Indigenous Films
by lylliam-posadas | created - 29 Nov 2018 | updated - 29 Nov 2018 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Exiles (1961)
Not Rated | 72 min | Drama
Follows a family of Native Americans living in the City of Angels.
Director: Kent Mackenzie | Stars: Yvonne Williams, Homer Nish, Tom Reynolds, Rico Rodriguez
Votes: 1,389 | Gross: $0.03M
2. Sami Blood (2016)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama, History
A reindeer-breeding Sámi girl who is exposed to the racism of the 1930's at her boarding school, starts dreaming of another life. But to achieve it, she has to become someone else and break all ties with her family and culture.
Director: Amanda Kernell | Stars: Maj-Doris Rimpi, Olle Sarri, Ánne Biret Somby, Bo Lundmark
Votes: 8,294
3. Whale Rider (2002)
PG-13 | 101 min | Drama, Family
A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.
Director: Niki Caro | Stars: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis
Votes: 44,038 | Gross: $20.78M
4. Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama
With an older brother in jail and living with their single mother on Pine Ridge Reservation, Johnny and his sister Jashuan's lives develop new challenges when their absentee cowboy father ... See full summary »
Director: Chloé Zhao | Stars: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Jessica Rowland
Votes: 3,842 | Gross: $0.03M
5. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
PG-13 | 101 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.
Director: Taika Waititi | Stars: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House
Votes: 141,927 | Gross: $5.20M
6. Powwow Highway (1988)
R | 91 min | Adventure, Drama
Two Northern Cheyenne men take a road trip from Montana to New Mexico to bail out the sister of one of them who has been framed and arrested in Santa Fe. On the way, they begin to reconnect to their spiritual heritage.
Director: Jonathan Wacks | Stars: Gary Farmer, A Martinez, Joanelle Romero, Amanda Wyss
Votes: 1,903 | Gross: $0.28M
7. Deidra & Laney Rob a Train (2017)
TV-14 | 92 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
After their mother ends up in jail, two sisters turn to train robbery in order to support their family.
Director: Sydney Freeland | Stars: Ashleigh Murray, Rachel Crow, Lance Gray, Danielle Nicolet
Votes: 2,090
8. Dakota 38 (2012)
78 min | Documentary
In the spring of 2005 Jim Miller a native spiritual leader and VietNam veteran found himself in a dream riding on horseback across the great plains of south Dakota just before he awoke he ... See full summary »
Director: Silas Hagerty | Star: Jim Miller
Votes: 50
9. Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation (2017)
102 min | Documentary
The documentary follows The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team on the road as they compete in the 2015 World Box Lacrosse Championships. For the first time ever, the Championship Games were ... See full summary »
Directors: Peter Baxter, Peter Spirer
Votes: 66
10. Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World (2017)
103 min | Documentary, Music
A documentary about the role of Native Americans in popular music history.
Directors: Catherine Bainbridge, Alfonso Maiorana | Stars: George Clinton, Robbie Robertson, Gary Giddins, Martin Scorsese
Votes: 1,080 | Gross: $0.23M
11. Drunktown's Finest (2014)
Unrated | 95 min | Drama
Three young Native Americans - an adopted Christian girl, a rebellious father-to-be, and a promiscuous transsexual - strive to escape the hardships of life on an Indian reservation.
Director: Sydney Freeland | Stars: Jeremiah Bitsui, Carmen Moore, Morningstar Angeline, Tailinh Agoyo
Votes: 272
12. Wind River (2017)
R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A wildlife officer, who is haunted by a tragedy that happened because of him, teams up with an FBI agent in solving a murder of a young woman on a Wyoming Native American reservation and hopes to get redemption from his past regrets.
Director: Taylor Sheridan | Stars: Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Graham Greene, Kelsey Asbille
Votes: 280,676 | Gross: $33.80M
13. Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
PG | 94 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
In 1931, three half-white, half-Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their houses to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a journey across the Outback.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Kenneth Branagh, Laura Monaghan
Votes: 30,262 | Gross: $6.17M
14. Smoke Signals (1998)
PG-13 | 89 min | Comedy, Drama
Arnold rescued Thomas from a fire when he was a child. Thomas thinks of Arnold as a hero, while Arnold's son Victor resents his father's alcoholism, violence and abandonment of his family.
