Two young Lakota sisters, refugees of the Wounded Knee Massacre, fight to survive against a relentless enemy.

Award-winning director/writer Myrton Running Wolf, and executive producer Academy Award Nominated director Terrence Malick, are pleased to announce their short film SOLDIER. Inspired by true events of the Wounded Knee Creek massacre on December 29, 1890. The film exemplifies the inclusion and participation of American Indian producers, filmed on local tribal lands, while getting away from the stereotypical Native American film.

The unique perspective shown in SOLDIER, combines historical events and focuses on a dynamic sibling relationship. The sibling narrative and mesmerizing landscapes captures the audience’s attention. Filming was done on local tribal lands, on the Pyramid Lake reservation and in the Toiyabe National Forest.

SOLDIER had three successful local film screenings on DATE at the University of Nevada Reno in the Reynold’s School of Journalism studio. The turn-out of all three screenings exceeded room capacity, rsulting in a fourth weekend screening.

On December 21, 1890, 10-year-old Chuweku and 6-year-old Thanjkaku find themselves in the heart of the Wounded Knee encampment blissfully unaware of the next day's massacre.

The next morning, the sisters and their Lakota [Sioux] Indian people are attacked by the United States Army's 7th Cavalry regiment. During the massacre, more than 350 Lakota (62 women and children) are slaughtered.


However, Chuweku and Thanjkaku narrowly escape with their lives. In the chaos, the sisters are separated and run in different directions.

​Elder sister, Chuweku, makes her way through the frozen mountains of the Black hills while her younger sister, Thanjkaku, tries to escape the massacre by dashing into the barren Dakota Bad Lands. Each sister uses her knowledge of the land and her survival wit to stay one step ahead of the U.S. Cavalry soldiers.


The relentless Army is too much for young Thanjkaku. Overtaken by long range gunfire, both Thanjkaku and her horse are mortally wounded.

The frozen high mountain passes prove insurmountable for Chuweku. Exhausted and freezing to death, the elder Lakota sister sits down under a tree and gives up her desperate fight for life.

The next morning, the U.S. Cavalry's gravediggers unceremoniously toss tiny Thanjkaku's body into a mass grave. Miles away, Chuweku sleeps on the snow near the edge of death.


Dawn breaks as the U.S. gravediggers stumble upon Chuweku's body. She clings to life, but just barely. The military personnel rush her down the snowy mountainside to safety.

Two months later, on Valentine's Day, Chuweku's rescuers bring her to the Carlisle Indian School - the infamous American Indian assimilation school that carries the motto: 'Kill the Indian, and Save the Man.' Having recovered from her near-death experience, Chuweku is deposited on the stone steps in front of the Indian school and abandoned to her uncertain fate.

Years later, after her successful assimilation, Chuweku drafts a letter recounting her and her sister's experience during the Wounded Knee Massacre. As one final act of defiance, Chuweku states that she will always be her little sister's big sister - she will never forget who she is - she is Chuweku, a Lakota Indian.
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Oklahoma and Cherokee actor Wes Studi will be among presenters at the 90th Academy Awards, scheduled Sunday, March 4, on ABC.

Standing alongside an impressive array of actors and actresses as Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and others, Native Actor Wes Studi is one of the esteemed actors that will be presenting Oscars at this year’s 90th awards.

Producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd today announced 10 more presenters for the 90th Oscars® telecast. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the Oscars will air live Sunday, March 4, on the ABC Television Network.

The additional presenters announced include Gal Gadot, Mark Hamill, Armie Hammer, Oscar Isaac, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gina Rodriguez, Eva Marie Saint, Wes Studi, Kelly Marie Tran and Zendaya.

“Together, these artists represent some of the most beloved movies of our generation,” said De Luca and Todd. “It’s an honor to welcome them to the 90th Oscars stage.”

Shortly after the announcement, Wes Studi took to Twitter stating, “Exciting News! I’m going to be presenting the Sound Editing Oscar at the Academy Awards together with Laura Dern! Tune in at 5 p.m. PST, March 4.


