Dreamkeeper
Encyclopedia
Dreamkeeper is a 2003 film written by John Fusco and directed by Steve Barron
. The main plot of the film is the conflict between a Lakota elder and storyteller named Pete Chasing Horse (August Schellenberg
) and his Lakota grandson, Shane Chasing Horse (Eddie Spears
). The plot unwinds as the two travel from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
in South Dakota
to the fictitious All Nations
powwow
in Albuquerque, New Mexico
, a trip the grandson takes only under duress. Along the way, the grandfather tells his grandson various Indian stories and legends to help him understand and choose the "good red road," i.e. to embrace an Indian identity.
Eventually, the gang members who are after Shane catch up with them, but accidentally drive their car off a cliff and into a lake while chasing him. Shane dives in and saves them, and his struggle is contrasted with Eagle Boy’s underwater battle with Unceliga. The gang members ride with them for a ways, until they and the redheaded hitchhiker leave them in order to travel with a group of attractive young women who are also headed to the powwow.
As they travel, Shane’s grandfather tells Shane many other stories: several are about the trickster Coyote and Iktomi
the spider. Another is about a young Pawnee man and his mother who are scorned by the rest of their tribe until the young man finds an unwanted dun pony who brings them good medicine. As Shane and his grandfather look up at the stars, the grandfather tells the story of the Quillwork Girl and her seven star brothers, which is about a Cheyenne girl who puts her faith in a dream and searches for seven brothers, but who must then contend with the Buffalo nation. The next story is about a young Chinook woman who sacrifices herself in order to cure her village of a terrible sickness, and the next is about a young Blackfoot hunter who cannot let go of the memory of his father.
Shane and his grandfather continue their journey, losing their truck along the way and continuing on horseback and on foot. The two become closer. However, it then turns out that Shane’s grandfather has led them not to the powwow but to Shane’s father’s (Sam Chasing Horse) trailer home. Shane is disgusted, but is persuaded to stay the night. The next morning Shane finally makes peace with his father. However, he then becomes grief-stricken when he discovers that his grandfather has died in his sleep. Shane decides to continue on to the powwow on horseback, and his father says that when Shane comes home he’ll be there too. The ending of Eagle Boy’s story is revealed: Eagle Boy decides that he wants to live like other men, and disobeys the heart by revealing it to the entire tribe (to whom it appears to be nothing more than an ordinary stone). At the powwow, Shane takes on the role of a storyteller, and children gather around him.
, Cheyenne
, Pawnee, Blackfeet
, Mohawk
and Crow
tribes came on board the film to evaluate the authenticity of the production during filming and to suggest changes. One of the advisors was shocked to see that the crew had managed to get rare Cheyenne leopard dogs for one scene. Some scenes involved shooting a stampeding herd of 1,500 buffalo.
Visual effects supervisor Nicholas Brooks states that in order to create the heavenly, otherworldly look of the land of Sky Woman in the for the “Legend of She Crosses the Water and the Thunder Spirit," the filmmakers decided not to film the actors against blue screen
. Instead, the color and texture of the scenes were later altered, sometimes in a rather arbitrary manner controlled by the computer, which Brooks says lent the sequence a particular psychological feel.
Steve Barron
Steven "Steve" Barron is a director and producer, best known for directing the films Coneheads , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the innovative music videos for a-ha's "Take on Me" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean"....
. The main plot of the film is the conflict between a Lakota elder and storyteller named Pete Chasing Horse (August Schellenberg
August Schellenberg
August Schellenberg is a Canadian actor. His ethnicity is Mohawk and Swiss-German. He was trained at the National Theatre School of Canada.His first film was Rip-Off in 1971. In 1981, he did voices for the animated film Heavy Metal...
) and his Lakota grandson, Shane Chasing Horse (Eddie Spears
Eddie Spears
Eddie Spears is an American actor. He is a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate Lakota Lower Brulé Tribe of South Dakota.He has 5 brothers and 1 sister. His older brother Michael is also an actor....
). The plot unwinds as the two travel from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is an Oglala Sioux Native American reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Great Sioux Reservation, Pine Ridge was established in 1889 in the southwest corner of South Dakota on the Nebraska border...
in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
to the fictitious All Nations
Gathering of Nations
The Gathering of Nations is one of the largest Pow-wows in the United States. It is held annually the fourth weekend in April, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Over 500 tribes from around the United States and Canada travel to Albuquerque to participate...
powwow
PowWow
PowWow is a wireless sensor network mote developed by the Cairn team of IRISA/INRIA. The platform is currently based on IEEE 802.15.4 standard radio transceiver and on an MSP430 microprocessor...
in Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, a trip the grandson takes only under duress. Along the way, the grandfather tells his grandson various Indian stories and legends to help him understand and choose the "good red road," i.e. to embrace an Indian identity.
