TVLSE, Oklv. – After coming off the success of “Killers of the Flower Moon”, “Fancy Dance” and “Reservation Dogs”, Blackfeet actress Lily Gladstone’s newest feature project now is a documentary that tells the story of a group of Blackfeet people who established the first wild buffalo herd on their ancestral territory. The documentary, “Bring Them Home”, or “Aiskótáhkapiyaaya”, authentically tells the story of the decades-long fight to bring back an integral piece of Blackfeet culture. Not only does Gladstone lend her voice as narrator, she also served as an executive producer. The movie screened at Circle Cinema’s film festival alongside other Indigenous films on July 12.
The flagship screening of the festival, “Bring Them Home” saw a packed theater with audience members eager to watch the movie with Gladstone in attendance. When Gladstone entered the room the auditorium erupted in applause. An audience member even gifted her a knitted bumblebee. The stuffed animal, affectionately referred to as her “therapy bee”, sat on Gladstone’s lap throughout the question and answer panel.
During the panel session Gladstone remarked that storytelling can be a powerful influence in how it can shape meaningful change. The movement to reintroduce buffalo, or American bison herds did not enact change overnight. It required advocacy and cultural education efforts on the behalf of many people.
“The biggest shift that needed to happen for this Elk Island herd to get back to Chief Mountain was a cultural conscious shift and stories have a huge impact on that,” Gladstone said. “Documentary is real life which is well known, but you are creating a narrative with it, you’re telling a story.”
The story about the Blackfeet peoples’ decades-long struggle to bring buffalo back to Chief Mountain was told by Blackfeet citizens. The movie was directed by Ivan and Ivy MacDonald (Blackfeet), and Daniel Glick. Gladstone said those involved in the production now affectionately refer to one another as “buffalo cousins”.
The film’s cinematography features sweeping images of the mountains and prairies of Blackfeet Nation in Montana and Canada. As an audience member, it is hard not to feel moved by the visual momentum of buffalo stampeding as they make their way home across the reservation.
When asked about the filmmakers’ approach to establishing trust and building relationships with the people who were interviewed for the feature, Gladstone said the process was easy because everyone was already familiar with one another. Likewise, Gladstone and the MacDonalds had the control to shape the narrative in maintaining an authentic focus on the Blackfeet people.
“A lot of us do ceremony together,” Gladstone said. “When it comes to stories and the power that films like this have to change the world you can look at it in that same precious, sacred lens that everyone who is here is here to contribute, is listened to and has something really important to say.”
Washington D.C. has also made efforts to restore American bison populations. In March 2023 U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Pueblo Laguna) made a Secretary’s Order for $25 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to restore the species as part of a new federal restoration and resilience framework. The order established a federal Bison Working Group which now works closely with other departments like the BIA, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Football Mascots and Native Shorts
The film festival also featured the documentary, “Hail to the Breadsticks!”. The film details a story about a father and son who are fans of the Washington D.C. professional football team. Although the film was not produced by Indigenous filmmakers, it shows the journey filmmaker Donick Cary and his son, Otis, take to learning more about the contemporary issues Native Americans face today. One of which involves racially-insensitive mascots used by sports teams from small-town high schools, colleges and the National Football League.
The film in particular focuses on the former Washington D.C. professional football team’s controversial team name, which used an offensive racial slur. After years of calls from Native American advocacy groups to drop the name, the change finally occurred in 2020. The team infamously used an intermediary placeholder, “Washington Football Team” until the new name “Washington Commanders” was announced in 2022.
On July 14, day four of the festival, an early afternoon screening of Native Spotlight Short Films showcased five shorts produced by Native filmmakers. The screening was comprised of “Lady Red Warriors”, “Waya, Saving our Red Grandfather”, “Chasing Thunder”, “Meet Me at the Creek” and “Ehute-vpohyvuke (Homesick)”, which featured Mvskoke artist Joshua Garrett and his spiritual journey to reconcile his people’s history and mythology. The screening was followed by a reception catered by Mvskoke chef Tricia Fields and Autumn Star Catering.
A portion of ticket proceeds from the “Bring Them Home” screening were donated to the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council. The production team behind the movie is currently conducting a survey for audience members. They are also collecting donations to assist in ecological efforts to preserve the American bison population and preserve traditional cultural knowledge on the species. The survey and donation links can be found on their website, thunderheartfilms.com.
Great article!