Beyond the ‘1st Best Movie in the World’: 10 Films Changing Indigenous Narratives
The quest to label a single film as the “1st Best Movie In The World” often overlooks the diverse tapestry of cinematic history and the crucial role film plays in shaping cultural understanding. While rankings dominate discussions, a more vital conversation revolves around movies that broke barriers, challenged stereotypes, and gave voice to underrepresented communities. Historically, North America’s Indigenous peoples, descendants of those who migrated across the Bering land bridge millennia ago, faced devastating impacts from colonization beginning in 1492. This era brought violence, displacement onto reservations, and the forced assimilation of children in residential schools. These actions were reinforced by persistent negative stereotypes, heavily propagated through early news, literature, and especially the Western film genre, which cemented harmful caricatures in the public eye. Since the 1960s, however, a growing Indigenous cultural resistance has spurred cinema to confront this history and its own complicity. Filmmakers, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, are increasingly exploring the complexities of colonization, revising historical narratives, and centering Indigenous American and First Nations perspectives, offering agency and truth where erasure once stood. This selection explores ten significant films and series that represent crucial steps in this ongoing cinematic evolution, moving far beyond simple accolades to achieve something truly important.
Broken Arrow (1950)
Director: Delmer Daves
Decades of misrepresentation in the Western genre made Broken Arrow a landmark achievement. It stands as one of the earliest mainstream Westerns attempting a realistic and sympathetic portrayal of Indigenous Americans and their culture, earning a Golden Globe for “best film promoting international understanding.” The film draws inspiration from the true experiences of U.S. Army scout Tom Jeffords and Apache chief Cochise, chronicling the difficult journey towards a peace treaty between specific Apache groups and the U.S. government.
James Stewart as Tom Jeffords speaks with Jeff Chandler as Cochise in the western film Broken Arrow (1950)
Director Delmer Daves portrays Cochise (Jeff Chandler) and Jeffords (James Stewart) as men of equal stature, honour, and integrity, both seeking an end to conflict. Based on historical events, the film depicts both Americans and Apaches with moments of ruthlessness and tolerance. While the romance between Jeffords and the Apache woman Sonseeahray (Debra Paget) is fictionalized, it serves as a vehicle to explore ceremonial traditions and cultural practices, adding depth to the film’s comparatively rich and realistic depiction of Indigenous life for its time.
Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
Director: John Ford
Cheyenne Autumn marks the final Western directed by John Ford, one of the genre’s most influential figures. Ford intended the film as an elegy and apology for the historical mistreatment and poor cinematic representation of Indigenous Americans. Based on the harrowing Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878-1879, the narrative follows over 300 Cheyenne attempting to journey from their desolate reservation in Oklahoma back to their ancestral lands in Wyoming, defying government orders. Captain Thomas Archer (Richard Widmark) leads the U.S. Army troops sent to intercept them.
A group of Cheyenne people depicted outdoors in John Ford's film Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
Ford depicts Archer as sympathetic towards the Cheyenne, showing him willing to jeopardize his career to aid them, which also allows Ford to maintain his characteristic respect for honorable figures within the cavalry. With its deliberate pacing, the film starkly illustrates the disregard and suffering inflicted upon Indigenous peoples, implicitly arguing for greater understanding and unity.
Powwow Highway (1989)
Director: Jonathan Wacks
Featuring a predominantly Indigenous cast including Wes Studi, Graham Greene, and Gary Farmer, and filmed on contemporary reservations, Powwow Highway adapts David Seals’ novel into a unique Indigenous take on the road/buddy movie genre. Cheyenne activist Buddy Red Bow (A Martinez) travels from the Northern Cheyenne reservation to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to post bail for his sister. He partners with childhood friend Philbert Bono (Farmer), embarking on a journey that becomes one of adventure and cultural rediscovery.
Gary Farmer as Philbert Bono and A Martinez as Buddy Red Bow stand by their car in Powwow Highway (1989)
The film contrasts Buddy’s future-focused activism, particularly his fight against a strip-mining deal on tribal land, with Philbert’s connection to the past, gathering “good medicine” and spiritual tokens. As their journey unfolds, mutual respect grows between them. They attend a powwow, visit sacred sites, and connect with their ancestors, demonstrating how embracing the past’s humanity can help soothe the present’s anger and foster Indigenous identity.
Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
Director: Walter Hill
Creating an accurate film biography of renowned Indigenous figures like Geronimo presents inherent complexities, stemming from diverse historical accounts and, crucially, the perspectives shaping them. Despite these challenges, Walter Hill’s Geronimo: An American Legend, penned by John Milius and Larry Gross, offers an ambitious and nuanced portrayal of the famed Apache leader’s later life. The film focuses on his fierce resistance against U.S. Army and government policies, culminating in his eventual surrender, while subtly commenting on the cultural genocide inherent in the conquest of the West.
Wes Studi as Geronimo raises a rifle skyward in Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
Wes Studi, an Oscar-winning Indigenous American actor, portrays Geronimo with compelling dignity and consideration. He masterfully balances Geronimo’s strategic brilliance and warrior prowess with the portrayal of a man driven to violence primarily to protect the dwindling remnants of his people, their land, and their culture as they are systematically stripped away. Studi’s performance elevates the film beyond simple action, presenting a complex leader fighting for survival.
Smoke Signals (1998)
Director: Chris Eyre
Similar to Powwow Highway, Smoke Signals employs the road trip structure to delve into the friendship between two young men from the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation. Victor Joseph (Adam Beach) and Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams) have a complicated shared past: Victor’s father, Arnold (Gary Farmer), saved Thomas from a house fire that killed Thomas’s parents. Growing up, Thomas idealizes Arnold, while Victor endures abuse and eventual abandonment due to Arnold’s alcoholism. News of Arnold’s death prompts the pair to travel to Phoenix, Arizona, to collect his ashes.
Adam Beach as Victor Joseph and Evan Adams as Thomas Builds-the-Fire walking together in Smoke Signals (1998)
Their journey becomes one of self-discovery, forcing them to confront their pasts and encounter enduring prejudices. Arnold’s presence looms through flashbacks, revealing a man capable of both love and violence, burdened by pride, anger, and guilt over the fire’s true circumstances. Smoke Signals is widely celebrated as one of the first films written, directed, and produced by Indigenous Americans, featuring an Indigenous cast and filmed on location. Its cultural significance was recognized in 2018 with its selection for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
Director: Zacharias Kunuk
Directed by Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner is a powerful retelling of an ancient Inuit legend and the first feature film written, directed, and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language. The story unfolds as an evil shaman sows discord within a nomadic Inuit community, leading to jealousy, betrayal, murder, and ultimately, a quest for justice and healing as the protagonist, Atanarjuat (Natar Ungalaaq), flees across the Arctic landscape from the men who killed his brother.
Three Inuit characters bundled in furs stand together in a scene from Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
Screenwriter Paul Apak Angilirq spent five years meticulously developing the script, interviewing Inuit elders to gather various versions and understandings of the legend, weaving them into a cohesive narrative. The film’s dialogue, customs, clothing, and props were authentically reconstructed based on these oral histories and supplemented by historical accounts from European explorers. Upon release, Atanarjuat received widespread critical acclaim for its stunning direction, compelling storytelling, and authentic portrayal of Inuit life, becoming a significant critical and commercial success and winning the prestigious Caméra d’Or (Golden Camera) for best first feature film at the Cannes Film Festival.
Blood Quantum (2019)
Director: Jeff Barnaby
Written and directed by the late Mi’kmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby, Blood Quantum cleverly transposes the zombie apocalypse genre, particularly echoing George A. Romero’s Dead trilogy, onto a First Nations reserve. In this gripping horror narrative, a virus turns white people outside the reserve into flesh-eating zombies, while the Indigenous residents of the Red Crow Mi’kmaq reserve discover they are immune due to their inherent ancestry, their “blood quantum.” The reservation transforms into a fortified sanctuary amidst a nationwide pandemic. However, this haven is soon threatened as desperate white survivors seek refuge, bringing conflict and echoing historical invasions where outsiders sought to take Indigenous land.
A group of Indigenous characters stand ready with weapons amidst mist in the horror film Blood Quantum (2019)
Barnaby uses the zombie trope as a powerful allegory for colonial history. The film references past traumas, like the historical threat of infected blankets, alongside more recent events, such as the violent police raid on Barnaby’s own childhood reservation, Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation (Restigouche). Amidst the visceral gore and the brutality mirroring reservation life’s hardships, the film centers characters embodying heritage and hope. They grapple with generational trauma, seeking solutions through asserting Indigenous voice and agency against overwhelming threats, both living and undead.
