8 Spectacular Native Films Streaming Right Now
Welcome back to Film Friday! For the month of July, we are exploring Native cinema and film to lift up Native creators, directors, and actors. Last week, we spent some time looking at Seminoles in cinema over the years. We also shared 5 Excellent and Essential Native Movies. This week, we’re showcasing accessible Native films that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home. Need some inspiration for your Friday movie night? Follow along today to explore 8 Spectacular Native Films Streaming Now, and where to watch them.
It should be noted that the majority of these films are unrated. We encourage you to seek our trigger warnings if you are sensitive to certain material.
Still, “Beans”
Beans (2020)
Tracey Deer (Mohawk) directs this gripping coming-of-age story about the 1990 Oka Crisis in Quebec, Canada. The Oka Crisis was a 78-day standoff between two Mohawk communities and Canadian authorities over land rights. A proposed expansion of a golf course and townhome development on a disputed stretch of land sparked the protest. The land held a Mohawk burial ground. Based on Deer’s own experiences during the crisis, “Beans” follows young teen Beans as she navigates the intricacies of growing up, all while experiencing the cost of activism amidst the crisis. Learning to use her voice, Beans tenuously explores her identity, and her indigeneity, all while living steeped in community conflict.
Twelve at the time of the Oka Crisis, Deer recalls the impact it had on her adolescence. “My sense of safety was stolen from me,” Deer shared in a New York Times article. “My sense of self-worth, as of that moment, was nonexistent….I ended up finding a way to channel that instead into my drive to prove all those people wrong.” Kiawentiio (Mohawk) plays Beans in her breakout role, drawing on parallels in her own life with Deer’s. Kiawentiio is also from the Kahnawake reserve, like Deer. She shares that “I wanted to be the one to tell the story…. A lot of people from my community went there and were helping.”
Despite the crisis playing a central role in the story, Deer emphasizes that at its heart it’s a coming-of-age story. Deer assured that “It doesn’t matter if you’ve never heard of the Oka crisis.” The film represents the transition from adolescence to adulthood “in a tumultuous, unwelcoming world that is indicative of where we currently are.”
You can watch “Beans” on Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime.
Still from Erica Tremblay’s “Fancy Dance”
Fancy Dance (2023)
Starring Lily Gladstone (Blackfeet/Nimíipuu) and Isabel Deroy-Olson (Tr’ondek Hwech’in First Nation/Anishinaabe), “Fancy Dance” is a heart wrenching yet beautiful tangle of a road-trip film. It touches on the wounds felt by those left behind by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis. Jax (Gladstone) navigates searching for her sister and being present for niece Roki (Deroy-Olson). While trying to grasp normalcy among the tragedy, Jax and Roki journey to the annual pow wow. With the journey as the backdrop, the pair explore the strength of their relationship, as well as the resilience of Native women.
Directed by Erica Tremblay (Seneca-Cayuga), “Fancy Dance” is Tremblay’s first feature film, where previously she had predominantly worked on documentaries. In a National Endowment for the Arts Interview, Tremblay explains the inspiration behind the film. Tremblay says: “So, you have these two women, these two Native American Cayuga women, who are traversing a tragic, dark, stark, demeaning world that has been placed upon them by systems that are out of their control. But yet, their kinship, their love for each other, their joy, their laughter, allow them to survive that and find their true expression of themselves.”
In a Teen Vogue interview Deroy-Olson shared what makes “Fancy Dance” essential and special. “So often, Indigenous peoples are portrayed as these fictionalized caricatures of who we really are,” Deroy-Olson says. “Jax and Roki’s story brings a sense of reality to the world of Indigenous film, because even though Fancy Dance is a work of fiction, the stories we’re telling are so real and so relatable. A lot of people don’t grasp that these things are actually happening around us…. For everyone living in North America, you’re on Indigenous land, so you need to know about these issues.”
You can Watch “Fancy Dance” on Apple TV.
Still, “Slash/ Back”
Slash/ Back (2022)
Nyla Innuksuk (Inuit) makes her feature debut directing “Slash/Back,” a completely unique example of Inuit sci-fi horror. It is co-written by Ryan Cavan. Set in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, the film follows four teenage Inuit girls who become the first line of defense between alien invaders. Throughout the film, you witness the push and pull between modern and traditional influences, as they protect their home.
Filmed entirely in Nunavut, Innuksuk also cast only Inuit actors, hosting acting workshops to cultivate and develop Inuit talent. Much of the film, Innuksuk shared, was based on the relationship the actors cultivated while filming. In an interview with the Nerdist, Innuksuk quipped “All of that was really inspired in part by this work that we did with these teenagers. So we knew that if the world was being invaded by aliens, these kids would probably still talk about boys.”