Director: Chris Eyre | Stars: Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard, Gary Farmer
Votes: 12,607 | Gross: $6.72M
15. Dance Me Outside (1994)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Drama
A story of life on a First Nations reserve in Ontario: Silas and Frank are trying to get into college to train to be mechanics but they find themselves having to deal with girls, family - and murder.
Director: Bruce McDonald | Stars: Ryan Rajendra Black, Adam Beach, Jennifer Podemski, Michael Greyeyes
Votes: 1,333 | Gross: $0.30M
16. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 133 min | Drama, History, Western
A historic chronicle based on the book by Dee Brown explains how Native Americans were displaced as the United States expanded west.
Director: Yves Simoneau | Stars: Aidan Quinn, Adam Beach, August Schellenberg, Anna Paquin
Votes: 7,441
17. Big Eden (2000)
PG-13 | 118 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Big Eden is a small, fictional northwestern Montana town.
Director: Thomas Bezucha | Stars: Arye Gross, Eric Schweig, Tim DeKay, Louise Fletcher
Votes: 4,902 | Gross: $0.51M
18. Four Sheets to the Wind (2007)
R | 81 min | Drama, Romance
After his father's untimely suicide, Cufe leaves his home in a Native American reservation in search of a more fulfilling life.
Director: Sterlin Harjo | Stars: Wes Allen, Jeri Arredondo, Laura Bailey, Nando Betancur
Votes: 641
19. Elijah (2007 TV Movie)
Drama
Director: Paul Unwin | Stars: Billy Merasty, Tina Louise Bomberry, Gregory 'Dominic' Odjig, Michael Peterson
Votes: 93
20. Incident at Oglala (1992)
PG | 89 min | Documentary, History
This film describes the events surrounding a 1975 shootout at the Pine Ridge reservation in S. Dakota where two FBI agents were killed.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Robert Redford, Norman Zigrossi, Robert Sikma, Darelle 'Dino' Butler
Votes: 1,289 | Gross: $0.54M
21. Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee (1994 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 100 min | Drama
Mary Crow Dog, daughter of a desperately poor Indian family in South Dakota, is swept up in the protests of the 1960s and becomes sensitized to the injustices that society inflicts on her ... See full summary »
Director: Frank Pierson | Stars: Charles Abourezk, Dave Bald Eagle, Lawrence Bayne, Edgar Bear Runner
Votes: 331
22. In the Light of Reverence (2001)
73 min | Documentary
Tells the story of three indigenous communities and the lands they struggle to protect: the Lakota of the Great Plains, the Hopi of the Four Corners area, and the Winnemem Wintu of northern California.
Director: Christopher McLeod
Votes: 27
23. The Business of Fancydancing (2002)
103 min | Drama, Music
Seymour Polatkin is a successful, gay Native American poet from Spokane who confronts his past when he returns to his childhood home on the reservation to attend the funeral of a dear friend.
Director: Sherman Alexie | Stars: Evan Adams, Michelle St. John, Gene Tagaban, Swil Kanim
Votes: 550 | Gross: $0.17M
24. The Rider (2017)
R | 104 min | Drama, Western
After suffering a near fatal head injury, a young cowboy undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.
Director: Chloé Zhao | Stars: Brady Jandreau, Mooney, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau
Votes: 20,638 | Gross: $2.42M
25. Naturally Native (1998)
PG-13 | 107 min | Drama
Three Native American sisters (Red-Horse, Bedard, Guerrero) decide to try to sell a line of cosmetics they call Naturally Native, based on old tribal remedies, only to have to fight an ... See full summary »
Directors: Jennifer Wynne Farmer, Valerie Red-Horse | Stars: Valerie Red-Horse, Yvonne Russo, Irene Bedard, Kimberly Guerrero
Votes: 168 | Gross: $0.01M
26. Medicine River (1993 TV Movie)
PG | 94 min | Comedy
When photographer Will returns home for his mother's funeral he gets more than he bargained for from a strange cast of characters on the reservation.
