Insights for authors....from an indigenous-made movie

After years of following the “making of” and waiting for this movie to go wide in distribution, we finally watched Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher.

Since I released my digital course, Fiction Writing: American Indians, I’ve had several authors ask me if I think certain movies or TV series are accurate and authentic in their portrayals of American Indian characters. I usually don’t have a good answer, because the story is about tribes I’ve not studied.

But I can give an answer on this movie and that answer is: yes!

I didn’t see or hear anything in The Chickasaw Rancher that made me cringe because it was stereotypical or historically inaccurate.

I can assess portrayals of Chickasaws almost like my own tribe because I have worked with the Chickasaw Nation on many projects over the years and know a fair bit about their history and culture.

This is a rare story told from the perspective of the tribe itself. If you’re looking to write American Indian characters in your fiction and want a genuine, indigenous viewpoint to draw inspiration from, I encourage you to watch Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher.