Seminoles in Film, Plus 5 Excellent and Essential Native Movies

Summer is in full swing! Last month, we encouraged you to curl up with a good book in our Summer 2024 Book Club. This month, get ready to pop some popcorn! July is all about Native cinema and film. Today, we explore Seminole history through the lens of cinema with a special look at Seminoles in film and discover Five Essential Native Films Everyone Should Watch.

For the purposes of this post, Florida Seminole Tourism chose to highlight films that artfully and respectfully depict Native voices, actors, directors, and stories. Prior to the 1970s and 1980s, most films that featured Indigenous characters did so in ways that were belittling, disrespectful, or racist. Although dissecting these films is an important part of understanding Indigenous film overall, we are choosing not to highlight those depictions of Native people. In a Smithsonian Magazine article from 2023, Cass Gardiner, a curator for the Native Cinema Showcase at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian stated that: “I have been personally victimized by Dances with Wolves. The inaccurate perceptions films like that have created are something that we, as contemporary Indigenous peoples, have to live with and fight against.”

Therefore, as we navigate this list and the rest of the month, we strive to highlight genuine, accurate representations of Native people. But remember! This is not an exhaustive list. Throughout July, and beyond, we encourage you to seek out cinema and film that feature Native actors and directors, Native voices, and uplift the Native experience.

Seminoles at the Movies

Before we get on to the list of five essential Native films, Florida Seminole Tourism also wants to share a slice of Seminole history in film, as well as some contemporary Seminoles who are making their mark in cinema. In the image above, Cory Osceola shakes hands with screenwriter Budd Schulberg on the set of “Wind Across the Everglades” in 1958.

Both Cory and his daughter, Mary Osceola Moore, acted in the film. Loosely based on the life of game warden Guy Bradley during the Plume Wars, we looked at “Wind Across the Everglades” more closely in a previous post. Cory Osceola was an incredibly important figure in Seminole leadership in the early 21^st century, making his role in the film all the more interesting.

At a screening of the film in 2022, Everett Osceola, founder of the Native Reel Cinema Festival, shared that: “I believe one of [Osceola’s] family [members] were one of the hunters during that time – was an actual part of the plume wars. The director got him and his daughter, Mary Moore, to participate in the film.” When we covered this film previously, Everett also shared this tidbit: Mary Osceola Moore and Mr. Christopher Plummer became great friends after filming.  Mr. Plummer would send her a card every year on her birthday until his unfortunate passing.

 

Beyond “Wind Across the Everglades”

But, “Wind Across the Everglades” wouldn’t be the only time Seminoles have found themselves in film across the years. In our featured image, you can see the Warner Brothers’ Seminole movie village at Rattlesnake Hammock in 1951, and the Seminoles who built it. The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum identified the location as Royal Palm Hammock on U.S. 41. It was used in the 1951 Florida Western “Distant Drums,” directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Gary Cooper. “Distant Drums” was set during the Second Seminole War in the 1840s. You may remember that “Distant Drums” also filmed on location at Silver Springs.

In 1953, Sam Huff went on a 60-day tour to promote the film “Seminole,” wearing his regalia. Below, you can see a snapshot of him that ran in the Miami Herald on May 3, 1953. Huff, along with six other Seminoles, promoted the Florida Western film starring Rock Hudson. Everglades National Park provides a lush background for the film, which depicts the Second Seminole War period.

Tiger Tiger, a band consisting of two Miccosukee brothers Lee and Stephen Tiger, performed in the 1986 film “Band of Hand.” They played the song “All Come Together Again” which Stephen wrote for the film and was included on the soundtrack.

The Seminole Tribune also shared that seven Tribal Members were unbilled actors in the groundbreaking 1992 film “The Last of the Mohicans.” In the August 28, 1991 edition of the Seminole Tribune, it listed seven tribal members played unbilled roles in the film. They include Bobby Frank Roger Tucker, Alex Tucker, Abe Rockwell, Jerome Rockwell, Luke Tiger, and Marl Sayen (2015.44.362, ATTK Museum)

 

Modern Seminoles in Cinema

Want to support Seminole Tribal Members in the film space right now? There are several contemporary Seminoles making their mark in the film industry today.

 

Native Reel and Everett Osceola

One of these is mentioned above, Everett Osceola of the Native Reel Cinema Festival (NRCF). Best known for his efforts in sharing Native history and contributions in film through the NRCF, Osceola also produced his own feature film with an all-Native cast. “Don’t Let It In” originally started as a short film, which Osceola produced during the pandemic in 2020 and released to virtual film festivals. The horror short was successful. Soon, Los Angeles-based Canvas Media Studios provided funding to expand the story to a feature film.