Reservation Dogs (2021–2023)
Creators: Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi
Co-created by Seminole/Muscogee filmmaker Sterlin Harjo and Māori filmmaker Taika Waititi, Reservation Dogs represents a landmark moment in television. It stands as the first major series predominantly written and directed by Indigenous people, featuring an almost entirely Indigenous North American cast and crew. Set in rural Oklahoma within the Muscogee Nation, the series follows four Indigenous teenagers – Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Elora Danan (Devery Jacobs), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), and Cheese (Lane Factor) – as they navigate the complexities of adolescence, grief, and community on their reservation, dreaming of escaping to California.
The four main teenage characters of Reservation Dogs lounge on a lawn in rural Oklahoma
The show masterfully weaves together the teens’ contemporary lives with cultural traditions, folklore, guidance from elders, and humorous encounters with spirit guides. The colonial past subtly informs their present, offering context and sometimes unexpected wisdom as they grapple with poverty, loss, and identity. Reservation Dogs provides security and direction amidst turbulence, exploring generational trauma and recent deaths with honesty, humour, and profound poignancy. It paints a vibrant, authentic portrait of modern life on the ‘rez,’ allowing characters to embrace their history and shape their futures.
Slash/Back (2022)
Director: Nyla Innuksuk
Inuit writer-director Nyla Innuksuk’s feature debut, Slash/Back, blends a coming-of-age story with sci-fi horror elements. Set in the remote Arctic hamlet of Pangnirtung, Nunavut, the film follows four Indigenous teenage girls: Maika (Tasiana Shirley), Jesse (Alexis Vincent-Wolfe), Leena (Chelsea Prusky), and Uki (Nalajoss Ellsworth). Their ordinary summer takes a terrifying turn after encountering a strangely behaving polar bear, leading them to discover that their isolated community is the epicenter of an alien invasion. With the adults largely unaware or dismissive, the girls must rely on their knowledge of the land, their hunting skills, and their resilience to defend Pangnirtung.
Tasiana Shirley as Maika holds a rifle, ready for action in the Inuit sci-fi horror film Slash/Back (2022)
Innuksuk developed the film through acting workshops in Nunavut, casting local, untrained Indigenous youth and collaborating with them to shape the characters and dialogue, resulting in authentic performances. The film cleverly reinterprets the “Final Girl” trope through a collective of resourceful young women. Its distinctive use of practical creature effects evokes comparisons to the intense, claustrophobic horror of John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982). Slash/Back powerfully demonstrates the strength found in community, heritage, and fighting back against invasive forces.
Prey (2022)
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
As the seventh entry in the Predator franchise, Prey takes a bold and refreshing direction, transporting the iconic alien hunter back to the Northern Great Plains in 1719. The story centers on Naru (Amber Midthunder), a skilled young Comanche woman determined to prove herself as a capable hunter within her tribe. While tracking a mountain lion that poses a threat to her people, she encounters the technologically advanced Predator, forcing her into a primal battle for survival against a foe unlike any she could have imagined.
Amber Midthunder as Naru, prepared for battle in the historical sci-fi action film Prey (2022)
Produced by Jhane Myers (Comanche/Blackfeet) and advised by Indigenous consultant Professor Dustin Tahmahkera (Comanche), Prey features a cast composed almost entirely of Native and First Nations actors. Significant effort was dedicated to authentically portraying Comanche life, including language, rituals, social roles, clothing, and weaponry. Notably, it became the first feature film released with a full Comanche language dub available. This commitment to positive Indigenous representation and historical detail is skillfully balanced with the high-stakes, violent action inherent to the Predator series, creating a thrilling cinematic experience that foregrounds Indigenous strength, culture, and female agency.
These ten titles represent just a fraction of the growing body of work challenging cinematic history and offering authentic Indigenous perspectives. From early attempts at sympathetic portrayals in Westerns to contemporary horror, sci-fi, and character-driven dramas led by Indigenous creators, the landscape of representation is evolving. While the notion of a single “1st Best Movie In The World” remains subjective and ultimately limiting, these films demonstrate the power of cinema to reclaim narratives, celebrate cultures, and confront difficult truths. They offer far more than entertainment; they provide crucial insights into resilience, identity, and the ongoing importance of Indigenous voices in shaping their own stories on screen. What significant films telling Indigenous stories would you add to this list? Share your thoughts and continue the conversation.
