THIS IS THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE INDIANS OF THE CARLISLE BOARDING SCHOOL VS. THE US ARMY CADETS OF WEST POINT.

arrow
last indian war logo
Tagline

ABOUT THE FILM

THE LAST INDIAN WAR is the inspirational true-life story about how Sam American Horse, son of a Lakota Chief, and a group of Native American children kidnapped by the US Army overcome incredible adversity, reinvent the game of football and go on to play one of the greatest football games ever played -against the very group responsible for their kidnapping.

THE STORY BEHIND IT ALL

UNLIKELY CHAMPIONS

Our story starts in the heart of Indian Country before the turn of the last century, during the Indian Wars. A small Lakota boy, Sam American Horse is caught in an ambush and witnesses the death of his sister during a brutal battle with a platoon of US Buffalo Soldiers.

FORCED ASSIMILATION

The boy, Sam American Horse, is shipped off, along with dozens of other scared Lakota children, to the Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a boarding school set up by the US Military under the supervision of Col. Richard Pratt to teach Native children how to become “civilized.” Pratt’s slogan for the school: “Kill The Indian, Save The Man.” Sam meets a group of local boys that teach him a new game – football. It’s different than the game we know today. There’s no forward pass and field goals are worth more than touchdowns. Sam teaches his fellow indigenous students the game and soon they’re playing nearby college teams – and drawing big crowds.

LEGENDARY COACH

Colleges from around the country start paying big money for the novelty of seeing “real life” Indians battle their newly formed football teams. Colonel Pratt hires a down on his luck coach, Pop Warner, to train Sam and the team. The Indians become the biggest draw in American sports. Along the way, they completely innovate the game, inventing things like the 3-point stance, trick plays and the use of the forward pass – all to the thrill of bigger and bigger crowds.

Come. I teach you. It’s fun. The goal is to take back land stolen from you.

Sam American Horse

Awards

THE CREATIVE TEAM

ROB PERO

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

"This is an intensely personal story for me. My great great grandmother was a student at Carlisle for ten years. It’s important this beautiful indigenous story be produced by the indigenous community- not just for indigenous audiences, but for a world-wide audience. We owe it to the children of Carlisle-and to our children."

Rob is an indigenous entrepreneur, business consultant, filmmaker and tireless voice for the Native American business community. He is owner of a media company and has produced many award-winning documentaries, and is also the founder of two Native American advocacy nonprofits focused on elevating talent in Indian Country and cultivating tribal business growth. Rob thrives on developing and cultivating new opportunities to foster authentic indigenous voices, stories and issues.

RYAN FRENG

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & CREATIVE EXECUTIVE

“THE LAST INDIAN WAR is a story my children need to hear. It’s about football’s roots; it’s a purely American tale and as a historical narrative of the first tribal boarding school, it provides a just perspective about the realities of the time. My children will love the film for its character and football-driven story, but they will be made better people for its authentic depiction of the struggles of our Indigenous brothers and sisters.”

yan began collaborating with Rob in 2019 to help create Indigenous lead narratives that give voice to the seemingly voiceless. Producer, Creative Director and founder of Backflip, a marketing production company, Ryan has over 15 years experience producing numerous award-winning media campaigns including the internationally acclaimed human trafficking prevention awareness campaign for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

Micheal Graf

WRITER & DIRECTOR

"Pop Warner was a friend of my grandfathers. In fact, my mom grew up in Pop’s house, but I didn’t know anything about his connection to the Carlisle Indians and how they re-invented football to the game we know today until I was at a low point in my life and the students of Carlisle reached out across the century, picked me up and told me to give their story voice. I love this story because it not only celebrates true Native American sports’ heroes, but it also builds a bridge between indigenous and white culture, reminding everyone of our shared history.”

Named a “Top 25 Screenwriter To Watch In 2021” by the International Screenwriters Association, Emmy Award winner Michael Graf has been making waves with his work, winning best screenplay honors in both Europe and North America. His produced and optioned work has won awards and top honors at festivals in Paris, Edinburgh, Park City, Los Angeles, Austin, New York, Nassau and Toronto. He’s been shortlisted twice for the Academy’s prestigious Nicholl Fellowship for screenwriting, was the inaugural Writer In Residence at the University of Wisconsin Institute For Discovery where he wrote PICKET CHARLIE, an environmental action/thriller about climate change, directed two Super Bowl campaigns, is a member of the Director’s Guild of America and was named Director Of The Year by Screen magazine.

SAMANTHA SKENANDORE

LEGAL COUNCIL

“Putting on the white gloves and paging through onion skin paper archives to learn the truth behind just a few Indian boarding schools floored me. I discovered the militant care of my Ho-Chunk and Oneida ancestors by people that ripped them away from their parents too early in life - and sometimes just to control their trust monies for bad business ventures. There were records accounting for middle-school aged children walking 4 states alone in their moccasins to come home for ceremonies throughout the seasons. The travesties now being uncovered are sadly never ending."

Samantha provides legal counsel to tribal governments, government affairs and corporate governance to tribes throughout the United States. In 2020 she was named one of Wisconsin’s most influential Native Americans and is a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation and served as Associate Justice of the Ho-Chunk Supreme Court. She previously served as tribal attorney for the Ho-Chunk Department of Justice and clerked for the US Dept. of Justice. She also worked at the Geneva Institute of Indigenous People Law in Geneva Switzerland, which helped draft the United Nations framework on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights. Samantha also has experience as a former Tribal archivist and researcher and spent several years researching and acquiring boarding school records for tribal archival purposes.

Ryan Carnes

PRODUCER

“I grew up with a maternal grandmother who spoke often and fondly of her full-blooded Fox father and Native American heritage. And yet, I’ve not been able to find definitive proof of that lineage. Not knowing a vital part of my heritage is one of the many aspects that attract me so strongly to the story of the Carlisle children. They fought courageously against their identity and way of life not only being subverted, but completely ripped away from them.”

Ryan is an actor, musician and writer from rural Illinois. His break in the entertainment industry came as an actor in the smash hit ABC series, DESPARATE HOUSEWIVES. He’s gone on to appear in Clint Eastwood’s LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA and the legendary BBC hit DOCTOR WHO – with an Action Figure developed in his likeness. He also was starring lead in LA BODA DE VALENTINA, one of Mexico’s top grossing films of all time.

Alvin Cowan

PRODUCER

“As a former college and pro football player, I’ve been told a certain version of the game’s origin. Unconsciously, I’d never really questioned it until I read Michael’s fantastic script. I couldn’t stop thinking about it - the history was one thing, but the innovation to the game I love was a whole other. When the opportunity to be involved came about, there was no way I was going to let it pass.”

Alvin is a veteran actor, writer and producer from Austin, Texas. A gifted athlete, he played briefly in the NFL and the AFL and was a record-smashing quarterback for Yale University (the first Big Four College team Carlisle ever played.) He’s appeared in Clint Eastwood’s AMERICAN SNIPER, the HBO series, WESTWORLD, the Emmy nominated series THIS IS US and the final season of BETTER CALL SAUL. He also produces the hit podcast American Coyote: The Legend of Elden Kidd and is adapting the novel Raft Of Stars for the big screen.

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Team Member