List
Honoring Native American and Indigenous Voices: Feature Movies and TV Series
Enjoy this selection of movies and TV series.
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Dark Winds: Season 2
2023Get this itemAdapted from Tony Hillerman’s popular Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee mystery books, this Native-led noir Western TV series dives heavily into Navajo culture. The entire cast, including lead actors Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, and Jessica Matten, does stellar work, making us care deeply about the characters, their stories, and of course the twisty whodunit. Filmed on tribal lands in New Mexico, it's not just the vast Southwestern vistas that will take your breath away. We loved season one and the second season even more. Suggested by Andrew, Rummanah, and Sharon
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True Detective: Night Country
2024Get this itemIn this anthology series, police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved. This latest season contains fantastic Emmy-nominated performances by Jodie Foster and Kali Reis and places women at the center of its crime, the investigation of that crime, and the crime's revelation. Suggested by Rummanah.
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Next Goal Wins
2024Get this itemIt’s hard not to be charmed by this heartfelt underdog comedy directed by Taika Waititi, which is based on a documentary of the same name. The film is about the American Samoa soccer team, considered the worst team in the world, and their efforts to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Suggested by Rummanah and Sharon.
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The Unknown Country
2023Get this itemLily Gladstone is a brilliant actor, and we couldn’t wait to catch her performance in this independent movie about a young woman who, grieving the loss of her grandmother, accepts an invitation to reunite with her Oglala Lakota family, launching her on an unexpected journey from Minneapolis to the Texas-Mexico border. Incorporating real stories of people in places that are often overlooked, it’s one of the most thoughtful and genuine road-trip movies we've seen. Suggested by Rummanah and Sharon.
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Little Bird
2023Get this itemOne of the best Canadian television dramas in recent years, the series focuses on a First Nations woman who was adopted at age five by a white, Jewish couple. Now about to get married, Esther realizes that she can’t take a step further until she finds her birth family and learns the true circumstances surrounding her adoption. While this is a fictionalized account, it’s based on actual events and remembrances of those who were victims of the Sixties Scoop. You’ll definitely feel all the feelings for Bezhig Little Bird/Esther Rosenblum. Suggested by Sharon.
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Slash/Back
2022Get this itemWatching this horror/science fiction alien invasion movie is so much fun. It’s filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk’s feature debut, and she draws a lot of inspiration from her love of the horror genre. The story is set in Pangnirtung, a very remote community in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, on the longest day of the year. While the adults are enjoying a social dance and unreachable, it falls to a group of teenage girls to stop otherworldly invaders from taking what is theirs. Slash/Back = Land/Back. Suggested by Sharon.
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Utama
2023Get this itemBolivia’s entry for the 95th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, this eco-drama by first-time director Alejandro Loayza Grisi is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful. The plot revolves around an elderly Quechua couple who live in the high plains of the Andes, grazing a small herd of llamas--something they’ve done for decades. However, an unusually long drought might force them to abandon their home for the city. Cinematographer Barbara Alvarez is at the top of her profession, and you’ll be in awe of the visually gorgeous work. Suggested by Chris and Sharon.
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Rutherford Falls: Season One
2022Get this itemThis comedy TV series follows residents of the fictional town Rutherford Falls, including two longtime friends, Reagan Wells, a member of the Minishonka Nation, and Nathan Rutherford, a local historian and descendant of the founder of the town. It’s original, funny, and thoughtful, while educating viewers on Indigenous issues featuring and written by a majority of Indigenous writers and actors. And keep your eye out for actor Michael Greyeyes, who rarely does comedy and is so good at it! Suggested by Rummanah and Sharon.
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Beans
2022Get this itemWriter/director Tracey Deer lived through the 1990 Oka Crisis--a land dispute between the Mohawk communities and the town Oka in Quebec, Canada--when she was 12. She knew that someday she would tell her version of those events on film. We see a young girl experience for the first time the ugliness of bigotry and more, and then decide how she’ll become her own type of activist. Suggested by Sharon.
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Wildhood
2022Get this itemI’m truly delighted by this beautifully told road trip story. It follows teenager Link as he runs away from his abusive white father, taking his younger half-brother with him to find his Mi'kmaw mother, about whom he was lied to for several years. Along the way, Link reconnects with his Mi'kmaq heritage, explores his two-spirit identity, and meets a potential romantic interest. Suggested by Sharon.
