Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Adam Beach | ... | Self | |
Chris Eyre | ... | Self | |
Russell Means | ... | Self | |
John Trudell | ... | Self | |
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Jesse Wente | ... | Self |
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Charlie Hill | ... | Self |
Jim Jarmusch | ... | Self | |
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André Dudemaine | ... | Self |
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Tim Spotted Horse | ... | Self |
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David Kiehn | ... | Self |
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Rod Rondeaux | ... | Self |
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Melinda Micco | ... | Self |
Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
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David Tuefner | ... | Self |
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Angela Aleiss | ... | Self |
A documentary about the evolution of the depiction of First Nations people in film, from the silent era to today. Featuring clips from hundreds of films, candid interviews with famous Native and non-Native directors, writers and actors, Reel Injun traces how the image of First Nations people in cinema have influenced the understanding and misunderstanding of their culture and history. Written by N. Diamond
The history of the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood films...
What we have is a film that features "white guys" playing Native Americans and the secret identity of Iron Eyes Cody. And for the ladies, we have Native women summed up as Pocahontas. And, of course, all Natives were from the Plains in the movies with feathers and tepees.
What I found disappointing about this film was its lack of references to other films. They did a good job of looking at how Natives really live and there is some humor (the translations) and historical notes of importance (the Marlon Brando incident)... but the clips of films are not a big part of this, and therefore we never fully look at the subject -- Natives in film.