Studi most recently starred in “Hostiles” (2017). His starring credits also include the Oscar-winning films “Avatar” (2009), “The Last of the Mohicans” (1992) and “Dances with Wolves” (1990). Additionally, he appeared in the Oscar-nominated films “The New World” (2005) and “Geronimo: An American Legend” (1993). He will next appear in “A Dog’s Way Home.”


The 90th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be broadcast live on the ABC Television Network at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The Oscars, produced by De Luca and Todd and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, also will be televised in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide. Additionally, “The Oscars: All Access” live stream from the red carpet and backstage will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on Oscar.com.
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I’m so honored! Thank you! https://t.co/ihoUMHuhr6

— Wes Studi (@WesleyStudi) February 22, 2018

Played by the Cherokee actor Wes Studi, Yellow Hawk, family-focused and deeply spiritual, forges a slow bond of mutual respect with Bale’s character Joseph Blocker.

Yellow Hawk helps Blocker perceive the humanity in his once mortal foe. It is undeniable, and, throughout the course of the movie, the men will fight alongside each other.

It’s a moving portrayal by both men, and it has a lot of moviegoers wondering: Was Chief Yellow Hawk real?

There was an Indian Chief named Yellow Hawk in real life, but he was a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux people, not the Northern Cheyenne of Montana, and he did not die in the mountains after a trip with a cavalry soldier. In other words, the Yellow Hawk in Hostiles is a fictionalized character.

However, the story of the real Chief Yellow Hawk is a fascinating one.

According to the Cheyenne River Sioux website, geographically, the Lakota to which he belonged “are the most western of the groups and there are seven distinct bands. Four of the Lakota bands (Minnicoujou, Itazipco, Siha Sapa, and Oohenumpa) are located on the land known as the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.”


The Northern Cheyenne tribe, which is located in Montana – the state where the movie Yellow Hawk heads to be buried – is a different Indian nation.

Here are some of the details that are known about the real Chief Yellow Hawk of the Cheyenne River Sioux: He visited Washington D.C. in 1867 (Hostiles the movie is set around 1892). His wife, Julia Deloria, has an interesting background. By some accounts, she was the daughter of a Frenchman and an Indian woman. By other accounts, she was “a white woman rescued as a baby from a destroyed village by the Yellow Hawk family and raised by them,” according to the site American-tribes.com. They had a son named Solomon Yellow Hawk.


In the movie, the fictional Yellow Hawk has a son named Black Hawk, who is played by the actor Adam Beach. There was a real Chief Black Hawk, but he was a leader of the Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo and Ho-chunk people and fought in the Black Hawk War.

Who were the most famous real chiefs of the Cheyenne tribe? They include Black Kettle, Dull Knife, Little Wolf, and Morning Star. But Yellow Hawk does not appear on such lists. There were Cheyenne chiefs named Yellow Horse, Yellow Hair, and Yellow Nose.


One of the best known real Cheyenne Chiefs, Black Kettle, “was known as a peacemaker who accepted numerous treaties to protect his people. He survived the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864.” Dull Knife “reluctantly led his people into a war he suspected they could never win” after the massacre.
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Kaniehtiio Horn, who plays the female protagonist Oak is also Mohawk; she grew up on a reservation in Canada, and she speaks the language.

 Horn and her family helped with how the dialogue in the movie is spoken, plus historical fact checks on the culture.

After one of her tribe sets an American camp ablaze, a young Mohawk warrior finds herself pursued by a contingent of military renegades set on revenge. Fleeing deep into the woods they call home, Oak and Calvin, along with their British companion Joshua, must now fight back against the bloodthirsty Colonel Holt and his soldiers – using every resource both real and supernatural that the winding forest can offer.

The story concerns two Mohawk protagonists, Oak (Kaniehtiio Horn, Hemlock Grove) and Calvin Two Rivers (Justin Rain, Blackstone). They are joined by British soldier Joshua (Eamon Farren, from the new Twin Peaks season on pay cable’s Showtime) in fending off vindictive American antagonists played by Ezra Buzzington (Justified), Robert Longstreet (Take Shelter) and Rochester native Jon Huber (also known as WWE superstar Luke Harper) among others.

Kaniehtiio Horn is a native of Ottawa, but grew up on the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve outside of Montreal in Quebec. Her mother, Kahn-Tineta Horn, is a Mohawk former model and a political activist for the Kahnawake First Nation.

