Team
John Hosteen
Director / Cinematographer / WriterJohn L. Hosteen II is a Navajo Community Health Advocate, Outdoor Recreation Educator, and independent filmmaker from Red Mesa, AZ. Since 2018, he has built documentary work around Diné cultural knowledge, public health outreach, and environmental justice.
His approach to storytelling — like his work as a guide and facilitator — is rooted in Diné teachings of adaptability, self-awareness, and connection to the land. For My Precious Ones is his second feature-length documentary.
Michael Ramsey
Founder of Spoken Image and Nautilus Pictures, San Francisco-based production companies that specialize in producing high-impact documentaries and campaigns. Michael’s work on over 100 hours of broadcast television, award-winning documentaries, and campaigns informs his work now on environmental, climate change, and science communications stories.
Producer / Editor / DOP
Brianna Lameman
Associate ProducerA Diné PhD candidate, farmer, and health educator from Shiprock, NM. In the film, Bree bravely shares her account of surviving breast cancer and how Diné traditions and community guided her recovery and re-ignited her commitment to teaching regenerative agriculture to her community.
Writer / PerformerLuci Tapohonso
Professor Emerita of English Literature and the inaugural Poet Laureate of the Navajo Nation. Performs her poem “This Is How They Were Placed for Us” in the film.
Hazel James Tohe
A Diné matriarch and lead coordinator of the San Juan Collaborative for Health Equity. Has been the team’s touchstone for sharing sensitive cultural teachings on screen.
Consultant
ConsultantDavid Begay, Ph.D.
A tribal elder and Associate Research Professor at the University of New Mexico; former VP for Diné College; two decades of NASA/JPL education outreach.
Star /HerselfRobynn Hosteen
Robbyn is, well, a wonderful person and is seen growing up throughout the film and learning along with her father on this beautiful journey.
Emeritus faculty member of the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Since retiring, his projects include the documentaries For My Precious Ones and Our Story, media outreach supporting the protection of Bears Ears National Monument, and Indigenous land return efforts. For nearly twenty years, his philanthropic focus has been climate change research (ice core analysis) on atmospheric carbon in prehistoric eras.
Executive Producer