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Wild Indian
2021Get this itemFrom the emerging Ojibwe filmmaker Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. This feature debut premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Exploring such themes as intergenerational trauma, Native identity, family, and community, it’s a complex and personal narrative. The actors do an incredible job adding layers and nuance to the characters, especially Michael Greyeyes, who gives a chilling, masterful performance. Suggested by Sharon.
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Falls Around Her
2021Get this itemVeteran actor Tantoo Cardinal shines as a celebrated First Nations musician who leaves the demands of celebrity behind, returning to her home on the reserve to reconnect with the land, community, and culture. She finds that it’s not so easily done, as she deals with unwelcome intrusions. Tantoo Cardinal is a treasure. Suggested by Chris and Sharon.
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Song Without a Name
2020Get this itemInspired by true events and set in 1988 Peru, the story follows Georgina, an Indigenous young woman whose newborn baby is stolen from a clinic that advertised free assistance. Dismissed by the police, Georgina teams up with a journalist to investigate her daughter’s disappearance and expose deep-seated corruption. Suggested by Chris and Sharon.
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Mystery Road: Series 1
2019Get this itemFilmed in northern Western Australia, this critically acclaimed TV show centers on Jay Swan, an Indigenous detective with a reputation for getting the job done. He is assigned to investigate the disappearance of two farm hands from an outback cattle station, and soon realizes that many are hiding secrets. Through six episodes, the story is well-paced and suspenseful, looking at contemporary issues and a troubled history between the Indigenous community and white people. Suggested by Sharon.
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The Rider
2018Get this itemBased on actual events and filmed on Pine Ridge Reservation, using nonprofessional actors playing fictionalized versions of themselves, this story explores what happens when a Lakota cowboy suffers a traumatic head injury that completely derails his life. The cinematography is gorgeous and the location is a character in itself. Brady Landreau delivers a breakout performance, while filmmaker Chloé Zhao keeps everything unique and universal all at once. Suggested by Sharon.
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The Dark Horse
2016Get this itemCliff Curtis stars in this biopic about Genesis Potini, a speed chess player who has bipolar disorder. He gets involved with teaching local kids how to play chess, relates the game to their Māori heritage, and shows that they have options open to them. Suggested by Sharon.
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Sweet Country
2018Get this itemSet in Australia in 1929, rooted in true events, this neo-Western directed by Warwick Thornton does not pull any punches when dealing with racism and harsh situations. It follows an Aboriginal farm worker who flees across the outback with his wife after an encounter with a brutal white man. Thornton was the cinematographer as well, and the movie is visually stunning. Suggested by Sharon.
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The Fast Runner
2003Get this itemAn epic movie that takes place at the start of the first millennium, bringing to the screen an ancient Inuit legend about a small community fragmented by an evil shaman. Written, directed, and acted in the Inuit language, this beautifully crafted film is a remarkable achievement and noted for its authentic sets, costumes, and documentation of an important Inuit myth. Suggested by Sharon.
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Smoke Signals
2000Get this itemOffering a heartfelt glimpse into Native American life on the reservation, this 1998 coming-of-age dramedy certainly is a fan favorite and has earned much critical acclaim. In 2018, "Smoke Signals" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. This film is recognized as being the first feature length film to include a mostly Native cast, directed, written, and produced by Native Americans, that received mainstream distribution in the U.S. and abroad. Suggested by Sharon.
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Tanna
2017Get this itemNominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Tanna is about star-crossed lovers who challenge the tribal law concerning arranged marriages. Filmed in the South Pacific on the island of Vanuatu, the cinematography is gorgeous. The cast had never acted before nor even saw a movie. They later said that it was easy because they were telling a well-known tale about their ancestors and doing many things that they do in everyday life. Suggested by Sharon.
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Whale Rider
2017Get this itemTwelve-year-old Pai wants to be chief of her tribe, a position that her grandfather thinks should fall to a man. Not giving up easily, Pai defies her elders to follow her dreams to find her destiny. This is a great movie about courage, determination, and Māori tradition. Suggested by Sharon.
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