Plot
The film opens with Eagle Boy, a young man who is on a vision quest. It then cuts to the present, where a 17-year-old Lakota named Shane Chasing Horse is living on the Pine Ridge reservation. He is in trouble because he owes some money to a local gang -- money he used to buy a beautiful ring for Mae Little Wounded, a girl he likes. Meanwhile, his mother asks him to drive his grandfather, Pete Chasing Horse, a storyteller, down to the powwow. Shane is reluctant. However, when the gang comes after him, Shane changes his mind and heads out to the powwow with his grandfather, who agrees to give him his truck once they reach the powwow. Grandfather tells Shane the story of a young Lakota man who tries to win the hand of Bluebird Woman. He also tells the story of how a thunder spirit falls in love with a Mohawk woman and brings her up into the ethereal world of Sky Woman, and of how she raised their son back in her village until he was struck by one of the villagers and brought back to live with his father. Later, when a young redheaded man who is eager to learn about Native culture and hoping to be adopted by a Native American family asks to ride with them to the powwow, Shane says no. His grandfather then tells him the Kiowa story of Tehan, a white man who lived among the Kiowa and fought bravely alongside them, and Shane relents and lets the redhead ride with them. Shane’s grandfather then tells how Eagle Boy follows the advice of a shining spirit elk, and seeks out an old woman who can give him weapons with which to slay the mighty serpent Unceliga. He is repulsed when the ugly old woman embraces him, but reacts quite differently when she transforms into a beautiful younger woman. She reproaches him, but gives him what he needs. Eagle Boy slays Unceliga, whose heart instructs him and grants him great power and prophetic visions.Eventually, the gang members who are after Shane catch up with them, but accidentally drive their car off a cliff and into a lake while chasing him. Shane dives in and saves them, and his struggle is contrasted with Eagle Boy’s underwater battle with Unceliga. The gang members ride with them for a ways, until they and the redheaded hitchhiker leave them in order to travel with a group of attractive young women who are also headed to the powwow.
As they travel, Shane’s grandfather tells Shane many other stories: several are about the trickster Coyote and Iktomi
Iktomi
In Lakota mythology, Iktomi is a spider-trickster spirit, and a culture hero for the Lakota people. Alternate names for Iktomi include Ikto, Ictinike, Inktomi, Unktome, and Unktomi...
the spider. Another is about a young Pawnee man and his mother who are scorned by the rest of their tribe until the young man finds an unwanted dun pony who brings them good medicine. As Shane and his grandfather look up at the stars, the grandfather tells the story of the Quillwork Girl and her seven star brothers, which is about a Cheyenne girl who puts her faith in a dream and searches for seven brothers, but who must then contend with the Buffalo nation. The next story is about a young Chinook woman who sacrifices herself in order to cure her village of a terrible sickness, and the next is about a young Blackfoot hunter who cannot let go of the memory of his father.
Shane and his grandfather continue their journey, losing their truck along the way and continuing on horseback and on foot. The two become closer. However, it then turns out that Shane’s grandfather has led them not to the powwow but to Shane’s father’s (Sam Chasing Horse) trailer home. Shane is disgusted, but is persuaded to stay the night. The next morning Shane finally makes peace with his father. However, he then becomes grief-stricken when he discovers that his grandfather has died in his sleep. Shane decides to continue on to the powwow on horseback, and his father says that when Shane comes home he’ll be there too. The ending of Eagle Boy’s story is revealed: Eagle Boy decides that he wants to live like other men, and disobeys the heart by revealing it to the entire tribe (to whom it appears to be nothing more than an ordinary stone). At the powwow, Shane takes on the role of a storyteller, and children gather around him.
