Dark Winds star Jessica Matten has joined the cast of historical indie drama Standing Bear.
Matten plays Bird Song, the wife of Chief Standing Bear. She joins Chasuke Spencer, who will lead the project in the title role.
Chiricahua Apache member Andrew Troy will direct alongside Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot).
The film tells the story of the tragic forced removal of the Ponca people on the Trail of Tears and the landmark 1879 case Standing Bear v. Crook, which secured the recognition of Native Americans as “people” under U.S. law. This is a civil rights victory that sets a precedent that is too often missing from American history books.
According to the synopsis, Matten will play Zazette Primeau, historically identified as the daughter of Lone Chief/Antoine Primeau. She was the wife of Ponca Chief Standing Bear and a central witness to the ordeal the nation underwent during the 1877 forced removals. “A woman of quiet authority, she stood at the border between homeland and exile, between family grief and national awakening, helping to translate personal commitments into public history,” the synopsis reads.
The screenplay, written by Troy and Sheridan, is based on Joseph Starita’s best-selling book “I Am a Man.”
The production is being led by Troy Entertainment in association with Sheridan’s Hell’s Kitchen Limited and Paul Green, longtime president of Anonymous Content. Rene Haynes, whose credits include Killers of the Flower Moon and Wind River, is the casting director for the film.
The film garnered broad institutional and bipartisan government support, including support from the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma Indians, the Tieneck Native Corporation, the Athabasca Tribe, the State of Nebraska, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, Gov. Jim Pillen, and former Nebraska Sen. Burke Herr (D). And Colby Korsh (R) are both participating in the production as executive producers. Production is scheduled to start in February.
The Ponca Tribe is developing the Standing Bear Museum and Cultural Center on the Niobrara traditional homeland and film filming location.
Matten is repped by M88, Spencer is repped by CESD, Troy is repped by Gersh Agency and Sheridan is repped by WME.