Innuksuk also shared what she is most excited for people to take away from the film. She states that: “I think what has been so nice is just hearing the girls talk about it. To hear other people mention it is just giving this window into a part of the world or a community that maybe people aren’t familiar with. We see this as our home and the things that we do as so normal that sometimes it’s hard when you realize, ‘Oh, people aren’t used to seeing us in this way,’ that we’re both modern and connected to our traditions… maybe people haven’t had the opportunity to see indigenous teenagers in this kind of modern context.”
Watch “Slash/ Back” on Hulu and Disney+.
Still, “Edge of the Knife”
SG̲aawaay Ḵ’uuna/ Edge of the Knife (2018)
Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown co-directed this Canadian drama, making it the first feature film spoken only in the Haida language. Set in 19th century Haida Gwaii, the film explores a traditional Haida story. A young man, Adiits’ii, flees after accidentally causing the death of a good friend’s son during an annual fishing retreat. Tormented by the death, Adiits’ii spirals into madness and insanity, becoming Gaagiixiid, or the Wildman. Haig- Brown spoke about how to respectfully bring this to life, “Because, remember, transforming into Gaagiixiit—this is a very real thing that happens.” At the end, the moment of reveal was visceral for many of the cast. “I know it was a very emotional journey for everyone because no one got to see Tyler. We isolated him. When he gets captured and brought into the village—there were real tears shed at that time. It’s the underlying story: how we can lose people, either through madness or emotional strife or drug addiction; how people can run from things, and how it is part of our responsibility as a community to never leave somebody behind, to bring them back. We all relate to that feeling.”
Blending Haida traditional beliefs and supernatural elements, the film also strives to do right by the reality of pre-contact Haida Gwaii. European contact would bring disease that would decimate the community. It would be the first forcible shattering between them and their language, further cemented by the residential school system and continued Western violence.
Watch SG̲aawaay Ḵ’uuna/ Edge of the Knife on Apple TV.
Still, The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2019)
Written and directed by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Sami/Kainai First Nation, Blood Tribe, Blackfoot Confederacy) and Kathleen Hepburn, this film is loosely based on Tailfeather’s own real life encounter with another Indigenous woman. Tailfeathers also stars alongside new-comer Violet Nelson (Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation). After a chance encounter on a bus, Aila (Tailfeathers) yearns to help younger, pregnant Rosie (Nelson). Rosie is fleeing an abusive relationship. Filmed almost entirely in one long take, Tailfeathers sought to recreate the feeling of her real-life encounter.
Wrought with emotion, both women navigate their contrasting lived experiences, the realities of domestic violence, and trauma. In a Vogue interview, Nelson shared that “My mom went through an abusive relationship, and I witnessed it as a kid. I went through foster care, and now every time I watch the film, I think back to the emotions I was feeling when we filmed it, because I used my own personal story and my mom’s story to connect to Rosie more. Now, watching the film, I think about what my mom went through, and about how this film can help other Indigenous women feel that they can get out of these situations if they want to.”
In the same interview, Tailfeathers emphasized how important it was to give Rosie agency, and to highlight her love for her child. She talked about “[Reminding] the audience about [Rosie’s] love for her baby, and the right that she has as a human being and an Indigenous woman to raise that child. I mean, she may be deeply damaged by all those terrible things that have happened to her because of state policies. But she’s also this incredibly strong young woman who is fully capable of raising that child….In Canada, Indigenous children are deeply overrepresented in the foster system. Ninety percent of children and youth in foster care are Indigenous, and that statistic is so violent—to hear that so many children are being forcefully removed from their families and knowing that each one of those children represents a deep and painful fracturing of family and community that will be felt for generations to come.”
Watch “The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open” on Apple TV.
Still, “Frybread Face and Me”
Frybread Face and Me (2023)
Written and directed by Billy Luther (Navajo/Hopi/Laguna), this queer coming-of-age drama follows young Benny (Keir Tallman, Dine). Benny travels from San Diego to live with his grandmother on the Navajo Nation reservation. Joined by his cousin, nicknamed Frybread Face (Charley Hogan), he explores his own identity, as well as the complexity of being Indigenous.
In an NPR interview, Luther stated that “[Frybread Face is] traditional. She’s interested in his life back home in the city and he’s interested in her and what she does on the rez,” Luther said. “So it’s a really kind of combination of a buddy movie, but also this kind of look into family and identity…. the aunties and uncles… I think that everyone can see the parallels in their lives.” Through their relationship, both explore facets of what it means to be Indigenous in the modern world as they become closer and more intertwined.