“Don’t Let It In” is based on a Seminole legend, featuring an Owl Woman and shapeshifter. In a 2022 Seminole Tribune article, Osceola shares more about the film. “It’s a creaky door type of horror movie, it’s not too bloody,” Osceola said. “We want it to be PG-13. The film takes place on Seminole land, but some interiors were filmed off the reservation.” Written and directed by Jay Henric, Osceola himself added rez slang and Elaponke and Creek languages. “It’s always been my dream to put our language in a movie,” he said. “Actors wore their own clothing since the budget was so low. I’m happy to have patchwork on the big screen.”

Along with Everett Osceola, included in the cast are Seminoles Aubee Billie, Carradine Billie, Delilah Hall, Doc Native, Daniel Nunez, Mary Jane Osceola, Geraldine Osceola and Avadie Live Stewart. Taylor Kinequon (Cree/Anishabee) and Beniaren Kane (Hidatsa, Ho-Chunk and Prairie Band Potawatomi) are also featured. You can follow Everett Osceola, and Native Reel Cinema Festival on Instagram and Facebook.

 

Montana Cypress

Triple-threat actor, director, and writer Montana Cypress is a Miccosukee Tribal Member who attended the New York Film Academy in Burbank, CA. NRCF has screened several of his short films, including “Thunderdance”, “Two Brothers”, and “Christmas in Ochopee.”

Everett Osceola also played Uncle Leroy in Montana Cypress’ “A Christmas in Ochopee” (2023). Cypress expanded the 17-minute short to a feature length film. A comedy, the film follows a college student who brings his vegan fiancée home for Christmas to the reservation. Like most of his films, Cypress initially wrote the story as a play, then adapted it for film. Also included in the cast is rising actor and Seminole Tribe of Florida member Tia Blaise-Billie. Blaise-Billie also was in charge of the production design for Cypress’ “An Ode to Leviticus” in 2023, starring Gary Farmer (Cayuga Nation and Wolf Clan) and Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/Metis).

“The Red Orchid”

Cypress also wrote, produced, and acted in the recent horror film “The Red Orchid.” In a recent article about “The Red Orchid” screening at the Flagstaff International Film Festival, Cypress shared more about the film. “I tried to combine certain elements of folk tales growing up on the Rez in the swamps of the everglades. And it’s really scary at night, so I channeled all that,” Cypress stated.

One of his main goals in the film was authenticity, recruiting Miccosukee tribal members and crafting 70% of the dialogue in Elaponke. In a Seminole Tribune article from 2021, Cypress shares that he brought Everett Osceola on to help with the script, and that he views the Seminole Tribe as neighbors. “On my rez you see Seminoles and on their rez you see Miccosukee,” he said. “We’re the same to a certain extent; we share the same language and clan system. When we go to Corn Dance we’re all one.”

At the Flagstaff International Film Festival screening mentioned above, Cypress also shared his hopes for the future of Native film. He states “(In the future), I really hope we come from a place that is kind of entertaining but also enlightening,” Cypress said. “I just know that I have to go backwards first…I got to see how things are going and kind of the history of (Natives in) cinema, and how did the play us, how are they playing us now, and how will they unplay us, in a sense.”

You can find Montana Cypress on Instagram.

 

5 Essential Native Films Everyone Should Watch

Beyond the Seminole Tribe of Florida, there is a rich history of Native contributions to film. Although Indigenous writers, actors, directors, and producers are getting their “moment” right now, below are five films within the last 35 years that everyone should see!

 

“Powwow Highway” (1989)

A comedy-drama based on the book by David Seals, “Powwow Highway” features powerhouse Native actors like Gary Farmer (Cayuga Nation and Wolf Clan), Graham Greene (Oneida), and Wes Studi (Cherokee). This road movie follows two Cheyenne friends Buddy Red Bow (A Martinez) and Philbert (Farmer) as they journey to bail out Buddy’s sister. With two very different outlooks on life, Buddy and Philbert set off on their quest with very different goals. Together, the duo faces the realities of being Native in the U.S., and their tenuous hopes for the future.

