Naturally Native (1998)

Hollywood has not always been kind to Native Americans. When Native Americans have appeared in Hollywood films, it has been in Westerns where they were often portrayed as gross stereotypes. It is rare occurrence that Native Americans have appeared in movies in the present day in stories centred around them. That alone makes Naturally Native (1998) a remarkable film. What makes it even more remarkable is that it is the first film created by and starring Native American women. It is also the first film to be financed by a Native American nation. It was financed by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut.

Naturally Native (1998) centres on three sisters: the eldest, Vickie Lewis Bighawk (Valerie Red-Horse), a San Fernando Valley housewife who is something of an activist and has something of a temper; middle sister Karen Lewis (Kimberly Guerrero), who has just received her Masters in Business Administration and is considering a big job in Chicago; and the youngest, Tanya Lewis (Irene Bedard), an aspiring actress who is more interested in men and fashion than her Native heritage. The three sisters were taken from their father at a young age and placed with white foster parents. Only Vickie, who is married to a Sioux man, Steve Bighawk (Pato Hoffmann), has made an effort to reconnect with her Native heritage. She met with their biological father, who taught her old tribal remedies and self-care. It is Vickie who comes up with the idea of launching a business making cosmetics and hair care products made using the old tribal remedies. Unfortunately, to launch their businesses the three sisters face obstacles in the form of everything from personal problems to outright racism and sexism.

Naturally Native (1998) was directed by Valerie Red-Horse and Jennifer Wynne Farmer. The film emerged from Valerie Red-Horse's own difficulties for finding funding for her films in Hollywood. She and her friend Jennifer Wynne Farmer enrolled in a class on low-budget filmmaking at UCLA. Valerie Red-Horse thought her fellow students did not take her too seriously when she said they were going to make a film. Regardless, Valerie Red-Horse continued with her plans to make a movie and asked Jennifer Wynne Farmer to co-direct it. This proved to be fortunate, as Valerie Red-Horse found out she was pregnant while the movie was being produced.

As to the personalities of the three sisters, Valerie Red-Horse based them on herself at various stages of her life. The youngest, Tanya, was based on herself as she was in high school, when she was more interested in boys and clothes than her Native heritage. The middle sister, Karen, was based on herself in college, when she was focused on academics. The eldest, Vickie, was based on herself in the present. When she made Naturally Native (1998), Valerie Red Horse had already both acted and written for television. She had guest-starred on such shows as Werewolf, Supercarrier, and Murder, She Wrote. Kimberly Guerrero, who played Karen, had guest starred on Northern Exposure and Seinfeld, and appeared in TV movies. Irene Bedard, who played youngest sister Tanya, was probably the best known of the three lead actress. She was the voice of Pocahontas in the 1995 Disney movie and had appeared in the cult classic Smoke Signals (1998). She had also appeared in several TV movies and guest starred on such shows as The Marshal and Profiler.

As to financing the film, Valerie Red-Horse and her co-producers Dawn Jackson and Yvonne Russo approached the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut, who operated one of the largest and most successful Native American casinos. She asked for $100,000, with plans to approach other tribes for the rest of the financing. As it turned out, Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut loved the script and agreed to finance the whole $700,000. 

Naturally Native (1998) was shot over 19 days in the Los Angeles area, from October 15, 1997 to November 7, 1997. The film's cinematographer, Bruce L. Finn, had worked on a project connected to Valerie Red-Horse before. She had co-written a CBS Schoolbreak Special, "My Indian Summer," centred on a Native American teen who spends a summer on a reservation in order to learn more about her culture. Bruce L. Finn was the cinematographer on the special.

Naturally Native (1998) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1998. In April of the same year it was shown at the USA Film Festival and WorldFest Houston. It was also screened at various Native American reservations and even at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. Unfortunately, it failed to find a United States distributor, although there would be individual screening at various theatres around the country and it would be released on video. Currently, Naturally Native (1998) is unavailable on streaming, although Valerie Red-Horse uploaded the movie to Vimeo, where it can still be viewed for free.

As mentioned earlier, Naturally Native (1998) was the first film made by and starring Native American women. It was also the first move financed by a Native American tribe. Naturally Native (1998) covers a good deal of ground and touches upon so many issues still experienced by Native Americans to this day. It addresses the policy of separating Native American children from their tribes and placing them with white parents as well as the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its policies on determining on just who is Native American. As might be expected, then, much of the movie, deals with the nature of Native American identity. If that sounds like a lot, Naturally Native (1998) also addresses the sexism and racism faced by Native American women, cultural misappropriation, Native American stereotypes, the sexual objectification of Native American women, and much more. That sounds like a lot, but while watching the film it does not feel forced or contrived in anyway. Of course, much of this is helped by the strong performances of the three leads.

Naturally Native (1998) is a historic film in multiple ways. As the first film created by and starring Native American women, it features a feminine perspective not seen in earlier films about Native Americans, such as Powwow Highway (1998) and Smoke Signals (1998). It also differs from those films in that it is not set on a reservation. Naturally Native (1998) largely unfolds in suburban San Fernando Valley. Of course, as mentioned earlier, it was the first film produced by a Native American tribe. Naturally Native (1998) broke a good deal of new ground. It is a shame that it is not better known and not seen more often.