Seven years without a title, but this rez team plays for way more than a trophy.
It's been seven years since the Wyoming Indian High School Chiefs have won a state championship in basketball. For most schools, this is a rather unremarkable statistic. But for the inhabitants of the Wind River Indian Reservation, who have experienced a century and a half of injustice, basketball is a form of empowerment, self-expression, and access to the world outside "the Rez." By using basketball as a vehicle, CHIEFS explores what it means to grow up Native American at the turn of the 21st century.
Direction
Junge's patient observation, never exploitative.
Editing
Seamless weave of game footage and rez life.
Director
Daniel Junge
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Wind River is one of the most isolated reservations in the US, with unemployment rates exceeding 80% during filming.
Director Daniel Junge spent months living on the rez before shooting, earning trust that shows in every frame.
US