 

“Smoke Signals” (1998)

One of the most well-known Native films of the last few decades, “Smoke Signals” is a coming-of-age comedy drama based on Sherman Alexie’s book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. It boasts a prolific cast of Native actors such as Adam Beach (Saulteaux Anishinaabe), Evan Adams (Silammon First Nation), Gary Farmer (Cayuga Nation and Wolf Clan), Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/Metis), Irene Bedard (Iñupiaq/Cree) and a young Cody Lightning (Cree). Centered on tentative friends Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Adams) and Victor Joseph (Beach), the film follows the pair as they travel from their home on the Cour d’Alene Indian Reservation to retrieve the ashes of Victor’s father, Arnold, in Arizona. Thomas views Arnold as a hero, since he rescued him from a house fire as an infant and took him in. On the opposite side of the coin, Victor views his father with a complicated tangle of resentment and love as he contends with his abuse and alcoholism. The journey itself is a journey into them understanding their own identities and coming to terms with some painful truths.

 

“Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner” (2001)

Zacharais Kunuk (Inuit) directs “Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner” the first film ever written, directed, and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language. The story follows an Inuit tale passed down through oral tradition and believed to be more than five centuries old. In it, Atanarjuat’s marriage to his two wives angers a local leader, who them forces Atanarjuat to flee on foot. The film crew was over 90% Inuit. Writer Paul Apak Angilirq interviewed elders over the course of five years to blend together different versions of the story and craft the final film.

In 2017, filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk pieced together the impact that Kunuk’s film had on her career and trajectory. She stated that “Maybe we aren’t making movies because we live in the most beautiful, untouched land in North America. Maybe it isn’t even our rich culture with scary and nuanced myths combined with a deep history of oral storytelling. Maybe it’s our responsibility that drives us to tell stories. Even my silly sci-fi movie with girls on bikes battling aliens comes from my personal feelings of responsibility for young people. I want my nephews and young kids like them to grow up in a world where they can imagine bigger and brighter things. Atanarjuat reminds me that there is an alternative to allowing others to tell your truth.”

 

Four Sheets to the Wind (2007)

The first feature film of “Reservation Dogs” co-creator Sterlin Harjo (Seminole Nation), this independent drama was recognized both by Sundance and the American Indian Film Festival. Starring Cody Lightning (Cree), Tamara Podemski (Anishinaabe/Jewish), and Laura Bailey, the story follows a young Seminole/Creek man Cufe (Lightning). Cufe travels to visit his sister Miri (Podemski) in Tulsa following the suicide of their father. Amidst adjusting, Cufe begins a tentative relationship with Miri’s neighbor Francie (Bailey) and realizes new possibilities for his future. Harjo recalls the beginning of his film career with Sundance, after a chance meeting with The Sundance Institute’s Bird Runningwater. “I sent him a script that I’d written and it wasn’t good enough to get into the labs, but it was good enough that they stayed in touch with me,” Harjo said in a Sundance article in 2021. “I wrote Four Sheets to the Wind a couple of years later.”

This film would be his big break and bring him to the Sundance. In the same article, Harjo shares that “I think that I would not be here without Sundance, without the outreach that they do, and trying to find unique and diverse voices — Native voices specifically. I would have never got an opportunity to do what I do. Now I have a TV show [on] FX, and it all started there with Sundance and being given that opportunity. I think that it’s important, the voices that Sundance finds that aren’t in Hollywood or New York. The people that are on the outskirts, that’s what I think they do best. That’s why I’m here.”

 

“Prey” (2022)

Although it may seem like an odd choice, this selection from the famous science-fiction Predator franchise represents so much more than just a good film. “Prey” is set in the Northern Great Plains in 1719 and follows a young Comanche woman Naru facing off with the extraterrestrial predators. Starring Amber Midthunder (Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribe) as Naru, the cast also features Dakota Beavers as her brother Taabe. Threaded into the production was a reverence and deep desire to accurately and genuinely portray the people and culture. In addition to in English, “Prey” also released in Comanche, and featured a predominantly Native cast.

Jhane Myers (Comanche/Blackfeet) was the creative producer for the film and shared in an ICT interview her role in Prey. “I worked with a lot of people from my tribe, in pre-production, developing the script and adding those Comanche nuances. Being a creative producer I could do that because I am very hands on,” She shared “But some people really didn’t get it. “You’re making a ‘Predator’ movie?’” I said, “Why not? I want Native people to be in the mainstream. We should be in everything.’ A “Predator” movie is a good start, but let’s see us everywhere else. I saw this project not so much as a challenge but a great way to break a lot of barriers. And to really showcase Native people, Comanches, language, and showcase our talent in front of the camera.”

 

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.