Riders of the Buffalo Nations explores and celebrates contemporary First Nation youth culture. Using rodeo as a metaphor for struggle, the narrative breaks with western cultural stereotypes by focusing on the relationships and moments that demonstrate how traditional First Nation culture has adapted and evolved to survive and thrive in the harshest of circumstances and environments.
My work does not shy away from the difficulties Native youth face today but neither does it create victims or make excuses. It shows them as they are - young, hopeful, reckless, thoughtful, ambitious, and full of possibility.
Life is tough on the Reservations I was welcomed on to, and the people have had to be tough too, but what I discovered, and what Riders of the Buffalo Nations shows, is that the peoples’ hearts have never hardened.
Doug Hancock
I confess, I still haven’t read the book. Thankfully Ivan Waters is a patient man. During our first meeting at Checkpoint Charlie, while drawing the storyboard on the back of a beer mat, Ivan never winced or flinched as my fanciful ideas exposed my wilful ignorance of Orwell’s masterpiece. In thus fashion, we planned to make the film in Ivan’s favourite set of pyjamas and slippers.
Doug Hancock
“In this new film, three-times senior world champion bull rider (an activity that needs no further description) Robert Mims introduces British filmmaker Doug Hancock to the close-knit world of a traditional rodeo community. This lyrical portrait of the rituals and rhythms that underpin the cowboy way of life was shot on location amid the dry heat and picturesque landscapes of Texas, New Mexico and Utah, setting the scene for an exhilarating picture of a traditional sport that, in 2018, is still finding ways to keep up with the times.”
Marley Hansen - Nowness
With each race weekend, family teams are beating panels and straightening axles to put their drivers back in the seat.
Each spectator carries a secret, they want to see crashes, not crashes that hurt, but crashes that mangle and twist the cars to new life.
My friend Chris Pugmire and I tracked Troy down to his home near Rock Point, Arizona. Troy greeted us with a practice rope in one hand and a warm hand shake.
A week later Troy rode in the Indian National Finals Rodeo finishing runner up.
We all connected and we miss him. Ride free cowboy.