Crystle Lightning in a headdress

Cree model/actress Crystle Lightning apparently tweeted the following note and photo:Sneak peak of my photoshoot with @jazzifay xo #Cree #Nativeamerican #Aboriginal #nativepride #headdress #Winnipeg #LightningCloud

This led to a discussion with the person who alerted me to this:Rob have you seen the disappointing photo that Crystle Lightning has up? So sad. I talked to Georgina [Crystle's mother] about it but of course she calls it artistic expression and says because the headdress is fake and Crystle is Native, it's okay...heavy sigh.No, I haven't seen it. What is it...Crystle in a fake headdress?

I criticized Q'orianka Kilcher and Kiowa Gordon for wearing headdresses inappropriately. I'd criticize Crystle too.I am the same way...no matter how I feel about a person--family or not--I'm gonna comment when they do stupid shit like this...

Ugh I'm so mad."Artistic expression" is what No Doubt, the Gap, Paul Frank, and every other stereotyping hipster says. If it's invalid for them, it's invalid for Crystle.

"Crystle is Native" ignores the concept of sacred feathers, bestowing headdresses as a traditional honor, and not bestowing them on women. So that "reasoning" fails too.I just got an heated message from Georgina telling me that my comment was all ego based and that I don't understand the "movement" that is being created by the photo?

I tried to called Crystle I couldn't get ahold of her. I called Georgina...Georgina was defensive and told me to read all the comments before I came up with an opinion.A movement created by the umpteenth hipster in a headdress? I didn't know stereotyping was a movement.

Did the comments contain any valid intellectual arguments we haven't heard before? Because this isn't a popularity contest. It's right or wrong based on the issues, not on how many people say "Cool!" or "Love it!"A movement isn't a movement when it's self proclaimed.Right. And "Crystle climbing to fame on the backs of her ancestors" isn't what I'd call a movement.

Here's what one Native woman might say to Crystle:

Victoria's Secret: Bikini War Bonnet Disaster

By Ruth HopkinsAnother retort commonly expounded upon is that there are Natives who either voice approval for acts of Native appropriation, or claim not to care. I don’t know their hearts. Perhaps they were never taught what it means to wear a war bonnet, or are unaware of the atrocious rates of sexual assault committed against Native women every year. Maybe they simply want acceptance from the mainstream. They may suffer from self-hatred, and thus couldn’t care less about our ancestor’s cultural legacy. Maybe they really don’t care. Or maybe they’re afraid to take a stand against the ignorant (and arrogant) horde. Nonetheless, what happened to common courtesy, i.e. if someone doesn’t want to be made fun of, you cease the offensive behavior? Red face is just as offensive as black face.For more on the subject, see Boutique Lookbook's Stereotypical Fashions and What's Wrong with No Doubt's Video.

P.S. As usual, I've corrected the spelling and capitalization for the sake of readability.

Older than America screening

As part of the 2011 National Human Rights Conference in Los Angeles, the US Human Rights Network hosted a special screening of Georgina Lightning's Older than America Saturday. Because it was at the Radisson LA Airport Hotel near my home, I was able to attend. (Finally, a movie screening within a 15-minute drive!)

Guests at the event included:

Frank J. King III (Rosebud Sioux)

Tribal and government political consultant

Andrea Carmen (Yaqui)

Executive Director, International Indian Treaty Council

Denise Lajimodiere (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa)

National Boarding School Healing Project

Francisco Cali (Maya)

General Assembly member of the State Parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and expert member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)

Georgina Lightning (Cree)

Writer, Director, Producer | White House Healing Effort

I didn't know they were going to serve a free dinner, paid for by the US government (I presume), but they did. I got to sit at the key table with Georgina Lightning, Frank King, Michelle Shining Elk, Sonny Skyhawk, and Max Gail (Wojciehowicz on Barney Miller), who's a big supporter of Native causes.

