Indigenous identity, culture, and representation are at the heart of aNm’s work. Founder, Michael Sheyahshe, is an enrolled member of the Caddo Nation and formerly appointed both Tax Commissioner for and a former Museum Trustee for the Caddo Nation Heritage Museum. Michael holds two Bachelor of Arts cum laude degrees, one in Native American Studies and the other in Film & Media Studies, and is the author of Native Americans in Comic Books: A Critical Study from McFarland Publications.
As part of Collaboration Group that focused on Vulnerable Populations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Michael chaired the committee and co-authored the section on “Ethnic and Cultural Minority Populations” in the Centers for Public Health Preparedness Network’s 2006-2007 Vulnerable Populations Collaboration Group Preparedness Resource Kit. “The charge of this group was to develop introductory training materials on select vulnerable populations that could be of help to public health practitioners.”
Michael has created comic book illustrations and interactive 3D media for both online and physical museum displays for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian (“NMAI”).
Michael’s comic book scripts – adaptations of traditional Caddo (Hasinai) stories, “Strike & Bolt”, “Do Wild Turkeys Dream of Electric Drums?”, & “Xenesi: The Traveler” – are published in MOONSHOT: The Indigenous Comic Collection, volumes 1-3. Michael authored the introductions on both volumes 1 & 2 and co-edited volume 3 along with Elizabeth LaPensée, Ph.D., (*Anishinaabe*, *Métis*, and *settler-Irish*).
Michael has created graphic novels as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime’s (“OVC”) Child Victims and Witnesses Support Materials, which provide age-appropriate resources to support children and youth during their involvement with the justice system as a victim or witness to a crime. He served as Cultural Consultant for Darkhorse Comics & provided coloration for Tim Truman’s Scout: Marauder comic.
At aNm, we author, develop, and create intrinsically Indigenous, culturally authentic, creatively artistic, technologically enhanced, academically backed, quality services & solutions – like, software applications, comic books, games & interactive experiences, eLearning content, & more – for individuals, nonprofit & 503c groups, educational organizations, Indigenous tribal nations, tribal & US national museums, US federal departments, & international software companies.
Contact us today to discuss your project needs.