A priest named Marcel (David Strathairn) and a fur trader named Bertrand (Michael Rooker) travel into the wilderness, hoping for a meeting with legendary Ojibwa Chief Hiawatha.
One wants to bring religion to the Indians, though he comes to wonder if they don’t already have it.
One comes to trade trinkets the Indians really don’t need for furs, not caring what it might mean for their future.
Instead of meeting Hiawatha, they’re told the spiritual story of Hiawatha, a man who becomes the youngest ever chief of his tribe.
He journeys to meet the father he never knew, defeats him in battle and thus earns the possibility of immortality.
Along the way, he meets the story teller (Adam Beach as Chibiabos) who becomes his best friend and the beauty (Irene Bedard as Minnehaha) who will become his wife.
When his tribe is hungry, he discovers corn. When his tribe wants to go to war, he pleads for peace.
And when the Ojibwa are threatened by Pearl Feather, the magician who would bring evil to the tribe, he ventures into the dangerous black swamp to protect his people.
There’s only one danger he can’t prevent: the encroachment of the whites, and the impending doom he fears that will bring.
Litefoot as Hiawatha, the legendary leader of the Ojibwa tribe in Song of Hiawatha (1997)
Irene Bedard as Minnehaha, aka Laughing Water, the woman who steals Hiawatha’s heart in Song of Hiawatha (1997)
Review:
Too slow-moving in the early stages to be wholly successful, this is a splendid looking film about the legend of Hiawatha.
Given that he’s better known as one of the first Native American hip-hop artists than as an actor, Litefoot turns in a believable performance in the lead role.
And Irene Bedard nearly steals the film with her dazzling smile and her habit to throwing would-be suitors into the river to see if they will sink or swim.
Graham Greene got top billing as the O Kagh, but his is more of a supporting role. He’s the guide for the priest and fur trapper, amused by their reaction to the story they’re being told.
Michael Rooker as Bertrand, the fur trader in Song of Hiawatha (1997)
David Strathairn as Marcel, the priest, aka Black Robe, in Song of Hiawatha (1997)
Directed by:
Jeffrey Shore
Cast:
Litefoot … Hiawatha
Irene Bedard … Minnehaha (Laughing Water)
Raoul Max Trujillo … Pau-Puk-Keewis
Flint Eagle … Pearl Feather / Megissongwan
Graham Greene … O Kagh
Russell Means … Mudjekeewis
Sheila Tousey … Nokomis
Adam Beach … Chibiabos
Michael Rooker … Bertrand
David Strathairn … Marcel
Gordon Tootoosis … Iagoo
Tina Louise Bomberry … Sparrow Song
Peter Kelly Gaudreault … Mondamin
Mike Kanentakeron … Mishe-Mokwa
Adrian Jamieson … Hiawatha at age 10
Runtime: 120 min.
Sheila Tousey as Nokomis, the grandmother who raises Hiawatha in Song of Hiawatha (1997)
Graham Greene as O Kagh, the guide in Song of Hiawatha (1997)
Memorable lines:
Mishe-Mokwa, of his daughter: “I named her after the falls of Minnehaha for the beauty and sweetness of the water. The beauty’s one thing. We’re still working on the sweetness.”
Chibiabos, about Hiawatha’s feeling that he and Minnehaha will marry: “If you’re right, you’ll probably live an interesting life. Short, but interesting.”
Fur trapper: “The problem here, priest, I’ve been watching you. You’re becoming obsessed with Hiawatha and all these stories. You’re forgetting your job here is to snag souls for mother church, not go chasing after some wild figment of the heathen imagination.”
Nokomis, warning her son Hiawatha of the danger ahead: “No one who has gone into the black swamp has come out to talk about it.”
Chibiabos, about the danger of venturing into the black swamp: “To tell you the truth, I’m a little tired of collecting other people’s stories. I want to tell my stories for a change.”
Raoul Max Trujillo as Pau-Puk-Keewis, the warrior who would like to take Hiawatha’s place in Song of Hiawatha (1997)
Adam Beach as Chibiabos, Hiawath’s best friend and the teller of stories in Song of Hiawatha (1997)
Russell Means as Mudjekeewis, the father Hiawatha never knew in Song of Hiawatha (1997)
Mike Kanentakeron as Mishe-Mokwa, the maker of arrowheads and father of Minnehaha in Song of Hiawatha (1997)
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