Naturally Native

Naturally Native (1999)

Sometimes When You're Going Home, It's Important To Know Where You've Come From...

Naturally Native follows the lives, loves, pain, joy and relationships of three sisters as they attempt to start their own business. Of American Indian ancestry, but adopted by white foster parents as young children, each sister has her own identity issues and each has chosen a very different career path. Now dedicated to starting a Native cosmetic business, they attempt to overcome obstacles both in the business world and in the home. A touching love story of family and culture, Naturally Native also interweaves a subtle, but strong wake-up call regarding the treatment of Native people in corporate America. Naturally Native also provides some insight into tribal infrastructure and gaming issues.

Date of release
1999-10-08
TMDB
8.0 / 10 (2)
Runtime
1h 47m
Genres
Drama
Director
Valerie Red-Horse, Jennifer Wynne Farmer

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Budget: $700K

Naturally Native is a 1998 American drama film directed by Valerie Red-Horse. It is the first feature film created by and about Native American women, and the first entirely financed by a tribe.

Production

Writer and director Valerie Red-Horse wanted to make a film depicting her own obstacles obtaining funding for her films in Hollywood, as well as her frustration about the types of roles designated for Natives in the film industry. She enrolled in a class on low-budget filmmaking at UCLA with her friend Jennifer Farmer (Pumpkin Man).

The film was shot in the Los Angeles area in only 19 days starting in October 1997, with Emmy Award-winner Bruce L. Finn (My Indian Summer (1995), directed by Red-Horse) as cinematographer. Kimberly Norris Guerrero (TNT's Geronimo) and Irene Bedard (Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee) were cast to play the other sisters, alongside Red-Horse. Crew was recruited voluntarily or at low cost based on the desire to realize Red-Horse's vision.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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