The War of 1812 started due to British attempts to restrict trade between Canada, America and France. The three-year war is often viewed as the second war of independence for the United States.


“The War of 1812 is almost a forgotten war, and the Mohawk campaign is one of the more forgotten parts of this forgotten war,” said Geoghegan. “It was great going into this with a creative concept, and backing it up with a lot of facts.”


“The concept plays off of a home invasion horror movie. The home in this case happens to be North America,” Hendrix said. “The invaders are the Americans and the innocent victims are the Mohawk tribesmen. They’re trying to stay neutral in a war where you’re not allowed to stay neutral.”


Dark Sky Films will release Ted Geoghegan‘s Mohawk theatrically on March 2, with a simultaneous VOD and HD Digital release, and has just unveiled the trailer and poster for the Native American revenge thriller. The film marks the second team up between writer-director Geoghegan, producer Travis Stevens, cinematographer Karim Hussain and Dark Sky Films after their award-winning 2015 horror hit, We Are Still Here.

Watch exclusive trailer: I Do Not Fear Death- Capt. Joseph J. Blocker (Christian Bale) orders Chief Yello Hawk (Wes Studi) to get off his horse.

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is celebrating Entertainment Studios’ film Hostiles for its culturally accurate portrayal of Native peoples with a screening on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 in Washington, D.C.

 NCAI partnered with The Native Networkers (TNN) and the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) to host the screening of the feature film starring Christian Bale and Wes Studi.

To achieve accuracy and depth in the Native-focused content of the movie, director Scott Cooper worked with acclaimed Native filmmaker Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals, Skins), and Native academic Dr. Joely Proudfit as consultants. Their organization, The Native Networkers, has a mission to build bridges of understanding through media and enhance cultural knowledge and understanding through Native representation.

The involvement of Eyre, Proudfit, and the film’s other Native consultants made an indelible impression on Cooper. “The consultants on this film have been extraordinary and have taught me things that my research never could have,” he says. “They were on set every day to help the actors with language, with gestures, with rituals. Their work was of the utmost importance, and it was deeply gratifying for all of us.”

A significant amount of Hostiles’ dialogue is spoken in the rarely heard Northern Cheyenne dialect. Eyre was tasked with finding the Native team that not only spoke fluently but could teach the language and have knowledge of how Native speakers would have sounded at the end of the 19th century.


“The biggest request that Scott and Christian had is that we, as Cheyenne consultants, get it right,” says Eyre. “Just because you’re a Native person doesn’t mean you’ll know all things Native. I was able to bring Chief Phillip Whiteman and Alana Buffalo Spirit to the project. To hear the language spoken in the right dialect and in a respectful way by Christian and Wes is something great to see on screen. It’s just a victory that millions of people will get to hear this rare language.”


Chief Phillip Whiteman, worked with Bale, who at first struggled mightily to get the words out. “It’s bloody difficult,” Bale laughs, “but it’s wonderful. Speaking the language correctly is also allowing me to understand a bit of the Cheyenne belief system. I’ve been so surprised because it seems impossible but there’s such a natural flow to it.”


“The National Congress of American Indians applauds the efforts by the makers of HOSTILES to help lead Hollywood towards more truthful and appropriate portrayals of Indigenous peoples in film, in particular by casting Native actors to play Native roles,” said NCAI President Jefferson Keel. “We look forward to the upcoming screening of the film and hope to see a continued effort for diversity, inclusion, and authenticity in Hollywood.”


Hostiles takes place in 1892 and tells the story of an Army Captain (Christian Bale) who reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to tribal lands. On the journey, they meet a widow (Rosamund Pike) whose family was murdered on the plains and offer their help. As the former rivals make their way from an isolated Army outpost in New Mexico to the grasslands of Montana, their relationship moves from antagonism to compassion, demonstrating humans’ capacity for change. The ensemble cast also includes Ben Foster, Timothée Chalamet, Jesse Plemons, Q’orianka Kilcher, Rory Cochrane and Adam Beach.
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I Do Not Fear Death for Hostiles on TrailerAddict.

He made one of the best Marvel movies ever - now Disney wants him to helm a Star Wars film.