Shot entirely in New Mexico during the Covid-19 Pandemic, Luther worked diligently to recreate the Navajo Nation on the silver screen. “Ideally, I would have filmed on my grandmother’s ranch,” Luther said in another interview. “At the time, the Navajo Nation was closed. It was closed off to visitors and the ball was rolling…. The New Mexico Film Office became really supportive of us filming in the state and helped find the perfect location at the Girl’s Ranch,” he says. “After the team finished building the set, it felt like grandma’s ranch. It was a big part of the story. The ranch was also a character in the film.”
Stark and authentic, the response to the film has been incredibly positive. “It brings back memories for many audience members,” Luther shares. “Nothing is forced with this film. The goal was to make it feel real.”
Watch “Frybread Face and Me” on Netflix.
Still, “Wild Indian”
Wild Indian (2021)
Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. (Ojibwe) wrote and directed this disturbing thriller starring Michael Greyeyes (Cree) and Chaske Spencer (Lakota). Following main character Michael (Greyeyes) and his cousin Teddo (Chaske), “Wild Indian” is a chilling look at generational trauma, repression, and violence. Before becoming Michael, he was Makwe. Raised by an abusive father and bullied, Makwe kills a classmate, before asking Teddo for help burying him. Opening with the text “Some time ago…There was an Ojibwe man, Who got a little sick and wandered West.” The film bookends Michael’s story with vignettes depicting a historic Ojibwe man doing just this, creating a parallel with Michael’s sickness and the illnesses brought with European contact.
Spanning decades, imposing Michael is now climbing the corporate ladder in California, while simultaneously incredibly arrogant and insecure. The filmmakers cast Michael as a brutal anti-hero filled with self-loathing. They juxtapose his journey against that of his cousin Teddo, who has just been released from prison. Filled with regrets and drowning in guilt, Teddo is in crisis. Both are grappling with the violence and trauma of their past actions. Thirty-five years later, Teddo confronts Michael, unraveling secrets he will do anything to keep hidden.
In a Salon article, Corbine Jr. shared that that he rooted Michael’s character in trauma. “It started with the idea of trauma. Traumatized people tend to perpetuate trauma in people’s lives. He is somebody who will get what he thinks he needs or wants at all costs. His morality is relative. I don’t necessarily think he’s a bad man, but I think when he is pushed, he makes decisions that are morally dubious, I suppose.”
Repression is a dominant theme in the film. Corbine Jr. sought to explore in the context of his own community. “I had to figure out a way to tell a story in a film that explored about us talking about everything but the thing that’s bothering us,” Corbine Jr. said “That is repression. It was a cultural thing, but it also became a narrative tool.”
Watch “Wild Indian” on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
Lakota Nation vs. The United States
Lakota Nation vs. The United States (2022)
The only documentary this week, “Lakota Nation vs. the United States” explores the fallout of the 1876 seizure of the Black Hills. This searing documentary outlines the Lakota’s ongoing conflict and resistance against the relentless waves of colonialism as they struggle to reclaim land woven into their identities. Directed by Jesse Short Bull (Oglala Lakota Nation) and Laura Tomaselli, “Lakota Nation vs. The United States” shares the vision, mission, and work behind the #LandBack movement.
It also brings land treaties to the forefront as a present issue, and not something of the past. Tomaselli shared that the pair “were concerned about making sure that this is something that is active — showing all these levels of resistance that have maybe ebbed and flowed in the public eye but have always been there. And pairing them alongside this cycle that has been happening over and over again, where treaty rights have been denied, and then more land has been taken.”
Short Bull and Tomaselli take it beyond land, and through their lens ask questions about health, struggle, oppression, and self-loathing.
In the same interview, Short Bull outlined his own journey, stating “I recognize that I had the other way of thinking ingrained in me, the anti-Lakota viewpoint. I recognized it inside of me…. But once I started to uncover the truth about things or a different side, I started to see more and more. It pushed me to a level of servitude to my tribe, to young people who also may not be happy. I think that’s why this project has come to me. It wasn’t something I actively wanted to pursue, but I think that Laura and I felt that we could try to hold the story, do it justice….”
Watch “Lakota Nation vs. The United States” on Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV.
While picking movies and films this month, we challenge you to support Native creators, directors, actors, and cinema! Stop by next week for our final post in the July Native Cinema series. You won’t want to miss it!
Author Bio
Originally from Washington state, Deanna Butler received her BA in Archaeological Sciences from the University of Washington in 2014. Deanna moved to Florida in 2016. Soon, she began working for the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office. Deanna was the THPO’s Archaeological Collections Assistant from 2017-2021. While at the THPO, Deanna worked to preserve, support, and process the Tribe’s archaeological collection. She often wrote the popular Artifact of the Month series and worked on many community and educational outreach programs. She lives in Lakeland, FL with her husband, two sons, and dog.
