Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day! Support Native filmmakers by streaming one of our top 5 favorite films by Indigenous directors. Check out the list below!💜✨
OC TOP 5:
FAVORITE FILMS BY INDIGENOUS DIRECTORS
Monkey Beach (2020)
Directed by Loretta Todd
Where to Stream: Crave
In an effort to turn her life around, a young indigenous woman returns to her hometown and discovers how dysfunctional her family has become.
Little Chief (2020)
Directed by Erica Tremblay
Where to Stream: YouTube
The lives of a Native woman and nine-year-old boy intersect over the course of a school day on a reservation in Oklahoma.
The Cherokee Word for Water (2013)
Directed by Tim Kelly + Charlie Soap
Where to Stream: Apple TV
The work that led Wilma Mankiller to become the first modern female Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) (2018)
Directed by Amanda Strong
Where to Stream: YouTube
Accompanied by a 10,000-year-old shape-shifter and friend known as Sabe, Biidaaban sets out on a mission to reclaim the ceremonial harvesting of sap from maple trees in an unwelcoming suburban neighborhood in Ontario.
Mekko (2015)
Directed by Sterlin Harjo
Where to Stream: Prime Video, Tubi
Mekko is a native American man who is released from prison. He served time for killing a cousin. Homeless, he learns that he must become a warrior to fight the "witch" preying on his people because they have lost their spirit.
OC Honorable Mentions:
Words from a Bear (2019) - Jeffrey Palmer
LaDonna Harris: Indian 101 (2014) - Julianna Brannum
Ronnie BoDean (2015) - Steven Judd
Four Sheets to the Wind (2007) - Sterlin Harjo
Night Raiders (2021) - Danis Goulet
Hollywood has a history of excluding Native people on screen and inaccurately portraying them. UCLA’s “Hollywood Diversity Report 2022” found that Native Americans “remain virtually invisible in Hollywood, making up less than one percent of each job category tracked.” You can support Natives in the industry by streaming one of the films on this list.
If you’d like to do more to help support the Indigenous community, donate to one or more of the following amazing organizations!
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