The evening's purpose

The purpose of the screening and a panel discussion afterward was astrategic planning dialogue in seeking a public proclamation and apology from the White House acknowledging the profound grief, loss and cultural genocide of American Indians as a direct result of the boarding school experience so a path to healing and freedom can begin in Indian country.I mentioned the lack of a public apology in Obama Still Should Apologize and Obama's Invisible Apology. People are still urging him to apologize publicly. For instance:

The Quiet American Apology to Indians

A federal apology to Native Americans for a ruthless history has been made but mainly kept under wraps. Is it for shame or the fear of huge reparations?

By Mary Annette PemberIn her recent article in Indian Country Today, Lisa Balk King reports hearing a non-Indian in Rapid City scoff, “You were conquered, get over it!”

I don’t purport to speak for all Indian people here in the U.S. but I think I can say that overall, it’s been tough to bounce back from the whole conquest thing. It’s been the gift that just keeps on giving for many of us. The legacies of European conquest in the form of United States policies such as The Dawes Act, Relocation, forced sterilization, assimilation through relocation, forced attendance at government boarding schools and adoption of our children to say nothing of outright extermination have made a lasting impact on Native peoples.

So it stuck in our craws when last month President Obama failed, once again, to make the United States apology to Native Americans public.And:[D]espite the Obama administration’s work on Native issues, many in Indian Country still say that a public apology is warranted and would go a long way toward healing our people and the nation as a whole. King points out that an apology “could provide a much-needed shift in public attitudes toward tribes in the country, as well as attitudes of Native people toward the federal government.”

Tex Hall, Chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota agrees: “While some may say, ‘Let’s forget the past,’ the truth is that only through remembrance can our nation’s conscience heal, and only though amends can we truly move forward in strength, hope and justice.”

I think that the U.S. is terrified to make too much of the 2009 apology for fear of setting off something like Canada’s 2006 $2 billion compensation package for aboriginal peoples who were forced to attend residential schools. In 2008 Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper publicly apologized to former students of the schools; the country also established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the consequences of these institutions.After the movie

In the panel discussion after the screening, King shed some light on the situation. He said Kimberly Teehee, the White House adviser on Indian affairs, told Obama the apology wasn't that important to Indians.

Everyone in the room seemed to disagree. The consensus was that if the US publicly expressed regret, Americans would stop denying the country's tragic past and start dealing with Indian issues.

Andrea Carmen said the US Human Rights Network would pass a resolution urging the public apology. King said he would take it to a meeting with Obama, along with calls to stop the Keystone XL pipeline and pardon Leonard Peltier.

Anyway, Older than America, which I hadn't seen before, was good. If only the keynote speech and panel discussion didn't go on too long. People were still rambling on about their pet concerns at 12:30 am when someone mercifully halted the event.

All in all, it was an interesting evening, although it could've been an hour or two shorter. Here are photos of the event:

"Older than America" screening--December 10, 2011
US Human Rights Network hosts special screening of OTA

For more on the subject, see Brownback Reads US Apology and Brownback Urges Public Apology.

Birmingham, Spencer to host NAIIA

NAIIA Ceremony Coming to Hard Rock Albuquerque on April 29On Friday, April 29, the 2011 North American Indigenous Image Awards event will rock the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on the Isleta Pueblo Reservation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This second edition of the event, which first occurred in 2009, will honor the best indigenous performers from the United States and Canada. This year’s award categories include Film, TV, Music, Magazine, Comedy and Calendar.

Presenters this year will include Gil Birmingham and Chaske Spencer, both of whom are nominated for Best Actor awards for their work in Twilight films. Other notable presenters are casting director Rene Haynes and five-time Nammy Award winner Micki Free.

The other Best Actor award nominees are Gary Farmer for Good Neighbors, Zahn McClarnon for Medium and Noah Watts for Search for the World’s Best Indian Taco. Nominated for the Best Actress award are Kaniehtiio Horn for Mohawk Girls, Crystle Lightning for Search for the World’s Best Indian Taco and Georgina Lightning for Older Than America.

Other award categories will honor names and work familiar to all who follow the indigenous arts and entertainment scene. Musicians include Victoria Blackie, Gabriel Ayala, Chase Manhattan, the Jir Project Band, and Leanne Goose, all of whom will be in town to play Stage 49 at the Gathering of Nations Powwow. Barking Water, written and directed by Sterlin Harjo, Older Than America, written and directed by Georgina Lightning, and Pearl, produced by David Rennke and the Chickasaw Nation, will vie for the Outstanding Feature Film award, while The Last Explorer, Reel Injun, and Two Spirits are the films nominated for Outstanding Documentary.Comment:  For more on the subject, see 2009 NAIIA Nominees and Indigenous Image Awards.