Newshub reports Star Wars boss Kathleen Kennedy has offered Kiwi Taika Waititi the chance to direct an upcoming Star Wars movie.

"I would love for him to direct a Star Wars movie," Kennedy told Newshub during promotional duties for upcoming film The Last Jedi in Tokyo.

"I think he has exactly the right sensibility. It was very exciting to see him step into the Marvel universe and do such an amazing job with Thor."

Waititi has already addressed the potential of helming a Star Wars film, telling Uproxx: "I'm not an idiot. Who would actually say no to Star Wars?"

There are plenty of upcoming opportunites for Waititi to direct a Star Wars film, with Disney planning plenty of films set to George Lucas' universe - including an all-new trilogy helmed by Rian Johnson


Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok has been one of the year's most popular movies, a hit with critics and fans alike.

His next film is scheduled to be Bubbles for Netflix, an animated movie about Michael Jackson's pet chimpanzee.
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“Defending the Fire” tells the story of Native American warriors who have navigated a unique cultural and spiritual path, relying on the tenets of the warrior in ancient and modern warfare.

The lessons of the warrior are universal; the spirit of the warrior survives, even in the face of conflict.

With a focus on the spiritual and historic journey of Native American warriors, Silver Bullet Productions presents the story of the warrior, the importance of cultures in modern quests, and the lessons of war through the lens of these cultures.

The characters will be elders and historians from New Mexican tribes and Native veterans of World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Pierce says it took about six months to figure out what the goals were for the documentary.

“It took us a little longer because we’re a nonprofit and had to raise the money,” Pierce says. “It took a little over a year from the first interview to the last.”


Studi enjoys working with Silver Bullet Productions because of their education outreach. He’s worked with them on three documentaries, and his wife often serves as a writer.

“I’ve been lucky to narrate a few of them,” Studi says. “This one I was featured in, because I am a Vietnam veteran.”


Studi says films like “Defending the Fire” are important to Native American youths because there’s not a lot of access to filmmaking for them.


“There’s so few of us involved in the business, that it’s easy for youth to give up,” he says. “I want to help reach out to the youth and show them how to become part of the film industry. There were trailblazers before me, and now I get to stand there and be that inspiration for others. Anytime a young Native American sees a Native actor in a film, it gives them hope.”
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Sasquatchn is a powerful Indigenous documentary that uncovers secret knowledge about Bigfoot, and reveals a unbelievable message for all of mankind.

Sasquatch is the guardian of the forest, and when it comes across areas that are clear cut, Sasquatch becomes confused.

Two Haida film-makers—Kerr Moraes-Sugiyama, and Tamara Bell—are revealing secret society Indigenous knowledge about the great mystery of Sasquatch in their film called Sasquatch’n. The film will air on APTN in January, 2018.

Moreas-Sugiyama and Bell venture deep into the mystery of the creature, looking at it from Indigenous belief. Both went from being non-believers of Sasquatch to believers, as the story before them unfolded, they said.

“It was quite an experience. It was actually a beautiful blend of powerfulness and emotion. It’s a topic that I definitely got into and felt the passion for,” said Moraes-Sugiyama. This was her first time directing a film.

“Within our Tsimshian and Haida culture, I didn’t hear too much, but I moved to North Van 20 years ago and I’ve heard stories through Squamish friends... but the filming process has enlightened me more on how prevalent it is in a lot of B.C. Aboriginal communities,” she said.


The film is set as a sort of journey, taking the viewer all along the west coast of British Columbia and down the coast of the U.S. into California during the film’s one-hour run time. The underlying goal of the film is to uncover what specifically Indigenous people know, or believe, about Sasquatch. The film crew talks to experts, eyewitnesses, Indigenous Elders, and even primatologists, who have their own contributions to the story.


“I can tell you my most interesting experience… We visited Alert Bay, which is still considered an epicenter for sightings, and we interviewed Arthur Dick. He’s had multiple encounters and he actually has audio recordings,” she said, adding the team followed Dick into the forest one evening to a place where he had heard the Sasquatch “scream” in the past.

“He took us out on several searches, and he led us out into the dark… The camera guy and I—Matt—were in the lead… We looked behind us and the group was not anywhere near us. We both heard a noise, which stopped us in our tracks. Matt turned to me and mouthed ‘Did you hear that?’” They were so frightened they couldn’t speak. And she said she’ll never forget that noise.


