Native Horse Back Story
Left to Right: Andersen Kee, Wes Studi & James Anaquad Kleinert
Hau Everyone,
We hope this finds you well.
NATIVE HORSE — BACK STORY ON FILMS CREATION.
In the Fall of 2022, we did test screenings of “Native Horse” at the Aspen Indigenous Film Festival and won Audience choice award. A week later we screened at the Santa Fe International Film Festival where Wes Studi (Cherokee actor & Winner of Academy Awards Lifetime Achievement) attended the screening, along with Adam Joaquin Gonzalez and Devlin Lara who are featured riders in “Native Horse." The film was well received by the packed theater. The Q&A went very well with Joaquin expressing his passion for the Wild Horses and his horse-culture way of life. Kleinert was asked questions about his award-winning film “Mustangs & Renegades” and the plight of America’s last few Wild Horses & Burros on public lands. After the screening, the riders met out back with Wes Studi. Devlin Lara, a Cree with a creative sense of humor, started us on old horse stories. Wes brought up a joke (from his role in "Dances With Wolves” as the Pawnee Warrior) “how many Lakota does it take to kill a Pawnee?” Everyone laughed—if you remember the scene from “Dances with Wolves,” Wes’ Pawnee character galloped through the Lakota encampment in a thrilling battle scene, eventually the Lakota where able to surround him, but it took most of the tribe to bring him to his death. After a few good laughs, Wes offered up words of encouragement for “Native Horse." He urged us to keep going with the production and posed for a few photos.
Later that evening Robert Mirabal, Jill Momaday, Joaquin and James met up. Robert and James had been working together on soundtracks for film projects for some time. Robert has always been an inspiration through his ancient Taos Pueblo musical talents. Robert’s lyrics and melodies are incredibly powerful and haunting. At the World Premiere of “Wild Horses & Renegades” at the 2011 Wild Life International Film Festival in Missoula Montana, Robert Mirabal gave a wonderful performance after the film to inspire compassion and education for our Wild Horses and for Native culture.
"Native Horse" is a stand-alone episode from Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Writer James Anaquad Kleinert's investigative film series on America's Wild Horses. Kleinert's international award-winning documentary films explore American Indian culture, Western environmentalism, activism, and spirituality. Kleinert's way of life is closely connected to the landscapes and subjects he films. His films take a stand for wildlife species and environmental, constitutional, and American Indian rights. Kleinert's Federal court victory, Kleinert v. Bureau of Land Management, exposed the vast amount of surveillance he was under since 2007 as he exposed the brutal crimes being committed against America's Wild Horses & Burros and public lands. Federal Judge John D. Bates (who sits on the FISA court) in April 2016 released his decision that Kleinert v. BLM set important precedent for future cases involving public records and legal proceedings with the Bureau of Land Management. Westlaw decided to publish the case (2015 WL 5675792) based on its importance in establishing legal precedent.
With over 20 years of documentary footage, Kleinert's award-winning series Mustangs & Renegades is available here: https://www.jamesanaquadkleinert.com/films/mustangsandrenegades. Featuring Sheryl Crow, Viggo Mortensen, and Willie Nelson, this hard-hitting investigative film series is deeply educational. Kleinert's earlier feature-length documentary on America's Wild Horses, "Wild Horses & Renegades," was chosen by BlogCritics.org as one of the Top Ten Overlooked Film Gems (http://www.richardrbmarcus.com/journal/movie-review-wild-horses-renegades) and received a Special Mention in Investigative Journalism, Cinematography and Music/Sound Editing from the International Wildlife Film Festival. Kleinert is the author of No Country For Truth Tellers - available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Country-Truth-Tellers-globalization-storyteller/dp/173374097X
"Native Horse" and its Producers are passionately committed to providing stories that educate and share important and often overlooked truths and celebrate America's cultural diversity. Education about important cultural and social topics helps foster understanding and inspiration. Understanding and inspiration will help empower positive collaboration for social and environmental benefit.
Mitakuye Oyasin,
James.