Filming “Trail of Tears Series” at Cherokee Film Studios | Waterdrum Films
In October, we spent a day at Cherokee Film Studios on the Cherokee Nation Reservation, filming interviews for a four-part documentary series we are producing for the Atlanta History Center.
For me, this was not just another shoot. As a Cherokee filmmaker, telling the story of the Cherokee and Muscogee Creek removal carries a weight that is hard to put into words. To do that work on Cherokee Nation soil, in a studio built and owned by the Nation, made the day feel like exactly where it was supposed to happen.
The Project
The series offers an immersive introduction to the Cherokee and Muscogee Creek removal stories. Told through expert interviews, contemporary visuals, and moments of artful watercolor animation, the four films invite viewers to reflect on what it means to belong to a place, and what it feels like to lose it. The arc moves quietly but powerfully, from cultural identity and deep connection to land, through political betrayal and growing pressure, to the threshold of forced removal. Each film is designed for looped, passive playback in the Atlanta History Center, so visitors can enter and exit the experience without needing a linear narrative.
The goal is not simply to depict this history. It is to evoke it, with clarity, dignity, and emotional resonance.
The Day
We were honored to film with leaders and experts who carry these stories forward, including Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. of the Cherokee Nation and Principal Chief David Hill of the Muscogee Nation. Their voices, alongside other Native historians and cultural leaders, ground the series in truth and lived experience.
The shoot took place at Cherokee Film Studios in the Tulsa metro, a state-of-the-art facility with certified soundstages and virtual production capabilities, operated within the Cherokee Nation. Filming this story in that space added a layer of meaning that no other location could have offered.
The Collaboration
Pictured: Christopher Hunt of Waterdrum Films, Ben Arredondo of Picturestart Productions, F. Sheffield Hale, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Atlanta History Center, and Chuck Hoskin Jr.,the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
We worked alongside Ben Arredondo and PictureStart Productions on the shoot, a partnership we are grateful for. Bringing a story like this to the screen takes a team that understands both the craft and the responsibility, and we were in good company.
Looking Ahead
This series is some of the most meaningful work we have had the privilege to take on. We are proud to be helping the Atlanta History Center bring these stories to its visitors, and proud to do it in a way that honors the people whose history it is.