A staff-curated selection of films in honor of Indigenous People's Heritage Month
Haunted by the restless spirit of the twin she never knew, a young mother journeys from privilege into her hidden Cree ancestry, where she must embrace outlawed traditions to protect her child and confront the violent legacy of racism, purity, and survival.
Twelve-year-old Beans is on the edge. Torn between innocent childhood and delinquent adolescence, she is forced to grow up fast to become the tough Mohawk warrior that she needs to be during the Indigenous uprising known as The Oka Crisis, which tore Quebec and Canada apart for 78 tense days in the summer of 1990.
The dead are coming back to life outside the isolated Mi'gMaq reserve of Red Crow, except its Indigenous inhabitants are strangely immune to the zombie plague. Desperate refugees flood the reserve and it falls to one tribal sheriff to protect his people from the bloodthirsty white corpses surrounding them.
Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya tells the story of a small group of Blackfoot people and their mission to establish the first wild buffalo herd on their ancestral territory since the species' near-extinction a century ago, an act that would restore the land, re-enliven traditional culture and bring much needed healing to their community.
Highlights the critical work of language activists, artists, youth, and elders who are now leading a growing movement of urgent radical revitalization efforts to help save the Cherokee language from the brink of extinction. The film also delves into the history of the Cherokee syllabary, the destructive assimilationist legacy of boarding schools, the lasting impacts of the Trail of Tears, and the ways in which members of the Cherokee tribe reconcile their relationship to American identity.
An indigenous language is in peril as its last two speakers, Evaristo and Isauro, had a quarrel in the past and haven't spoken to each other in over fifty years. Martín, a young linguist, will undertake the challenge to bring the old friends back together and convince them to once again talk to each other, all so he can obtain a recorded registration of the language and study it. However, hidden in the past, in the heart of the jungle, lies a secret concealed by the language that makes it difficult to believe that the heart of Zikril will beat once again.
Exploring the exploitation of Native American culture in sports, including the use of names and logos that have been adopted by teams and franchises with no apparent connection to the tribes and peoples whose cultures they are appropriating.
There are currently almost 10 million Native Americans in the United States. Once confined to reservations and condemned to poverty, they are now proudly reclaiming their culture. From the vibrant, shimmering pow wows that bring together thousands of natives in New Mexico to the new oil Eldorado of the Dakotas, this documentary plunges into the America of the Amerindians.
A powerful documentary that brings contemporary Native American life into focus through the voices of Indigenous leaders, artists, educators, and healers. With honesty and heart, they share personal stories that confront the lasting impact of historical trauma while also celebrating cultural survival, spirituality, and resilience. The film challenges stereotypes and dismantles the myth that Native peoples and cultures have disappeared, instead revealing a vibrant and enduring presence across generations and communities.
In the wake of the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests, Indigenous People are using their newfound platform to shed light on the wide array of injustices committed against them to embark upon the process of decolonization.
Traveling through the heartland of the U.S., to the Black Hills and Monument Valley, Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond examines how the myth of the movie "Injun" has influenced the world's understanding -- and misunderstanding -- of Natives. With clips from hundreds of classic and recent films document the shift from nuanced silent-era heroes to the Western's "noble savage" stereotype, leading up to the bourgeoning Native independent scene of Smoke Signals and The Fast Runner. Containing candid interviews with celebrated directors, writers, actors and activists, including Clint Eastwood, Robbie Robertson, Sacheen Littlefeather, John Trudell, and Russell Means, Reel Injun is an insightful and essential compendium for understanding the racial politics of Hollywood and the continuing artistic vibrancy of Native peoples.
This revelatory documentary brings to light the profound and overlooked influence of Indigenous people on popular music in North America. Focusing on music icons like Link Wray, Jimi Hendrix, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Taboo (The Black Eyed Peas), Charley Patton, Mildred Bailey, Jesse Ed Davis, Robbie Robertson, and Randy Castillo, RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World shows how these pioneering Native American musicians helped shape the soundtracks of our lives.
With an older brother in jail and living with their single mother on Pine Ridge Reservation, Johnny and his sister Jashuan's lives develop new challenges when their absentee cowboy father suddenly dies. The loss prompts Johnny to strike out for Los Angeles, but it would mean leaving behind his beloved sister.
It tells the astonishing, heartbreaking, inspiring, and largely-untold story of Native Americans in the United States military. Why would Indian men and women put their lives on the line for the very government that took their homelands? The film relates the stories of Native American warriors from their own points of view, stories of service and pain, of courage and fear.
A hauntingly beautiful film that is true to the lyrical and unflinching spirit of James Welch's classic 1974 novel of Native American life. Virgil First Raise (Chaske Spencer, the Twilight trilogy) wakes in a ditch on the hardscrabble plains of Montana. He stumbles home to his ranch on the reservation only to learn that his wife, Agnes (Julia Jones), has left him. Worse, she's stolen his beloved rifle. Virgil sets out to find her, beginning an odyssey of inebriated intrigues with a mysterious "Airplane Man" (David Morse, The Green Mile), a beautiful barmaid, and two dangerous Men in Suits. His quixotic, modern-day vision quest moves Virgil ever closer to oblivion until he discovers a long-hidden truth about his identity.