“It was a collaborative effort. We all worked together on it, and… what we were doing was really sort of first-time knowledge that has never been shared with primatologists or biologists or the general public,” said Bell of the information they got from the Indigenous people they consulted.

“There was a number of us. And it was myself and a healer that did a ceremony for the film… This sounds crazy… the Sasquatch actually knew we were going to do this project,” she said.


According to Bell, after the ceremony was performed, the project unfolded quickly and easily. While the film is filled with information and tidbits that viewers will find fascinating, the most epic part is that Bell and Moraes-Sugiyama were let into Indigenous secret societies to hear their take on Sasquatch. The key difference between the western (European) perspective and the Indigenous one is that Indigenous people regard Sasquatch as being sacred, whereas non-Indigenous Bigfoot hunters tend to want to kill it for evidence, said Bell.

And the most profound message that comes out of all of their investigating is that Sasquatch is connected to a prophecy.

“We interviewed people from the Blackfoot and Navajo Nations, and three California tribes, and Alert Bay. And we interviewed people who primarily had deep historical knowledge that had been unfettered by colonization,” said Bell. “And the message Elders have been holding on to is the more we hunt for Sasquatch, the closer we get to the end of time,” she said.
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Scheduled for release in December 2018, the Aquaman movie from director James Wan will give audiences a much bigger sense of who the eponymous hero is as a character.

In the realm of comic book movies, the typical path for a major character is to go from making a solo title to a team-up feature -- but that's not exactly what's happening with Jason Momoa's Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe.

Briefly introduced in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the hero is getting his first live-action big screen role in Justice League before moving on to his own story in 2018's Aquaman, essentially taking the normal path in reverse. As you'd imagine, it's going to have an effect on the way we perceive Arthur Curry when we first meet him -- but according to Momoa, that's all part of the plan:

When I stepped into his room, [Zack Snyder] told me his vision of me playing this character. The one thing that was really concerning when I did my homework, I knew that [Justice League] would be basically a weekend in his life. And I just want to make sure that the fans knew that this gruff character, this man who lives within the tides and is not really accepted in two different places... we needed to know where he came from and why he's this grumpy, bit of an asshole to Batman. We just needed to figure out... I want people to know that in a year you're going to understand where he came from, what happened to his mother, what happened to his father, and how he was treated in this world, and how he didn't know how to use his powers.

Scheduled for release in December 2018, the Aquaman movie from director James Wan will give audiences a much bigger sense of who the eponymous hero is as a character, and, according to Momoa, will help him evolve into the man he is meant to become. In Justice League, he is certainly rough around the edges and doesn't seem incredibly invested the whole "superhero" lifestyle, but that's just because he is still at the start of his big screen journey. He'll begin his process of growing in the team-up title, but will find his true individuality in the solo flick.

At the press conference, Jason Momoa explained that the Aquaman title will be the real opportunity to see the fully sculpted version of the character, including where he comes from and who he is meant to be. The way he paints it, it should be a great chance to dive into the complexity of a hero who is torn between two worlds and yet belongs to neither of them. Said Momoa,


Sometimes he saved people, and sometimes he lost people, and his human side didn't know how to deal with those things. And he would cover up those things, and so he's hiding behind... there's a lot of layers to this guy, and I think once we get to the solo film you're going to see the man who is going to take responsibility and help the world and become king, eventually. So this one, I don't really think... he is Aquaman, he's Arthur Curry. But he hasn't dealt with the Trident yet. And it's coming, but just stick with it. But for people who are like, 'That's not my Aquaman!' Just wait a little bit longer. Just stick with it for a little bit longer. 
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I have a lot to say about ‘Justice League’ but will wait till it’s released to really get into it. But two important things to know: stay till the very end of the credits and Jason Momoa (@PrideofGypsies) is awesome as Aquaman. pic.twitter.com/Pg6cKCZAEo

— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) November 10, 2017

Justice League is better than expected, but not a home run. The interaction between the team is a lot of fun. The film sends the DCEU in a hopeful direction in line with where the brand should be headed. Flash and Aquaman steal the show. Cyborg and villain are the weak links.

— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) November 10, 2017

Adam Beach believes it’s time Indigenous people in Hollywood redefine the way they are represented onscreen.

Speaking on campus for the Gail Appel Lectureship in Literature and Fine Arts on Oct. 2, the actor known for Flags of Our Fathers, Smoke Signals and Suicide Squad told an audience at Convocation Hall that he plans to become more active in the coming years at “pushing the envelope (and) calling out people for misinterpreting us.”

Beach spent the day speaking with students at a series of events hosted by the College of Arts & Science before delivering his keynote talk, a lecture titled Rewriting the Hollywood Indian.

During the evening lecture, Beach criticized the negative or simplistic depictions of Indigenous people featured in many mainstream films, as well as the practice of casting non-Indigenous actors to play Indigenous roles.

“We as Native people have a voice, a language, a strength that we keep in our hearts to share with people. If you want it, we’ll give it to you,” he said.

Beach argued that the change will ultimately have to be driven by Indigenous artists, not by the Hollywood establishment.


“We must acknowledge and support our writers and directors. We are writing and creating our own projects,” he said. “This takes time, but the future of Native filmmaking is prosperous.”


The Gail Appel Lectureship in Literature and Fine Arts was established at the College of Arts & Science in 2002 by Gail Appel and her husband Mark. The lecture series invites high-profile artists, writers and musicians to speak to students and the general public on campus.
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Acclaimed Native American actors Wes Studi and Martin Sensmeier, along with award-winning director Chris Eyre, are among the featured participants at the annual Native Film Festival.

 The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 15, in the Anoli’ Theater at the Chickasaw Cultural Center.

Studi, Sensmeier, filmmaker Kyle Bell and actor John Gibbs will take part in a panel moderated by Eyre revolving around the festival theme “Tour de Force in Native Cinema: We are One.”

Eyre is a director and producer best known for the films “Smoke Signals” and “Edge of America.” His many awards include an Emmy and the Director’s Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement.

Studi has acted in feature films such as “Avatar,” “Dances with Wolves” and “The Last of the Mohicans.” He will also engage in a question-and-answer session about “Geronimo: An American Legend,” which will be screened during the festival.

Sensmeier, who landed a starring role alongside Denzel Washington in “The Magnificent Seven,” plays the lead role of Montford Johnson in the upcoming Chickasaw Productions film “The Chickasaw Rancher.”


“The Magnificent Seven” will be screened at 6:30 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session with Sensmeier.

The festival is open to the public at no charge. Schedule is subject to change. The Chickasaw Cultural Center, 867 Cooper Memorial Road, is open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon - 5 p.m. For more information, call (580) 622-7130 or visit www.chickasawculturalcenter.com.


Day of events: 10 a.m. Native film shorts by Angelo Baca’s (Navajo/Hopi) film students.
10:20 a.m. “Island to Island” documentary by filmmaker Jacqueline Hazen.
11 a.m. Stomp dance demonstration by the Chickasaw Dance Troupe.
11:30 a.m. “Behind and In Front of the Camera” by actor John Gibbs (Meskwaki/Sac and Fox).
12:30 p.m. “Shiloh” documentary by director Mark Williams (Choctaw/Mississippi Choctaw).
1:05 p.m. Kyle Bell’s (Thlopthlocco (Creek) Tribal Town) documentaries “Dig it if You Can” and “Defend the Sacred.”


2 p.m. Stomp dance demonstration by the Chickasaw Dance Troupe.
2:30 p.m. “Geronimo: An American Legend” starring actor Wes Studi (Cherokee). followed by a question-and-answer session.


4:45 p.m. Panel discussion – Wes Studi (Cherokee), Martin Sensmeier (Tlingit/Koyukon-Athabascan), Kyle Bell (Thlopthlocco (Creek) and John Gibbs (Meskwaki/Sac and Fox), moderated by Chris Eyre (Cheyenne-Arapaho).
5:10 p.m. Red-carpet photo opportunity and autograph session with Wes Studi and Martin Sensmeier.
6:30 p.m. “The Magnificent Seven,” followed by a question-and-answer session with Martin Sensmeier.

