Peter Bratt

Why do you do what you do?

I was drawn to the Foundation because its work reflects a commitment to community—both in action and intention. As a storyteller and advocate, I’ve seen how change happens when people are heard, supported, and trusted. I want to be part of work that stays grounded in that kind of care.

What drew you to the foundation?

I do this work to honor the spiritual warriors who paved the way for so many of us—and to carry forward what truly matters.

Biography

Peter Bratt is a Peabody Award-winning, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, Rockefeller Fellow, and member of the Directors Guild of America. He is also a recipient of the UC Santa Cruz Social Sciences Alumni of the Year Award.

Born and raised in San Francisco by a strong Indigenous mother from Peru, Peter’s early life was deeply shaped by activism. His family was directly involved in pivotal social justice movements, including the American Indian Occupation of Alcatraz, the Wounded Knee stand-off, the Pacific Northwest fishing rights struggle, and the United Farm Workers movement.

As a writer, producer, and director, Peter’s work centers on stories of resistance, healing, and cultural reclamation. He explores how individuals and communities restore identity, dignity, land, and voice—often in the face of historical and ongoing systems of erasure. His creative vision is grounded in Indigenous worldviews, and in the belief that reclaiming story and space is essential to survival, sovereignty, and transformation.

Peter has also served as a consultant and advocate for numerous community-based and Indigenous organizations, including the International Indian Treaty Council, Amazon Watch, BAYCAT, H.O.M.I.E.S., Instituto Familiar De La Raza, CANA, the Native American Health Center, the San Francisco American Indian Cultural District, and Friendship House Association of American Indians.

He currently serves as Project Lead for The Village SF, a groundbreaking initiative led by Friendship House Association of American Indians to establish the first-ever urban Indigenous village in the United States. The Village SF will provide culturally rooted housing, healthcare, behavioral health services, workforce development, and ceremonial space for Native American families in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.