Cast
- August SchellenbergAugust SchellenbergAugust Schellenberg is a Canadian actor. His ethnicity is Mohawk and Swiss-German. He was trained at the National Theatre School of Canada.His first film was Rip-Off in 1971. In 1981, he did voices for the animated film Heavy Metal...
as Grandpa Pete Chasing Horse - Eddie SpearsEddie SpearsEddie Spears is an American actor. He is a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate Lakota Lower Brulé Tribe of South Dakota.He has 5 brothers and 1 sister. His older brother Michael is also an actor....
as Shane Chasing Horse - Gil BirminghamGil BirminghamGil Birmingham is an American actor of Comanche ancestry, known for his portrayal of Billy Black in the The Twilight Saga film series.- Personal background :...
as Sam Chasing Horse - Sheila TouseySheila TouseySheila May Tousey is an Native American actress.-Biography:Born in Keshena, Wisconsin, Tousey is a Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee Indian, raised on both Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee Reservations.-Filmography:-External links:*...
as Janine - Nathan Lee Chasing His HorseNathan Lee Chasing His HorseNathan Lee Chasing His Horse is an American actor. He is a member of the Rosebud Lakota Sioux Nation, the son of Chief Joseph Chasing Horse and Winifred Chasing Horse....
as Verdel - Chaske SpencerChaske SpencerChaske Spencer is an American actor of Native American heritage.-Life and career:Spencer was born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and grew up in Montana, Kooskia, Lapwai, and Lewiston, Idaho. His heritage includes Lakota, Nez Perce, Cherokee, Creek, French, and Dutch. He has two younger sisters...
as Eagle Boy - Gloria Eshkibok as Ugly Woman
- Kimberly Norris Guerrero as Beautiful Woman
- Sean Wei MahSean Wei MahSean Wei Mah is a Cree actor and artist, who is sometimes credited as Sean Mah. He portrayed "High Horse" in the 2003 TV miniseries Dreamkeeper, "Heavy Shield" in the 2005 TV mini-series Into the West, and "Ben Wheelock" in the 2005 film It Waits...
as High Horse - Gordon Tootoosis as Kills Enemy
- Michael GreyeyesMichael GreyeyesMichael Greyeyes is a Canadian actor. He was born June 4, 1967. He is Plains Cree from the Muskeg Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada. His father is from the Muskeg Lake First Nation and his mother is from the Sweetgrass First Nation, both located in Saskatchewan, Canada.He completed his...
as Thunder Spirit - Alex RiceAlex RiceAlexandrea Kawisenhawe Rice born in 1972 in Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada, is a First Nation actress.-Early life:Alex Rice is a Kanien'kehaka born in 1972 in Kahnawake, Quebec, and is proud of her Mohawk heritage. She is also a member of the Rice family of Kahnawake, having descended from Edmund...
as She-Crosses-The Water - Elizabeth Sage Galesi as Blue Bird Woman / Mae Little Wounded-credited as Sage
- Casey Camp-Horinek as Sky Woman
- Griffin Powell-Arcand as Thunder Boy
- Margo KaneMargo KaneMargo Kane is a Cree-Saulteaux performing artist and writer known for her solo-voice or monodrama works Moonlodge and Confessions of an Indian Cowboy, as well as her work with Full Circle First Nations Performance.-Early life:...
as Clan Mother - Scott GrimesScott GrimesScott Richard Grimes is an American actor, voice artist and singer. Some of his most prominent roles are his appearances in ER as Dr. Archie Morris, Party of Five as Will McCorkle, Band of Brothers as Technical Sergeant Donald Malarkey, and the popular animated sitcom American Dad!, voicing Steve...
as Red-Headed Stranger / Tehan - Delanna Studi as Talks A Lot
- Nathaniel ArcandNathaniel ArcandNathaniel Arcand is a Canadian actor and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is Nēhilawē , from the Alexander First Nation Reserve. Essential supports throughout his life are Nathaniel's mother and his great grandparents...
as Broken Lance - Patric James Bird as Big Bow
- David McNally as The Colonel
- Darren Lucas as Second Soldier
- Dave Leader as Young Soldier
- Clifford Crane Bear as Older Kiowa
- Kyle Daniels as Little Hand
- John TrudellJohn TrudellJohn Trudell is a Native American-Mexican author, poet, actor, musician, and former political activist. He was the spokesperson for the United Indians of All Tribes' takeover of Alcatraz beginning in 1969, broadcasting as Radio Free Alcatraz...
as Coyote - Gary FarmerGary Farmer- History :Farmer was born in Ohsweken, Ontario into the Cayuga nation and Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy. Farmer attended Syracuse University and Ryerson Polytechnic University, where he studied photography and film production....
as Iktome - George Aguilar as Grandfather
- Geraldine KeamsGeraldine KeamsGeraldine Keams is an American actress. She is best known for her work in numerous television series often playing a motherly role...
