- Details
- By Levi Rickert
LOS ANGELES — Fresh from the successful premiere of Reservation Dogs, series co-creator Sterlin Harjo (Seminole) is teaming with NBA all-star LeBron James and writer/director Sydney Freeland (Dine) to create Rez Ball, a feature film for Netflix.
Rez Ball will bring to life what American Indians have known for a long time: Native youth love basketball.
Want more Native News? Get the free daily newsletter today.
The drama will portray the fictional Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team from Chuska, New Mexico, that must band together after losing their star player if they want to keep their quest for a state championship alive, according to the series’ description. Rez Ball has been described as “an all-American underdog story about Navajo kids and coaches told from the inside-out.”
There is considerable excitement in Indian Country about the new movie and what it can do for Native youth who love to hoop.
"Whenever the plight of our Native American athletes can be highlighted on a platform such as what Springhill Productions (LeBron James) is creating along with their partners, it is a great thing,” said GinaMarie Scarpa, president and CEO of the Native American Basketball Foundation (NABI), which hosts an annual basketball tournament that attracts Native youth from more 150 tribes across Indian Country.
Scarpa told Native News Online that she appreciates that many Native American advisors will be working on the production to ensure accuracy.
“A production of this magnitude can only assist NABI and the many Native American ‘rez ball’ tournaments who for many years have been ‘fighting the good fight’ in showcasing our Native American athletes, telling their stories and accomplishing our goals of creating more opportunities for our athletes to succeed both athletically and academically,” Scarpa said.
Former NBA all-star A.C. Green, who was on the San Carlos and Navajo Nations this week giving away back-to-school supplies and toys, annually attends the NABI tournament.
“LeBron’s film will only help spread the word about how big basketball is on reservations. Since I attend NABI each year, I know there is a lot of excitement among Native youth about basketball. The film will bring more excitement and encouragement to help the underserved Native youth,” Green told Native News Online. “If asked to help on the film, I will help in any way possible.”
Also, joining Harjo and James on the Rez Ball production team will be Freeland, who will serve as director. Freeland wrote and directed some of the episodes for Reservation Dogs.
"Basketball on the Rez is like high school football in West Texas. It has a fanatical following that few sports can rival," Freeland told The Hollywood Reporter. "This is a story that's commonplace on Indian reservations all over the US, but most people aren't even aware it exists. What we want to do is bring people into our world, to tell a story about the people and places we know, and what better way to do that than through a sports movie?"
Rez Ball will be the first major film drama about Native American basketball, following documentary films and television series that chronicled tribal basketball.
In 2011, Off the Rez, a documentary film by Jonathan Hock, followed the high school career of Shoni Schimmel who left the Umatilla Indian Reservation to follow her dream to make it big. Schimmel’s mother, Ceci Moses, was the coach. The film highlighted the challenges the family had to hold on to their tribal culture and traditions. Schimmel went on to be a standout at the University of Louisville and then on to the Women’s National Basketball League.
In 2019, Netflix released the documentary series Basketball or Nothing about the Chinle High School basketball team with a passionate fan base on the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona. The series, which was co-produced by professional golfer Rickie Fowler (Dine), followed the Chinle High team’s quest for a state championship and the players’ lives on the reservation.
More Stories Like This
Navajo Technical University Rodeo Team Competes at 2025 College National Finals RodeoRestoring the Voice of a Leader: Sitting Bull's Songs Reclaimed
New Exhibition of Contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous Art Opens at the American Museum of Natural History
"Your'e No Indian" Examines the Disenrollment Issue
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to Open New Exhibition: Section 14 – The Untold Story
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher
