Powwow Highway (1989)

★ 6.7 1h 31m 27 votes IMDb
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Two Northern Cheyenne men take a road trip from Montana to New Mexico to bail out the sister of one of them who has been framed and arrested in Santa Fe. On the way, they begin to reconnect to their spiritual heritage.

Powwow Highway

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Cast

A Martinez
A Martinez as Buddy Red Bow Age 77 · Glendale, California, USA Adolfo Martinez (born September 27, 1948) is an American actor and singer with roles in the daytime soap opera Santa Barbara and the primetime dramas L.A. Law and Profiler. ​From Wikipedia, the free...
Gary Farmer
Gary Farmer as Philbert Bono Age 72 · Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada Gary Dale Farmer (born June 12, 1953) is a versatile and esteemed Native-Canadian actor known for his compelling performances on screen. Born in Ohsweken, Ontario, Farmer has made significant contribu...
Amanda Wyss
Amanda Wyss as Rabbit Layton Age 65 · Manhattan Beach, California, USA Amanda Wyss (born November 24, 1960) is an American film and television actress. She began her career in the early 1980s in teen roles including Lisa in the coming-of-age comedy film Fast Times at Ri...
Sam Vlahos
Sam Vlahos as Chief Joseph Died 2011 · San Diego, California, USA Soteron "Sam" Vlahos was born in San Diego, California, on August 10, 1935, to Theodore Vlahos of Kakouri, Greece, and Juanita Romero of Baja, Mexico. After serving in the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s,...
Roscoe Born
Roscoe Born as Agent Jack Novall Died 2020 · Topeka, Kansas, USA Roscoe Conklin Born (November 24, 1950 – March 3, 2020) was an American actor and songwriter. He is best known for his roles on various television soap operas, most notably as archvillain Mitch Lauren...
John Trudell
John Trudell as Louie Short Hair Died 2015 · Omaha, Nebraska, USA John Trudell was an American Indian author, poet, actor, musician, and political activist. He was the spokesperson for the United Indians of All Tribes' takeover of Alcatraz beginning in 1969, broadca...

Audience Reviews

Peter McGinn 10/10 Aug 24, 2020
This is one of a handful of obscure gems that I will place on my list of 25 favorite movies when I get around to creating the list (Finnegan Begin Again also comes to mind).

This is truly an ensemble cast putting in superlative performances. It is not a message movie, which are sometimes heavy handed, but a serious thread runs through it in the form of indigenous people’s treatment, history and rights, but the story is not weighed down by the message.

Gary Farmer is delightful as an optimistic young Cheyenne who buys a pony (aka a Buick) and join forces with a Viet Nam vet who is an activist. They go on a road trip, with Farmer’s character using the old ways to gather power so that they can provide assistance to their reservation. There s tension and drama, but humor balances the story nicely. And the great actor Graham Greene puts in an appearance also.

The movie is based on the novel of the same name by David Seals, a real life activist for indigenous people and long time member of AIM (American Indian Movement). It is difficult to find this out of print movie for less than $40 the last time I checked. I have a grainy copy I transferred from VHS to DVD with a grainy picture, but it will have to do as I do watch it every few years, and I think I am due for another viewing.

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