Butler's Cinema Scene

Q’orianka Kilcher

“TE ATA” My rating: B 

105 minutes | MPAA rating: PG

Knowing that it was made by Chickasaw Nations Productions and follows the life of a famous Native American storyteller, one might be excused for avoiding “Te Ata” as an earnest endeavor of the sort to make a cynic’s skin crawl.

In truth, this modestly-budgeted, high-impact true story is inspirational in most of the right ways.  A few so-so performances and a couple of clunky moments cannot blunt its emotional power.

The subject is Mary Frances Th0mpson (1895-1995), born in Indian Territory (eventually to become Oklahoma) to a Chickasaw father (Gil Birmingham) and a mother (Brigid Brannagh)  of German descent.

Raised in a thoroughly Anglicized environment — her uncle (Graham Greene) was governor of the territory and, later, the state —  young Mary Frances was only tangentially aware of her tribal culture, thanks mostly to her father’s retelling of traditional fables.

As a young woman Mary Frances (Q’orianka Kilcher) became the first Native American to attend the Oklahoma College for Women, where a drama instructor (Cindy Pickett) encouraged her to forego the usual recitations from Shakespeare in favor of  the girl’s own rich cultural heritage.

This led to a stint on the chautauqua circuit, where she adopted the stage name Te Ata (Bearer of the Dawn) and donned a traditional buckskin costume for performances that embraced native dances, song and storytelling.

After further studies at Carnegie-Mellon, and a brief and unfulfilling career as a Broadway actress, Mary Frances/Te Ata turned once again to tribal storytelling. Eventually she would become a household name and a visitor to Franklin Roosevelt’s White House.

Mackenzie Astin, Q’orianka Kilcher

Where’s the conflict, you ask?

Well, there’s the usual family dynamic — Mom wants her daughter to stretch her wings, more conservative Papa wants her to stay home — and a courtship with anthropologist Clyde Fisher (Mackenzie Astin), a curator at the American Museum of Natural History and founder of Hayden Planetarium.

But more daunting — and incredible to modern sensibilities — was the Code of Indian Offenses, a federal program that effectively outlawed Native American dances, song, dress and crafts. Basically it was a government-backed genocidal effort aimed not at killing individuals but at eliminating their culture.  It was only abandoned during FDR’s presidency.

Scripted by Jeannie Barbour and Esther Luttrell and directed by Nathan Frankowski, “Te Ata” is a technically superior piece of work, featuring luscious cinematography by Ben Huddleston and an evocative, folky score by Bryan E. Miller. The production design is on-a-budget effective — though shot entirely in Oklahoma the film recreates NYC street scenes and a visit to the White House.

The performances — usually the Achilles heel of indy productions — are generally strong.  Kilcher, who portrayed the adolescent Pocahontas in Terrence Malick’s 2005 “The New World,” has a natural grace. She’s at her best when she doesn’t try to emote but rather lets her evocative features tell their own story.

|  Robert W. Butler