The bleak, barren landscape of rural Oklahoma provides the perfect emotional backdrop for LITTLE CHIEF, a narrative turn for Documentary director and Native Arts and Cultures Foundation National Artist Fellow Erica Tremblay. A breathtakingly stark portrayal of the struggles of reservation schools, LITTLE CHIEF tells a story we rarely ever tell, and need to tell more often, and louder. The importance of a film like LITTLE CHIEF, even at only 12 minutes long, is unfathomable.

Sharon (Lily Gladstone) is an exhausted, overworked school teacher at a reservation school in Oklahoma. She keeps her distance and keeps her guard up, even as she tries so desperately to provide for the school that needs her. Her student, Bear (Julian Ballentyne) is struggling. Sharon has a choice – continue to keep her distance, or become the role model, as flawed as she is, that this little boy desperately needs.

LITTLE CHIEF highlights a struggle that is too often ignored in our performatively “woke” culture. Indigenous students are statistically the most under-served of our elementary education community, nationwide. Reservation families and facilities are all but neglected. Tremblay shines a bright light on the shameful truth, something long overdue and much needed.

Gladstone soars in a subtle and poignant performance as Sharon. Her exhaustion and sense of defeat break through the screen and grab you by the soul. Humor and a gentle smile are what Sharon brings to her students, and what Gladstone brings to us as the audience. HEART is the name of the game for Gladstone and it’s beautifully evident here in LITTLE CHIEF. Ballentyne gives a solid and nuanced performance as Bear, and leaves me interested in his future, whether it be acting or otherwise. It’s not easy to be the only lead against an adult, and he pulls it off with grace.

My hope for 2020 and beyond is more films like LITTLE CHIEF, amplifying Native voices and artists, and highlighting the unspoken horrors and realities of a post-colonization America. Bravo, LITTLE CHIEF, the bravest, boldest story never told.

10/10 stars