Director: Stuart Margolin | Stars: Graham Greene, Tom Jackson, Sheila Tousey, Janet-Laine Green
Votes: 133
27. Follow Me Home (1996)
Unrated | 100 min | Drama
Three muralists (one Chicano, one Black, one American Indian) and the socially-maladjusted cousin of the Chicano muralist set off on a road trip with the intent of painting their images on ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Bratt | Stars: Alfre Woodard, Jesse Borrego, Salma Hayek, Calvin Levels
Votes: 232
28. We Shall Remain: The Goshute (2009)
Documentary, History
The tribes we now know as the Goshutes came from the heart of the Great Basin, a vast and arid expanse. Hear in their own words how the Goshutes navigate crises past, present, and future.
Director: Carol Dalrymple | Star: Laine Thom
Votes: 10
29. Imprint (I) (2007)
PG-13 | 84 min | Drama, Thriller
A Native American attorney prosecuting a Lakota teen in a controversial murder trial, returns to the reservation to say goodbye to her dying father. After the teen is killed, she hears ghostly voices and sees strange visions.
Director: Michael Linn | Stars: Tonantzin Carmelo, Carla-Rae, Michael Spears, Cory Brusseau
Votes: 701
30. Little Big Man (1970)
PG-13 | 139 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Jack Crabb, looking back from extreme old age, tells of his life being raised by Native Americans and fighting with General Custer.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George, Martin Balsam
Votes: 37,902 | Gross: $31.56M
31. Barking Water (2009)
Not Rated | 85 min | Drama
Frankie is dying. Irene hasn't forgiven him. And they are racing against time to find their way home. Frankie needs help and Irene is the one he turns to. He must go home one last time. And... See full summary »
Director: Sterlin Harjo | Stars: Bebe Harjo, Gabriel Pelayo, Frederick Schroeder, Quese IMC
Votes: 216
32. Shadow of the Hawk (1976)
PG | 92 min | Adventure, Horror
The Westernized grandson of a shaman returns to the wilderness to learn more about his Native American heritage. When he encounters powerful evil spirits, he enlists the aid of his lover and a local chief to stop the spirits.
Directors: George McCowan, Daryl Duke | Stars: Jan-Michael Vincent, Marilyn Hassett, Chief Dan George, Pia Shandel
Votes: 643
33. Skinwalkers: The Navajo Mysteries (2002)
100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A veteran cop returns to his childhood Navajo reservation, where his urban investigation methods sometimes clash with his partner's traditional ones.
Stars: Wes Studi, Adam Beach, Alex Rice, Sheila Tousey
Votes: 151
34. Lost Sparrow (2009)
78 min | Documentary
On June 27, 1978, a 44-car freight train struck and killed two Crow Indian brothers near the quaint town of Little Falls, NY. The day before, Bobby, 13, and Tyler, 11, had disappeared. They... See full summary »
Director: Chris Billing
Votes: 44
35. Once Were Warriors (1994)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama
A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.
Director: Lee Tamahori | Stars: Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, Julian Arahanga
Votes: 36,852 | Gross: $2.20M
36. Ce qu'il faut pour vivre (2008)
PG | 102 min | Drama
In 1952, an Inuit hunter named Tivii with tuberculosis leaves his northern home and family to go recuperate at a sanatorium in Quebec City. Uprooted, far from his loved ones, unable to ... See full summary »
Director: Benoit Pilon | Stars: Natar Ungalaaq, Éveline Gélinas, Paul-André Brasseur, Louise Marleau
Votes: 1,022
37. The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (2006)
112 min | Drama
A portrayal of the lives of the last great Inuit shaman, Avva, and his beautiful and headstrong daughter, Apak. Based on the journals of 1920s Danish ethnographer Knud Rasmussen.
Directors: Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk | Stars: Pakak Innuksuk, Leah Angutimarik, Neeve Irngaut, Natar Ungalaaq
Votes: 385
38. Dance Me Outside (1994)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Drama
A story of life on a First Nations reserve in Ontario: Silas and Frank are trying to get into college to train to be mechanics but they find themselves having to deal with girls, family - and murder.