This dramatic feature was written, directed, and co-produced by Native Americans. The film was a winner of both the Audience Award and the Filmmakers' Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.

In 1976, an infant survives a fire that kills his parents.

In a flash forward to the present day, the infant has grown up to become the skinny, nerdy adult Thomas (Evan Adams). At Idaho's desolate Coeur d'Alene Indian reservation, the overeager youth is mostly ignored by others, including stoic athletic Victor Joseph (Adam Beach), even though it was Victor's father, Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), who saved the infant Thomas' life in the fire.

Victor Joseph: You want to look like you just came back from catching a fish? This ain't Dances with Salmon, you know.

Thomas, don't you even know how to be a real Indian? How many times have you seen Dances with Wolves? 100...200 times? (Thomas hangs his head in shame) Oh Jesus, Thomas, you have seen it that many times?

Thomas Builds-the-Fire: You know, there are some children who really aren't children at all. They're just pillars of flame that burn everything they touch. And there are some children who are just pillars of ash that fall apart when you touch them. Victor and me, we were children of flame and ash.


-Some days, it's a good day to die. And some days, it's a good day to have breakfast.

-Geez Victor, I guess the warrior look doesn't work everytime.

-All I know is that when your father left, your mother lost you too.


-How do we forgive our fathers? maybe in a dream do we forgive our fathers for leaving us too often or forever when we were little? maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage or making us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage there at all. Do we forgive our fathers for marring of not marrying our mothers? For divorcing or not divorcing our mothers? and shall we forgive them for their excess of warmth or coldness? Shall we forgive them for pushing or leaning for shutting doors for speaking through walls or never speaking or being silent? Do we forgive our fathers in our age or in their or in their deaths saying it to them or not saying it? If we forgive our fathers what is left. ("How do we forgive our fathers" by Dick Lourie)


-Velma: You guys got your passports?
-Thomas Builds-the-Fire: Passports?
-Velma: Yeah, you're leavin' the rez and goin' into a whole different country, cousin.
-Thomas Builds-the-Fire: But... but, it's the United States.
-Lucy: Damn right it is! That's as foreign as it gets. Hope you two have your vaccinations.

One woman’s quest to keep crude oil pipelines out of her Ojibwe communities’ sacred wild rice beds

 It's Winona LaDuke versus Big Oil in this documentary about the Native American environmentalist's campaign against the Dakota Access Pipeline's plans to route a crude oil line near sacred territory and in a place that could potentially threaten the region's water supply.

"First Daughter and the Black Snake," by Keri Pickett, covers LaDuke's efforts and a prophecy about a black snake that will bring destruction to the Earth. It won the Best Minnesota Made Documentary Feature at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. LaDuke and Pickett are expected to attend both viewings.

The “Prophecy of the 7th Fire” says a “black snake” will bring destruction to the earth. We will have a choice of two paths. One is scorched, and one is green. For Winona (Ojibwe for “first daughter”), the “black snake” is oil trains and pipelines. When she learns that Canadian-owned Enbridge plans to route a new pipeline through her tribe’s 1855 Treaty land, she and her community spring into action to save the sacred wild rice lakes and preserve their traditional indigenous way of life.

Following her decision to fight Enbridge, Winona dreams that she is riding her horse against the current of the oil. Launching an annual spiritual horse ride along the proposed pipeline route, speaking at community meetings and regulatory hearings. Winona testifies that the pipeline route follows one of historical and present-day trauma. The tribe participates in the pipeline permitting process, asserting their treaty rights to protect their natural resources.

Winona is a daughter, mother, granny, and Executive Director of Honor the Earth, a native-led environmental justice organization.

Winona’s mother, Betty, explains about she met Winona’s father, Sun Bear, and his traditional life of hunting, fishing, and gathering on Minnesota’s White Earth reservation. Tapping trees for syrup, harvesting the wild rice, sewing a jingle dress, defending the treaties, and tending her horses—Winona is living by her father’s values.
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An intimate chronicle of resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) at Standing Rock, the film bears witness from the first week of September to forced evacuation on February 23rd.

 Focusing on treaties and historical context, framed by the current American political context, Standing Rock becomes both a warning and an inspiration as this country moves into uncharted territory. A work-in-progress feature-length documentary film by Gwendolen Cates

Photographer and documentary filmmaker Gwendolen Cates lives in New York City. She is the author of Indian Country (Grove Press, 2001), a book of photographs taken on reservations and in urban Native communities nation-wide.

Her portraits of well-known figures including Madeleine Albright, Tony Bennett, Kevin Costner, Val Kilmer, and Oprah have appeared in magazines such as People, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair.

Her award-winning film Water Flowing Together, a portrait of Navajo/Puerto Rican ballet dancer Jock Soto, had its broadcast premiere on PBS' Independent Lens in 2007.

At Sacred Stone, people would come all day long to have a prayer ceremony, to pray, to drink water. They brought water from all over the world and put it in the river to help it heal — spiritual leaders from every facet of every indigenous people — Mongolians, the people out of Africa, India, China, Australia, New Zealand. And of course, all of our brothers and sisters in South America and middle America and Canada.


When people want to say, “Who started this?” Nobody. Everybody. There was no one leader. There was no one person. It was everybody. Each with their own journey. In the middle of all of this was the youth, who continued to stand up. Who continued to bring that power, that healing.

Alfre Woodard and Adam Beach will star in an adaptation of Sheila Williams' "Dancing on the Edge of the Roof," which depicts a Black woman's move to Montana in search of a new life.

Netflix just acquired a new movie directed by a Black filmmaker, based on a book by a Black woman, with lead performances from Black and Native actors.

Deadline reported yesterday (April 25) that the streaming service bought the global rights to "Juanita," a feature-length drama adapted from Sheila Williams' 2002 novel, "Dancing on the Edge of the Roof." The book follows Juanita Lewis, a 41-year-old mother of adult children who breaks from the rigors of her life in Columbus, Ohio, when she purchases a one-way ticket to Montana. Lewis struggles to reinvent herself and acclimate to her new surroundings, particularly when her cooking skills bring positive—but unwanted—attention from the locals.

"Juanita" stars Alfre Woodard ("Luke Cage") as the titular protagonist, while First Nations actor Adam Beach ("Suicide Squad"), LaTanya Richardson Jackson ("Rebel") and Blair Underwood ("Quantico") feature in supporting roles. Clark Johnson ("Alpha House") directs Roderick Spencer's ("The Dogwalker") screenplay.

Netflix has not yet announced a release date for this project.

If Dance Me Outside gave Beach a much needed personal outlet, then Smoke Signals offered him a major step up professionally. The film won a Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998 and also took home the audience award for dramatic feature. The indie flick was a profound turning point in his career and, more poignantly, the experience resonated in his personal life.
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"It was the first time I ever released the emotion of losing my father, how I felt about him, all the anger I had. But also the love that was there. Everything was mixed up. T he last scene in the movie, when I'm standing on the bridge, that was so hard for me. I did it in two takes. Chris Eyre, the director, wanted me to do it a couple more times, but I couldn't. I told him, That's it; and walked away.''

What does it mean to be Native American today? To answer this question, filmmaker Kayla Briët explores her Prairie Band Potawatomi roots through the teachings of her father, Gary Wis-ki-ge-amatyuk.

This hypnotic and introspective short film captures part of her childhood and confronts the fear of her cultural identity fading with time.

Weaving together the history, language, dance, and music of her tribe, Kayla Briët's Smoke That Travels keeps her family's heritage alive and celebrates the beauty of culture.

The Short Film Showcase spotlights exceptional short videos created by filmmakers from around the web and selected by National Geographic editors. We look for work that affirms National Geographic's belief in the power of science, exploration, and storytelling to change the world.

The filmmakers created the content presented, and the opinions expressed are their own, not those of National Geographic Partners.

"What a long journey it's been. I started this film at 17, because I had a fear that part of my identity, my native Prairie Band Potawatomi heritage, would be inevitably lost in time. Through music, dance, and color, I'm inviting others to become immersed in the thoughts, histories, and emotions I grew up with."


"Little did I know that this film would take me on a journey for over a year. I got to meet indigenous communities from around the world - from the Sami of Scandinavia, Ainu of Japan, and many more - who were all dealing with the same struggle to preserve their language and culture. I felt so lucky to hear their stories and less alone."