There’s a film my students cite whenever our course discussions become too heavy: Paddling on Both Sides. The 2021 short by Blake Angeconeb (Anishinaabe) and Buffy Sainte-Marie (Cree) reminds us that while we must examine the trauma inflicted upon Native peoples, we should also celebrate “all the good stuff invented by…the Indigenous people of the Americas.” Sainte-Marie explains that “If all we think about is one side or the other, we just go in circles. So, remember to paddle on both sides of the canoe. That’s how you get somewhere.” The films on this year’s list collectively embody the truth embedded in Angeconeb and Sainte-Marie’s call for “balancing truth, tragedy, and triumph.” Whether through fiction or documentary, each film explores some of the challenges that Native people face while showcasing the inherent wisdom imbedded within traditional values.

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry it On
(PBS Passport)

For nearly six decades, Buffy Sainte-Marie (Cree) has used her voice to affect change. A victim of the infamous “scoop” that removed Indigenous children in Canada from their birth families and placed them in non-Native families, Sainte-Marie discovered music and learned persistence in her adoptive home in Maine. Sainte-Marie’s undeniable talent landed her in the center of the sixties’ folk music scene, where she used her lyrics to confront patriarchy, warmongering, and the genocide of her Native brethren. This documentary chronicles her numerous accomplishments, but what makes its message resonate is Sainte Marie’s unabashed certainty in reinventing popular media’s modus operandi to include Indigenous artists and lifeways. With lines like, “I learned that sometimes you have to carry the medicine for a long time before it’s time to administer it,” this film reminds viewers why Buffy Sainte-Marie is an international treasure.

Prey
(Hulu)

A prequal to 1987’s Predator, this film imagines what would happen if the alien killer attacked the Comanche Nation in the 18th century. Naru, portrayed by Amber Midthunder (Fort Peck Assiniboine), is a healer whose efficiency with a throwing axe foreshadows the hunter she must become. The film’s title refers to the predator’s practice of slaughtering whomever it can hunt, using advanced weaponry to slay colonizers and Comanches alike. Led by Naru’s brother, Taabe, portrayed by Dakota Beavers (Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo), the Comanches seek to rid their land of the evil entity, revealing themselves to be formidable opponents despite having the odds stacked against them. While the battle sequences offer compelling action, the heart of the film is Naru’s journey to prove herself as both a warrior and a leader for her nation.

Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher
(Netflix)

Inspired by a true story, this film follows Montford Johnson as he navigates life as a Native American rancher during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Montford, portrayed by Martin Sensmeier (Tlingit/Koyukon-Athabascan), has his livestock seized by Union soldiers, claimed by dishonest ranchers, and coveted by racist bounty hunters. Still, he persists, taking setbacks in stride and relying on tenacity and honor to guide him. Financed by the Chickasaw Nation, the film portrays Native people’s struggle, not against fellow cowboys, but rather against representatives of the federal government who stand as the antithesis to tribal values. Both George Armstrong Custer and Richard Henry Pratt appear in scenes, revealing themselves to be flawed embodiments of a false sense of cultural superiority. Yet, the film’s most salient scenes come when the bonds of family, friendship, and common humanity are pulled taut.        

Love and Fury
(Netflix)

Seminole filmmaker Sterlin Harjo’s documentary follows Native artists at work in modern times. Shot at locations around the world, Harjo’s subjects include talents such as Chickasaw musician Micah P. Hinson, Cheyenne and Arapaho author Tommy Orange, White Mountain Apache composer Laura Ortman, and Nez Perce jazz vocalist Julia Keefe. Vacillating between conversations and performance, the film reveals the complexity behind both the inspiration and motivation each artist is endowed with. Feeling at times either polished or raw, the film’s service is that it affirms the beautiful complexity of Native American artistry. While focusing his camera on a select few, Harjo captures the reality that modern Native artists intrinsically resist attempts to lend reductive classifications to the work they produce.

Slash/Back
(Amazon Prime)

Set in the tribal community of Pangnirtung, Nunavut, this film imagines what would happen if a trio of alien skinwalkers challenged a group of teenaged girls unaccustomed to backing down. Staring Inuit actors Tasiana Shirley, Alexis Vincent-Wolfe, Nalajoss Ellsworth, and Chelsea Prusky, and directed and co-written by Nyla Innuksuk (Inuk), the story centers around a group of Indigenous friends navigating friendship, boys, and a summer in the Arctic Circle when a possessed polar bear attacks their youngest peer. While the adults are either distracted by a community dance or succumbing to the insatiable appetite of the invaders, the young women hatch a plan to defend themselves. Rife with adolescent angst, wit, and loyalty, this film reveals the potential for tribal filmmaking that blends the familiar with the fantastic.

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The films included on this year’s list offer a meeting place for conversations that take place on both sides of one’s canoe, endowing the viewers with a space to reflect upon prevailing wisdom embedded in tribally centered stories. My hope is that you are inspired by the “good stuff” they each offer.

Ryan Winn teaches in the Liberal Studies Department at College of Menominee Nation.  

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in the Inquisitive Academic or any other opinion columns published by the Tribal College Journal (TCJ) do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TCJ or the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. 

Reference

Angeconeb, B. and B. Sainte-Marie. (2021). Paddling on Both Sides: Balancing Truth, Tragedy and Triumph. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avY9_q4JAdE.