(Thanks to colleague Joe Nickell, who first posted this here on his Nickell’s Bag blog. An earlier casting call in Missoula drew hundreds of people. “Winter in the Blood,” by Blackfeet and Gros Ventre author James Welch, is set largely on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana):

The directors of the upcoming film, “Winter in the Blood” [see previous post, here] are holding another open casting call for Native American actors, this time in Great Falls.

Here’s info straight from the source:

Casting Director Rene Haynes (Twilight Saga: New Moon) and Directors Andrew and Alex Smith (The Slaughter Rule) will be conducting an Open Casting Call April 10th & 11th, at the Great Falls Civic Center, 2 Park Drive South Great Falls, MT 59401, from 11:00am-3:00pm

Seeking: Native American BOYS (ages 10-17) for PRINCIPAL LEAD speaking roles. No acting experience necessary. Native American MEN & WOMEN (mid 20’s through mid 50’s) for both speaking and non-speaking roles. If you have attended another Winter in the Blood Casting Call, you need not audition again.

For more information and audition materials, click here.

Tags: "The Slaughter Rule", "Twilight Saga: New Moon", "Winter in the Blood", buffalo post, Gwen Florio, James Welch, Native actors, Native American film, Native American news, Peter Haynes

That’s the New York Times’ take on the effect the “Twilight” book and movie series has had on the Quileute Nation on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

As Angela R. Riley of Los Angeles writes, here:

To millions of “Twilight” fans, the Quileute are Indians whose (fictional) ancient treaty transforms young males of the tribe into vampire-fighting wolves. To the nearly 700 remaining Quileute Indians, “Twilight” is the reason they are suddenly drawing extraordinary attention from the outside — while they themselves remain largely excluded from the vampire series’ vast commercial empire.

Just last month, MSN.com issued an apology to the Quileute for intruding on its territory while videotaping a “Twilight” virtual tour in September. MSN.com sought permission from the Chamber of Commerce in nearby Forks, Wash., but didn’t pay the same courtesy to the Quileute. The video team trespassed onto a reservation cemetery and taped Quileute graves, including those of esteemed tribal leaders. These images were then set to macabre music and, in November, posted on MSN.com. The tribe quickly persuaded MSN.com to remove the Quileute images.

It seems that everybody is rushing to cash in on the Quileute. Riley tells of Quileute hoodies being sold on Nordstrom.com (we didn’t find any at Nordstrom’s, but they’re on Cafe Press, here), charms with what purports to be Quileute werewolf tattoos, and tour companies bringing busloads of people onto the reservation – all earning money, none of it going to the tribe.

Riley argues that even though such activities are perfectly legal, the morally correct thing to do would be to cut the Quileute in on such deals – both in making decisions about what’s sold, and also in terms of profiting from use of their cultural property.

We like the argument put forth by Riley, who directs the American Indian Studies Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, and informally advises the Quileute Tribe as a volunteer.

But are we holding our breath waiting for any of those things to happen?

Um, no.

Gwen Florio

Tags: "Twilight Saga: New Moon", "Twilight", buffalo post, intellectual property, Los Angeles, Native American news, Quileute Nation, Stephenie Meyer, UCLA American Indian Studies Center, University of California

Thanks to our colleague Joe Nickell for this one. He posted the notice on his Nickell’s Bag blog:

Casting Director Rene Haynes (“Twlight Saga: New Moon,” “Skins,” “Into The West,” and “Dreamkeeper” will conduct an open casting call on Valentine’s Day weekend, Feb. 12 and Feb. 13 on the University of Montana campus in Missoula.

Here’s what’s so exciting for us here at Buffalo Post: He’s making a movie of “Winter in the Blood,” the novel by the late Blackfeet and Gros Ventre writer, James Welch. “Winter in the Blood” is about a young man on northern Montana’s Fort Belknap reservation, and it’s one of our favorite among Welch’s books, which is saying something.

The casting call for the movie will take place between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the University Center, Room 312. It seeks Native American men and women in their mid-20s through mid-50s for both speaking and non-speaking roles.

Even though it’s a very different kind of story, we can only hope the actors in this movie will see the same sort of success following the young Native actors who comprise the Wolfpack in “New Moon.”

Gwen Florio

Tags: "Dreamkeeper", "Into the West", "Skins", "Twilight Saga: New Moon", "Winter in the Blood", buffalo post, James Welch, Native American news, Rene Haynes, University of Montana