Director: Bruce McDonald | Stars: Ryan Rajendra Black, Adam Beach, Jennifer Podemski, Michael Greyeyes
Votes: 1,333 | Gross: $0.30M
39. Black Cloud (2004)
PG-13 | 97 min | Drama
Black Cloud, is an inspirational story about a young Navajo, Native American boxer, who overcomes personal challenges as he comes to terms with his heritage, while fighting his way for a spot on the US Olympic boxing team.
Director: Ricky Schroder | Stars: Eddie Spears, Russell Means, Julia Jones, Tim McGraw
Votes: 548
40. Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993)
119 min | Documentary
A film account about the military 1990 siege of a Native American reserve near Oka, Quebec, Canada and its causes.
Director: Alanis Obomsawin | Stars: Jack Burning, Herbie Barnes, Alanis Obomsawin, Ethel Blondin
Votes: 482
41. Ten Canoes (2006)
Unrated | 90 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
In Australia's Northern Territory, a man tells us a story of his people and his land. It's about an older man, Minygululu, who has three wives and realizes that his younger brother Dayindi may try to steal away the youngest wife.
Directors: Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr | Stars: Crusoe Kurddal, Jamie Gulpilil, Richard Birrinbirrin, Peter Minygululu
Votes: 5,110 | Gross: $0.28M
42. What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999)
108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Jake Muss' oldest son is killed in a gang fight and the younger son wants revenge, but Jake doesn't want to lose his other son to violence as well.
Director: Ian Mune | Stars: Temuera Morrison, Rena Owen, Clint Eruera, Nancy Brunning
Votes: 3,769
43. Beneath Clouds (2002)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
Lena is the daughter of an Aboriginal mother and Irish father and Vaughn is a Murri boy doing time in a minimum security prison in North West NSW. Dramatic events throw them together on a journey with no money and no transport.
Director: Ivan Sen | Stars: Dannielle Hall, Damian Pitt, Jenna Lee Connors, Terry Dahlstron
Votes: 1,189
44. Reel Injun (2009)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, Western
The history of the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood films.
Directors: Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge, Jeremiah Hayes | Stars: Adam Beach, Chris Eyre, Russell Means, John Trudell
Votes: 1,648
45. Samson & Delilah (II) (2009)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Romance
A glue-sniffing boy and his girlfriend escape the government-controlled no-hope Aboriginal community they live in and go to the city, Alice Springs, looking for a better life.
Director: Warwick Thornton | Stars: Rowan McNamara, Marissa Gibson, Mitjili Napanangka Gibson, Scott Thornton
Votes: 3,765
46. BabaKiueria (1986 TV Movie)
29 min | Comedy, Drama
Role reversal study of the historically inaccurate "plight" of Australian Aborigines in modern Anglo-Saxon society. Indigenous "whities" [sic] are being persecuted by racist black people ... See full summary »
Director: Don Featherstone | Stars: Michelle Torres, Bob Maza, Kevin Smith, Cecily Polson
Votes: 238
47. Christmas in the Clouds (2001)
PG | 96 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
During the holidays at a ski resort in Utah run by a Native American tribe, the overworked manager and a widowed woman from the big city overcome mistaken identities and intrusive guests in their pursuit of romance.
Director: Kate Montgomery | Stars: Timothy Vahle, Sam Vlahos, Mariana Tosca, M. Emmet Walsh
Votes: 890
48. Turquoise Rose (2007)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama
Raised in the suburbs of Phoenix, a Navajo college student must choose between a vacation in Rome or moving to the reservation to care for her ailing grandmother.
Director: Travis Holt Hamilton | Stars: Deshava Apachee, Donavon G. Barney, Ethel Begay, Kathleen Benner
Votes: 95
49. Blue Gap Boy'z (2008)
90 min | Comedy
In the small town of Blue Gap, Arizona on the Navajo Reservation there lives three brothers known as James (Ernest David Tsosie, III), Jessie (Vincent Craig), and Jodie (James Bilagody). ... See full summary »
Director: Travis Holt Hamilton | Stars: Ernest Tsosie III, James Bilagody, Vincent Craig, Sallie Glaner
Votes: 18
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