M3-P2 “Little Chief” Sundance Film Festival, 2019 – Erica Tremblay

“If there’s anything that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, it’s the sovereignty of joy. And how for so long our stories have been relegated to a time period and to a certain traumatic response baseline. I think it’s just time for us to realize that we can live in trailer parks and be happy. We can have successful jobs and still be indigenous. Joy is just so important. I’m so excited to see so many indigenous artists out there starting to explore what it means to be a modern happy indigenous person” (Tremblay, 2021, quoted in Cinema Femme)

As I continue to map out my final project, I began to think of Howe’s (1998) comment on the spiritualism dimension. He comments that the “spiritual dimension of tribalism guides the relationship between tribal peoples and their land” (Howe, 1998, p.23).  The readings in Module 8 had me identify that film/photography can act as a catalyst for Indigenous filmmakers and artists.  They allow stories of Indigenous peoples to be told by Indigenous peoples. Film seems to showcase this relationship in a subtle but eloquent way.

The discussion in Module 8 made me connect to the 12 minute story, “Little Chief”.

This short film was both written and directed by Erica Tremblay (Seneca-Cayuga) and showcases a teacher-student relationship at an elementary school on reservation in Oklahoma. The film follows a young school teacher who is overworked, tired, but has a deep affinity to her young students. Bear, a young boy, shares an instinctive connection with the teacher as she sees him walking to school with no jacket. She pulls over and offers him a yellow hoodie as they drive to school. During the day, the young boy is bullied for his stutter and immediately runs out of the classroom. As the teacher calls the office and declarers “we have a runner” she quickly grabs her jacket and runs to the boy.

The next scene the teacher and Bear are sitting together in a moment of silence. She makes a comment about alcohol and domestic abuse that is happening in the home, after Bear nods his head, she offers him a candy as she smokes a cigarette. Bear looks the most content in this scene versus the entire film.

This film reveals the connection between these characters. Although adult and child, there is an unspoken bond between them that this film eloquently reveals. When Tremblay was asked what motivated her to make the film, she called her her work, “a love letter to my mom and the sacrifices our matriarchs make for our communities. I am in awe of educators that are helping children through a bad day. They are going through their own healing, too”(Tremblay, 2021, quoted in Cinema Femme). She goes on to highlight how “Familial bonds and community ties are so important to all of us. It’s great to see projects come out that celebrate us as communities and cultures” (Tremblay, 2021, quoted in Cinema Femme).

To connect to my project again, I would use this film in Social Studies 9 to illustrate the curricular goal: “what evidence reflects that colonialism and imperialism still influence present day relationships?  Using an Indigenous perspective like this film would be a great way to discuss this.

If you’re interested in other sources:

Erica Tremblay discusses learning her Indigenous language on the Six Nations Reserve: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/little-chief-a-conversation-with-erica-tremblay/id1502130853?i=1000469393870

Indigenous Filmmaker Erica Tremblay charts her road to making “Little Chief” and future projects

A Talk with Erica Tremblay on ‘Little Chief’, Her Sundance Debut