It is said that basketball tends to thrive in the direst of
circumstances. More than escapism, it provides youth with a sense of belonging
and camaraderie, a means of a achieving some sort of victory, an opportunity to
explore life off the reservation. This documentary follows the Wind River
Reservation (
Wyoming
) boy’s high school basketball team as it attempts to win a state title. We
see a group of young men trying to convert the pride and success they experience
on the basketball court and move ahead with the rest of their lives. By
chronicling the experiences of these young payers over the course or two years, Chiefs
shows what it’s like to grow up Native American in the 21st
century. Winner of best documentary at
New York
’s 2002 Tribeca Film Festival.