Miroslava (Miros) Gonzalez

Miroslava is an indigenous, Mexican American mother and storyteller on a journey to reclaim her cultural truth. Throughout her life, Miros’ insatiable curiosity was nurtured by the wealth of oral culture and traditions passed down to her from her ancestors. As such, she has always been a storyteller. Her desire is to share stories reflecting her cultural richness, a point of view integral to the world and our humanity, although often grossly underrepresented.

To sharpen her voice and craft, Miros studied journalism and found ways to use her skill set for service. She currently works with anti-human trafficking and domestic violence non-profits as a community advocate. She helped mobilize more than 200 volunteers during the height of the pandemic to create hand-made face masks and face shields for marginalized communities with limited access to PPE.

Miros began her journey as an emerging filmmaker with her first project, The Bears On Pine Ridge (TBOPR). The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota has declared three separate States of Emergency due to youth suicide rates reaching the highest levels in the country. The Bears On Pine Ridge amplifies the voices of two respected female elders who lead the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s only suicide prevention team, while mentoring a group of suicide-survivor teenagers to find their voice, encouraging them to bring hope and awareness to the reservation. Miros was instrumental in helping the TBOPR project become a feature film as this award-winning documentary was being developed into a feature that will air on public television (PBS) in the U.S. and Latin-America. Miros, who is Co-Producer and Executive Producer of the feature film, began as a volunteer in 2020 and soon became a driving force as a producer for the project. Her efforts helped to take TBOPR short film project to dozens of film festivals and community screenings in an effort to spread awareness about the ongoing Indigenous youth mental health crisis.

Miros finds inspiration and fortitude from an inspiring lineage of strong maternal figures – Yaqui warrior women from the Sonoran Desert. She is an enrolled member of the Yaquis of Southern California. Our ancestors are Yoeme/Yaquis Indigenous Tribe that has roots in both Sonora, Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, and she recently completed a Public Leadership Credential at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In addition to News Writing and Production, she also studied Political Science, Cinema, Business Administration, Contemporary Moral & Social Issues, and Ideology & Political Conflict.