If life were a superhero movie, one of the major characters would be Ray Halbritter. That’s because the Oneida Indian Nation member has traveled a true superhero journey, using his connections and power not only to raise the visibility and elevate the prosperity of Native Americans, but to change the very culture of the country.
If that sounds like a heavy lift, consider Halbritter’s background, which contains elements of tragedy and triumph. He grew up in New York and New Jersey. Later, living on Native land and employed as an ironworker, he watched, heard and smelled as his aunt and uncle perished in a calamitous trailer home fire because city workers refused to set foot there.
It’s a part of his story that a screenwriter could have used to justify Halbritter’s role as either villain or hero. But this isn’t an origin story for Thanos or Bane. Halbritter, this year’s recipient of Variety’s Creative Leadership Award, is more similar to Captain America with regard to his strength, fortitude and symbolism for an entire Nation. Even better: he’s not fictional, he’s a living symbol for the Oneida — a beacon of change and a mentor.
The horrific failure of the government on the part of his people spurred Halbritter to action. “At first, I thought, ‘Now’s the time we can approach wealthy people or organizations to help us’; we’re going to have their sympathy because of this horrible tragedy,” he says. “But then I thought, ‘What if we were those people?’ I wanted to create an alternative where our economy could help us take care of ourselves.”
As part of his ambitious plan, Halbritter took the path of getting a top-notch education. He first graduated from Syracuse University in 1985 and subsequently from Harvard Law in 1990. Armed with degrees that society at large couldn’t help but respect, Halbritter then set his sights on improving the lives of the Oneida people.
Among his many long-sighted accomplishments was acquiring more land for the Nation, where he built diversified businesses to sustain his people. He engineered landmark deals with both the federal and New York governments regarding property and land use. Originally named Oneida Nation Enterprises, the corporate entity Halbritter established became Turning Stone Enterprises — an economic engine for Upstate New York.
Turning Stone’s business portfolio now includes multiple resorts, gaming, recreation, retail and service brands — all owned and operated by the Oneida Indian Nation. The earnings generated by these enterprises allowed the Oneidas to become the first Native Nation in history to forego federal government funds.
Paying it forward, as the Oneida believe in making decisions with seven generations of descendants in mind, Halbritter guided the Oneidas in a triple initiative of historical preservation, recognition by the outside world and philanthropy. The Nation endowed a Harvard professorship in American Indian law, became a founding donor of the Museum of the American Revolution and stands as one of the largest donors to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.
Perhaps most memorably, with Halbritter at the helm, the Nation fought a successful campaign to have the NFL’s Washington, D.C., franchise change its name from the Redskins to Commanders. As of April, 21 states have banned Native mascots in schools outside of those on Reservations.
Having earned the money to financially support his vision, Halbritter set his sights strategically on Hollywood and the entertainment business. One of the earliest relationships he established was with the Environmental Media Assn. and its CEO Debbie Levin, now passing its second decade of partnership.
The EMA strives to further environmental education through storytelling in all formats, a method of teaching that is also integral to the Oneida people. “We really understood each other,” says Levin of their early meetings. “He thought that our mission, to use entertainment to tell climate stories to a global audience, was amazing.” Halbritter now serves as chair of the EMA’s board.
Halbritter’s connections to entertainment continued to deepen. When renowned guitarist Stevie Salas, an Apache, completed his documentary “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World,” he connected with Halbritter, who later signed on as an executive producer. The project brought to light previously unrecognized contributions of Native Americans in music, unidentified in part because of how the musicians once cloaked their heritage.
Of their first meeting, Salas recalls he “proceeded to get [his] mind blown, from [Halbritter’s] first words on.” He continues: “It really hit me that if you create something that’s entertainment, you can trick people into learning something and not have to bludgeon them over the head
with guilt.”
The filmmaker-musician, who has played alongside Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart, says he initially “assumed I was the first Native American to ever play [at Madison Square Garden]. I kissed the stage at soundcheck!” he laughs. Like the film’s audiences, he learned in the process that Natives Jesse Davis and Robbie Robertson had played there multiple times. People hid their Native backgrounds in the past; the film’s and Halbritter’s mission is to change that.
“Rumble” earned multiple accolades, including the 2017 Sundance Film Festival’s Special Jury Award for Masterful Storytelling.
Halbritter believes it’s key that audiences see Natives in a variety of roles. “When I grew up … the only [Natives] I saw on a screen were attacking somebody, and they eventually all got shot and killed,” says Halbritter, adding that he never saw Natives in positions of political leadership.
Pursuing the goal of visibility for his people, one year he accepted an invitation to be grand marshal at a local parade. This eventually led to his 2022 launch of the first Native float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Efforts like Halbritter’s have helped Native Americans continue their slow but steady march forward. This year, Martin Scorsese’s high-profile film “Killers of the Flower Moon” casts a spotlight on the overwhelming challenges they’ve faced.
Says Halbritter, who attended the film’s premiere: “What a conscious attempt by director Martin Scorsese to represent something accurate [without being] patronizing. [The film] didn’t run away from the truth.”
Of course, well before the release of Scorsese’s Oscar contender came James Cameron’s “Avatar.” Halbritter says it’s “monumental [how Cameron] took a story about an Indigenous population confronting a hostile colonizing force and made it the most popular film of all time.”
When the pair met in person, a friendship formed. In an email, Cameron said that “Ray is a strategist and has won again and again for Indigenous peoples through sometimes quiet but highly effective work behind the scenes. He’s extraordinarily humble. I am constantly inspired by Ray’s curiosity, vision, determination and humanity.”
Halbritter has joined the Academy Museum’s board of trustees. Jacqueline Stewart, director and president of the Academy Museum, notes that “it’s not just the things that are on display [that matter]. You’re inviting communities of people, hopefully diverse groups, to come in and experience those things together. That’s where museums do their most powerful work.”
In 2021, Halbritter was instrumental in presenting an Academy Museum event honoring the contributions of Native artists, including Robbie Robertson, Tantoo Cardinal and Wes Studi. “I love the movies,” reflects Halbritter. “So it’s great to be involved in a way that will contribute, hopefully, to a better understanding and a better representation of who our people are, and make a difference in
the world.”
“There’s just so little recognition of the cultural contributions of Native peoples,” says Stewart. “I don’t think the general public ever really thinks about the range and depth of ways that Native American artists have contributed to cinema.”
Continuing to harness the power of Hollywood, Halbritter is developing a film about the Carlisle Indian School, an assimilation-minded boarding school in Carlisle, Pa., that future Olympian Jim Thorpe attended and has come under fire for harsh conditions. Halbritter wants to highlight how its football team consisted of underdogs and later won the national championship. Audiences “are not going to watch it if they think you’re trying to educate them; they’ll watch it if it’s entertaining. It’s just human nature,” he says.
Halbritter wants the world to see Natives as historically significant, existing beyond the archives and contributing to the present and the future. And he wants real change. “All of these elements are like raindrops,” he says. “They make a difference in small ways, but they eventually make a difference, and something grows from that.”