Below:  "Runway Beauty Calendar Models, NAIIA 2009 Calendar of the Year nominees." (Mihio Manus)

Lightning nominated as emerging artist

'Older than America,' Georgina Lightning receive nom for emerging artist award

By Michelle R. Shining ElkNative writer/director/producer Georgina Lightning has been nominated for a 2010 EPIC Award in the “Emerging Artists” category by The White House Project. The White House Project’s EPIC Awards honors extraordinary culture changers who have brought positive images of women’s leadership to the American public through their work in politics and media. Lightning is the co-founder of Tribal Alliance Productions, and the writer and director of the highly acclaimed independent film “Older than America,” which made its IFC Film Channel–On Demand debut, March 17, 2010. Lightning along with her Tribal Alliance business partner and executive director, Audrey Martinez, teamed up Christine Kunewa Walker to make “Older than America,” which has won over 19 awards, to date. 2010 EPIC award winners are determined via on-line voting at: http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/epic/emerging_artist.php. Voting is open to the public and closes on March 22, 2010, at 11:59 pm.

“Older than America” is the story of a woman’s haunting visions that reveal a Catholic priest’s sinister plot to silence her mother from speaking the truth about the atrocities that occurred at a Native American Indian boarding school. It is a contemporary drama about suspense, as “Older than America” delves into the lasting impact of the cultural genocide that occurred at Indian boarding schools across the United States and Canada. Lightning states, the film “covers the root of the problem that caused our Native nation to be in the state that it is in today--the film exposes the reality of the murders and violence that happened in the Indian boarding school system.”Comment:  I'd say Lightning's nomination is more significant that her victory will be. Since a public vote determines the winner, it's merely a popularity contest. The nomination presumably reflects her talent and vision.

For more on the subject, see Lightning = New Face and First Female and Georgina Lightning Interview.

Lightning = new face and first female

Georgina Lightning:  the first Native female director of a feature-length film

By Kathy WiseNamed one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2007 by Filmmaker magazine, Cree Indian director Georgina Lightning is actually not new to Hollywood. But with her latest project, Older than America, she has become something Tinseltown has never seen before—the first Native female director of a feature-length film.

Director Georgina Lightning and her crew on the set of Older than America. Filmed in Minnesota on the Fond du Lac Chippewa reservation, the movie initially drew resistance from the local tribe. But at the wrap party, a council member told Lightning, "It's been the greatest experience for the spirit of the people and our tribe. There is already healing that has started from this."

Native American directors have been making films since the dawn of the celluloid era: before color, before sound. James Young Deer (Winnebago) directed 17 westerns from 1909 to 1924, and he was quickly followed by Edwin Carewe (Chickasaw), who directed close to 60 films from 1914 to 1934 and produced and acted in nearly as many.

But over the following six decades, no major motion picture—with the exception of several self-produced releases by Cherokee actor Will Rogers—would be directed by a Native American. It took Chris Eyre's directorial debut with Smoke Signals in 1998 to jumpstart the Native directorial renaissance. And it has taken Georgina Lightning—and another decade—for the first Native female director to get behind the camera of a feature-length film.
Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

Below:  "Director Georgina Lightning and her crew on the set of Older than America. Filmed in Minnesota on the Fond du Lac Chippewa reservation, the movie initially drew resistance from the local tribe. But at the wrap party, a council member told Lightning, 'It's been the greatest experience for the spirit of the people and our tribe. There is already healing that has started from this.'"

Native films need crossover potential

Someone who recently saw the movie Older than America had this to say about Native filmmaking:It's difficult for me to evaluate Native films these days without taking into consideration whether or not the project has the potential to reach beyond a niche audience. Perhaps this is an unfair burden to place on Native filmmakers who for the most part are mostly concerned with working out historical and current socio-economic grievances in the "personal filmmaking" mode, but for Native cinema to truly grow from its insular indulgences and achieve interest from mainstream audiences, it eventually has to show some crossover potential.

