Birds of different colors are all bids.

Horses of different colors are all horses.

People of different colors are all Human.

On a recent road trip with my wife, we traveled through South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana, all with a large Indian population. We visited Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone and Glacier National Park, all amazing in their own right and I will always remember their beauty. But One of the most remarkable experiences of the trip was during a visit to an amazing sculpture one mile north of Deadwood South Dakota, commissioned by Kevin Costner. It is called Tatonka Meaning Buffalo, it depicts Indians hunting Buffalo by driving them of a bluff. As beautiful as the sculpture was, just as impressive was the Indian interpreter. I will always the pride he had as he talked to my wife and I about his people and his tribe the Lakota. As I watched this movie I kept thinking of that proud young man and how Te Ata expressed the same love and pride for their people.

I was glad to learn about Te Ata, and I read more about her after the movie. She was an exquisitely beautiful, gifted woman, and the love story is as moving as is her own story. But she deserved a better film than this one. Both leads are good in their parts as is the cast. It's when Kilcher is on stage and supposed to be telling Te Ata's stories that the film falls apart. She is awkward and unconvincing, as though she didn't feel the scenes or didn't practice them. They stop short of anything like the dignity and magic that we're supposed to see reflected in the audiences' awed faces. It's disappointing and even jarring. Instead, try the short film about her on YouTube where you see her beauty and confident dignity, hear the Indian voice and music in the background that soars and moves the heart. I'm glad the makers gave us a film about Te Ata; now another company needs to release a film that does her justice.