Indians and Chiefs

Synopsis

Filmed over the course of a summer in the mid-60s, Judith MacDougall’s documentary observes the happenings of the workers of the Los Angeles Indian Center, a Native-run organization offering social services and a community hub for the city’s Indigenous community. It centers the center’s director, Ernie Stevens, as he navigates and negotiates with city politicians and a plethora of local personalities in his attempt to organize an art fair for the Center. Largely unseen in over 50 years, the film offers a unique and indispensable look at urban Native American life in the 60s that is ripe for rediscovery and reappraisal, thanks to a new scan of the film’s original print by the UCLA Film and Television Archives.