That said, I've recently seen two films, "Older Than America" and "Rez Bomb," both of which demonstrate the promise and often frustrating limitations of Native cinema. Out of four stars, I'd give both films two and a half. They both held my attention during their running times, but I don't see how either of them would generate much interest from the multiplex mentality. If I were a major theatrical distributor, I'd take a pass. The future of these two projects is probably relegated to the film festival circuit and possibly a cable outlet like the Independent Film Channel but more likely an eventual modest DVD release. This is just another reason investors are so reluctant to fund Native films.

Looking at the films on their own merits, "Older Than America" is the more ambitious of the two efforts, wearing its sometimes preachy agenda on its sleeve of bringing to light past abuses in Indian boarding schools. Director/co-writer/actress Georgina Lightning assembles a recognizable cast, including Adam Beach, Wes Studi and Bradley Cooper (recently gaining career momentum from "The Hangover") and surrounds them with a tale of supernatural visions, family secrets, murder, small-town political and religious corruption, and sweat lodge healing ceremonies.

The story of the systematic abuse of Indian children in boarding schools in the 19th and 20th centuries is powerful enough material on its own, but in "Older Than America," it's almost as if the writers felt they had to make the history more palatable by surrounding it with every genre convention they could think of: Supernatural mystery at old abandoned boarding school, check. Romance between tribal police officer (Beach) and local teacher (Lightning), check. Introduction of out-of-town white guy (Cooper) for mainstream audience to identify with, check. Hissable villains in the forms of corrupt priest and mayor, check. Wise old Indian man who helps bridge the supernatural world with traditional ceremonies, check.

The overall result is too many characters, too many dangling plot threads and not enough of a "real world" sense of what the Indian boarding school experience means or should mean to American society as a whole. I applaud the effort of trying to reach out to a wide audience, but in trying so hard to do so much the filmmakers may have ironically marginalized the film even more.

Story issues aside, as a filmmaker, Georgina Lightning acquits herself quite well. She scores solid performances from her actors across the board, the tech credits (as Variety would say) are very professional for a low budget effort, and as a director of action and suspense, she stages her scenes effectively. However, when it comes to scenes of intimacy, this is where she falls a bit short. Her bedroom scenes with co-star Adam Beach are particularly awkward and squirm-inducing in their obvious lack of chemistry. This could be attributed to rumors of on-set friction between her and Beach, since she seems less self-conscious in scenes with the other actors, but Lightning might have been better off concentrating on directing and casting another actress like Tonatzin Carmelo (who, as you know, covered similar supernatural territory in "Imprint"), DeLanna Studi or Tamara Feldman in the lead role.

Speaking of Tamara Feldman, she is one of the pleasant discoveries of "Rez Bomb," the other Native-themed film I saw this month. The film was actually written and directed by a non-Native (Steven Lewis Simpson) and it's essentially a young-lovers-on-the-run film set near the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Feldman (her bio says she's part Cherokee) plays a young Lakota woman who falls for a ne'er do well white guy and gets swept up in his drama of treachery and violence in which they both find themselves pursued by a sadistic loan shark. The film on paper actually has more crossover potential than "Older Than America," but is ultimately undone in its execution by its ultra low-budget trappings. The performances range from painfully amateurish to passably competent and the tech credits range from sometimes serviceable to pretty much non-existent. Feldman sometimes has trouble elevating her performance above the cliched script, but she's really the only thing worth seeing in the film (she shines in scenes where there is no required dialogue), and one wonders if she'll become to the go-to actress when it comes to Native roles for women.Comment:  It may be tough if not impossible to make an accessible movie about boarding schools. Or other heartrending Native topics. How do you avoid saying "This is wrong!" and "People like you in the audience are to blame!"

I've seen Tamara Feldman in some roles. E.g., Poppy Lifton in Gossip Girl. She seems a decent enough actress.

