Grantee: Counting Coup Media

SAGA support will aid production company Counting Coup in creating a film that highlights the lived Native American experience. 

Tackling issues of Native identity and Hollywood distortion, Counting Coup’s Director, Cinematographer, and Spokane Tribal Member, Ryan Abrahamson, and Co-Producer, Michael Kane, are collaborating with Derrick LaMere (Rocky Boy) at War Pony Pictures to create a film that the creators hope will leave audiences with the feeling: “It is OK to be Indian.”

Turning away from Western depictions of Natives as either shaman or derelict, Red Road will follow a protagonist, who is “just a dude who happens to be a redman who wears a tie every day, and works with computers and likes to go out with his friends.” Once completed, the film will be offered to Tribes nationwide for local screenings. Additionally, Counting Coup Media will be holding a free screening at the Garland during Native American Heritage month and a and question and answer session for troubled native youth in Spokane.