our score and our sound design was very intentional,” Waters said. “When you watch this film, you’ll hear Dana whispering, you’ll hear different notes of the music that were carefully crafted.
“And you’ll also hear some, a song by Witko Long, who is a Muscogee elder, and it’s a Muscogee hymn,” Waters said. “It’s actually about two siblings, sisters, that are missing each other on the Trail of Tears. The whispering is actually all the names of her family members and the names of the T-shirts that they printed. So while we may not know that that’s what she’s saying, I feel like those little built-in intentional pieces really make it special in a deeper spiritual level.”
She continued, “The music really just matches the mood that takes you through these really sad and deep moments, and then also really uplifts you.”
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