But I hope she doesn't become the go-to girl for too many Native roles. Unless the roles are only part Native, that is. People such as Delanna Studi, Tonantzin Carmelo, Misty Upham, and Tamara Podemski should be getting these roles, not a part Cherokee with starlet looks.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

The next Slumdog Millionaire?

Native film bringing home 17th award

Written by Michelle Shining Elk

‘Older than America’ tells the story of boarding school atrocities.Native American director/producer Georgina Lightning is the co-founder and director of Tribal Alliance Productions, and the director of the highly acclaimed independent film “Older than America.” Lightning along with her Tribal Alliance business partner and executive director, Audrey Martinez, teamed up with award winning producer Christine Kunewa Walker (“Foctotum” “Head of State”) to make “Older than America,” which has won 16 awards to date and showing signs of more awards to come. On Sunday, March 8, 2009, “Older than America” will receive its 17th award with the coveted “Aloha Accolade Award,” an award given for excellence in film making, from the Honolulu International Film Festival during the festival’s awards ceremony. “Older than America” could very well be the next little indie film “that could” just as “Slumdog Millionaire” did.

“Older than America” is the story of a woman’s haunting visions that reveal a Catholic priest’s sinister plot to silence her mother from speaking the truth about the atrocities that occurred at a Native American Indian boarding school. “Older than America” is a suspenseful contemporary drama that delves into the lasting impact of the cultural genocide that occurred at Indian boarding schools across the United States and Canada.Comment:  Except for Slumdog Millionaire's life-affirming singing, dancing, and romance and Older than America's "sinister plot" about "cultural genocide," Shining Elk has a point. Older than America could be the next Slumdog Millionaire.

For that matter, it could be the next My Big Fat Greek Wedding or Titanic. You just never know with sweeping romances or grim stories about genocide.

This may surprise you, but Shining Elk is the publicist for Older than America. That means she may not be totally unbiased about the film.

I haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire or Older than America yet. But if someone sent me a copy of Older than America, I could review it (hint).

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

Georgina Lightning interview

It's a Lightning showGeorgina Lightning has carved out a career as a go-to American Indian actress, appearing in "Walker, Texas Ranger" and voice acting in "Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World" among other roles.

Now she parlaying her experience into filmmaking.

Lightning, 45, directed and stars in "Older Than America," a drama about a woman who tries to speak out about church-driven atrocities that took place at her Native American boarding school.

The film is part of the fifth annual Native Eyes Film Showcase, a festival produced by the Arizona State Museum and Hanson Film Institute in collaboration with the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. It starts Friday and goes through Sunday.And:Does your ethnicity help or hurt your ability to land roles?

"It's good and bad. It's positive in the way that there are a million white, blond-haired women. I got an agent in a second, but my friend worked her butt off for three years, submitting her information everywhere. She acted in all sorts of plays, just trying to get noticed. There are a lot of trained, professional actors. A lot of people trying to get in. That helped in getting an agent right away, but there are only two or three auditions a year (for American Indian roles)."

Is it tough to choose between turning down a demeaning role or taking it for the money?

"There's a lot of bad stuff out there. . . . There's been no change. Nobody is being offered a spot as a series regular on any (TV) pilot. Once in a blue moon there's a movie with Native American roles like 'Flags of Our Fathers.' We don't get to play normal human beings. I'm hoping my integrity pays off one day and there will be decent roles out there. You've got to hang on. I became a producer out of being frustrated."Comment:  We sometimes hear rosy opinions about how things are getting better. I'm not sure they are. But if they are, they're getting better only slowly. So I'm glad Lightning is giving us some straight talk.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

5th Annual Native Eyes Film Showcase

Native Eyes film showcaseThe fifth annual festival highlighting up-and-coming Native American filmmakers and actors covers three days. Here's the schedule of films showing at Crossroads:

Nov. 14: “4-Wheel War Pony,” director Dustin Craig’s 8-minute short shows how skateboarding on the White Mountain Apache reservation links past cultures with the present. “Older Than America” (102 minutes) by Cree director Georgina Lightning tells the story of how haunting visions reveal a Catholic priest’s sinister plot to silence the truth about the atrocities that took place at a Native American boarding school.

