— Pinotinoway

May 25, 2026

Movies about Indigenous people that aren’t Smoke Signals

by Sonya Ballantyne

I didn’t see Smoke Signals until I was in my 30s, and I do not have a similar attachment to the Neechi community at large that I may have to it. That said, I am quite the connoisseur of Indigenous content and spend a lot of time finding it.

Here are some of my favourite finds:

The Sapphires: I love period pieces (Bones of Crows was a fave from 2022). This story follows an Indigenous girl group from rural Australia who get a gig entertaining American soldiers during the Vietnam War. The soundtrack is amazing, with the lead actresses providing their own vocals.

Dance Me Outside: The first time I met Michael Greyeyes (who plays Gooch), I told him how I watched this movie for my English class in high school. It was the first time I saw the reserve presented closer to how it actually is: a beautiful place with secrets.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: As a teen, I had a massive crush on the actor Brad Dourif and saw every movie he was in, which included this one (which I also saw for English class). The film also included Will Sampson as Chief, whom I had seen previously and really liked in

Poltergeist 2: The Other Side. I loved Chief, in this quiet but bass-heavy voice, telling McMurphy that he couldn’t escape the hospital because he was "small." Spoiler, but I always loved that of all the patients, Chief is the one who escapes in the end.

Sonya Ballantyne (She/They) is a Swampy Cree writer and filmmaker originally from Misipawistik Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba. Her work focuses on non-traditional genres such as horror, sci-fi, and fantasy and focuses on Indigenous women and girls.

The Coming Wind blog site is happy to be sharing space with special guest bloggers. Sonya Ballantyne is our first blogger.

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