as Iktome's wife - Dakota House as Dirty Belly
- Tantoo CardinalTantoo CardinalRose Marie "Tantoo" Cardinal, CM is a Canadian film and television actress.-Career:Cardinal was born in Anzac, Fort McMurray, Alberta. Her mother, Julia Cardinal, was a Métis of Cree descent...
as Old Woman - Floyd Red Crow WestermanFloyd Red Crow WestermanFloyd "Red Crow" Westerman, also known as Kanghi Duta was a Sioux musician, political activist and actor. After establishing a career as a country music singer, later in his life, he became a leading actor depicting Native Americans in American films and television. He is sometimes credited simply...
as Iron Spoon - Sheena Shymanski as Iron Spoon's daughter
- Teneil Whiskey Jack as Quillwork Girl
- Michelle ThrushMichelle ThrushMichelle Thrush is a Canadian film and television actor, who won the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role in 2011 for her role in Blackstone....
as Morning Horse - Terry Bigcharles as First Brother
- Simon BakerSimon BakerSimon Baker is an Australian actor. Since 2008, he has starred in the CBS television series The Mentalist.-Early life:...
as Second Brother - William DanielsWilliam DanielsWilliam David Daniels is an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild . He is known for his performance as Dustin Hoffman's father in The Graduate , as John Adams in 1776, as Carter Nash in Captain Nice, as Mr. George Feeny in ABC's Boy Meets World, as the voice of KITT in...
as Third Brother - Zachary Nolan Auger as Fourth Brother
- Sarain Waskawitch as Fifth Brother
- Cody LightningCody LightningCody Lightning is a Cree Native American actor.He is son of Georgina Lightning, and brother of William Lightning and Crystle Lightning....
as Sixth Brother - Russell Badger as War Chief
- Cliff Soloman as Village Chief
- Misty Upham as Chief's daughter
- Lawrence BayneLawrence BayneLawrence Bayne is a Canadian actor, born November 11, 1960 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has appeared in various movies and television series, both live action and animated, and also sings/writes with his band The Lawrence Bayne Issue....
as Raven - Travis Dugas as Ekuskini
- Tyrone Tootoosis as Whirlwind Dreamer
- Sammy Simon as Ghost Hunter
- Stag Big Sorrel Horse as Hunter
- Jimmy HermanJimmy HermanJimmy Herman is a Dene/Chipewyan First Nations actor who has appeared in several films such as Dances with Wolves among others.He was born on the Cold Lake Reserve in Alberta, Canada....
as Multnomah Elder - Wilma PellyWilma PellyWilma Pelly is a Canadian film and television actress, best known for her roles as Elsie Tsa'Che in the CBC Television drama North of 60 and as Kookum in Mixed Blessings....
as Old Woman - Helmer Twoyoungmen as Salmon Hunter
- Tokala Clifford as Red Deer
Production
Filming lasted four months and took place mainly in Canada. Representatives of the Lakota, KiowaKiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
, Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
, Pawnee, Blackfeet
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
, Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
and Crow
Crow Nation
The Crow, also called the Absaroka or Apsáalooke, are a Siouan people of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone River valley, which extends from present-day Wyoming, through Montana and into North Dakota. They now live on a reservation south of Billings, Montana and in several...
tribes came on board the film to evaluate the authenticity of the production during filming and to suggest changes. One of the advisors was shocked to see that the crew had managed to get rare Cheyenne leopard dogs for one scene. Some scenes involved shooting a stampeding herd of 1,500 buffalo.
Visual effects supervisor Nicholas Brooks states that in order to create the heavenly, otherworldly look of the land of Sky Woman in the for the “Legend of She Crosses the Water and the Thunder Spirit," the filmmakers decided not to film the actors against blue screen
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
. Instead, the color and texture of the scenes were later altered, sometimes in a rather arbitrary manner controlled by the computer, which Brooks says lent the sequence a particular psychological feel.
Awards
- 2003, American Indian Film FestivalAmerican Indian Film FestivalThe American Indian Film Festival is an annual non-profit film festival in San Francisco. It is the world's oldest venue dedicated to Native American films and prepared the way for the 1979 formation of the American Indian Film Institute....
: Best Film - 2004, Emmy Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
- 2004 Humanitarian Award -- John Fusco -- First Americans in the Arts
External links
- RHI Entertainment's Dreamkeeper page
- "Dreamkeeper Keeps the Faith"--Reviews along with commentary by Rob Schmidt of Blue Corn Comics