Nov. 15: “Female Rain,” director Velma Craig (Navajo) presents a 2-minute short inspired by Navajo poet Laura Tohe’s meditation on rain. Director Dustin Craig screens a short film, “I Belong To This,” the story of a young man’s reflections on raising his children in their Indian traditions and his own relationship to his childhood community. In the 81-minute feature “Four Sheets To The Wind,” director Sterlin Harjo (Creek/Seminole) tells the story of a young Seminole Indian man dealing with his father’s suicide, who sets out on an offbeat journey of mourning and learning.

Nov. 16: “Benito’s Gift,” director Rick Romancito (Taos) shows his short film about a young Pueblo Indian boy who fulfills a special promise that helps bring his family together. In Cheyenne/Arapho (and UA alum) Chris Eyre produced the feature “Imprint,” a controversial murder trial brings on strange visions and ghostly voices that propel a prosecuting attorney into an unexpected journey.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

AIFI's 2008 nominees

The 33rd Annual American Indian Film Festival Announces its NomineesThe American Indian Film Institute (AIFI) and Title Sponsor the Seminole Tribe of Florida are proud to announce the nominees for the 33rd annual American Indian Film Festival. The awards will be presented at the annual American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show on Saturday Nov. 15 at 6:00p.m at the historic Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.

Best Film

Older than America, Georgina Lightning, director

In a World Created by a Drunken God, John Hazlett, director

Before Tomorrow, Marie-Helene Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, directors

Best Director

Georgina Lightning, Older than America

John Hazlett, In a World Created by a Drunken God

Marie-Helene Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, Before Tomorrow

Best Actor

Adam Beach, Older than America

Trevor Duplessis, In a World Created by a Drunken God

Ron Dean Harris, Moccasin Flats: Redemption

Best Actress

Candace Fox, Moccasin Flats: Redemption

Georgina Lightning, Older than America

Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, Before Tomorrow

Best Supporting Actor

George Leach, Moccasin Flats: Redemption

Wes Studi, Older than America

Paul-Dylan Ivalu, Before Tomorrow

Best Supporting Actress

Misty Upham, Frozen River

Kaniehtiio Horn, Moccasin Flats: Redemption

Tantoo Cardinal, Older than America

Comment:  I'm guessing Older than America, In a World Created by a Drunken God, Before Tomorrow, and Moccasin Flats: Redemption are going to do well in the awards. <g>

I suppose Frozen River and The Exiles weren't eligible because the filmmakers weren't Native. Too bad, because they deserve some awards.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

From documentaries to feature films

Tribal elders guide director's visionWhile today's young Native American filmmakers are still interested in making documentaries, many of them make films that are very specific to a certain audience, such as films made in their tribe's language, or they tell stories that are non-Native, Runningwater, a Cheyenne and Mescalero Apache, said.

This change from Hamilton's generation of filmmakers, where they are interested in making only Native American-themed stories, is attributable to the younger generation growing up in a different time and wanting to tell stories about issues they can relate to, Runningwater said.

"It goes beyond the Native American label," she said.

Documentaries that tell the stories of their people are something Hamilton fears will be replaced by this trend of young directors producing non-Indian feature films.

For director Georgina Lightning, feature films are the only way for Native Americans to reach a larger audience and showcase their talent in front of and behind the camera.

"(With documentaries) your audience is so small," Lightning, 45, said. "It's a very select group, especially for Native documentaries. If we're ever going to make an impact we have to make feature films."

Lightning, who is Cree, knows all about the limited opportunities Indians have in Hollywood. She moved from Canada to Los Angles in 1990 and started out as an actress. Frustration with the limited roles for Native American actresses led her to co-found Tribal Alliance Productions.

Her aim with the company is to showcase talent in front of and behind the camera. She is making the film festival rounds with her directorial debut, "Older than America," a film about the Indian Boarding School system, starring Adam Beach.

Despite loving documentaries, Hamilton said she is ready to make her fiction-film debut.

The story centers on young superheroes who, instead of having powers like Superman, use their education as their power as they go about the world cleaning up environmental problems.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

Older than America wins

A note from Morten on MySpace:Georgina Lightning and her film "Older than America" won best feature film, at the Talking Stick film festival in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.