Kusem Goodwind speaks to Native youth, college audiences, and the rooms deciding what comes next. He treats a keynote as an exchange rather than an appearance — in his words, it should be about them, not about him. He keynoted the 2025 UNITY Midyear Conference.
▶ Watch the keynote · 20 minWhat changes when a young person watches a film that includes them — and what it took to get Rez Ball made without a white savior at the centre of it. Told from inside the production, not about it.
Native youth · college audiencesHis name means Continual Rising of the Sun, and it was given to him by elders. A talk about inherited responsibility, about competing with yourself rather than with the room, and about going home on purpose.
Youth programmes · leadership roomsThe character he played dies by suicide. He speaks about what that asked of him and what the film asks of the people watching it — carefully, and with the room properly supported.
Requires an on-site counsellor“To have Indigenous youth be able to see themselves on the screen — growing up, I didn't have a film like this.”
From the stage · UNITY Midyear 2025
“Just to be part of Rez Ball, which is a story that resonates with all of Indian country — it's a huge honor, honestly.”
Kusem Goodwind · TMZ Sports
Dates, audience, format, and budget. You will hear back within 24 hours, even if the answer is no.