By Kia Wynne
A private showing of the new film “Lumbeeland” was held at GPAC on the UNCP Campus on Nov. 25.
“Lumbeeland” is a film following the lives of the Lumbee people as they navigate the struggles of their lifestyles. The film opens as the lead, Dollar, receives a phone call from Child Protective Services. The film follows him as he struggles with being a drug dealer and father to his daughter.
The film is set in the present-day Lumbee homeland in rural southeastern North Carolina. Most of the actors in the film are members of the Lumbee Tribe, the largest Native American community east of the Mississippi River while some came from different tribes.
The film explores a combination of genres, with underworld crime and fragile bonds of trust between parents and their children.
Billy Oxendine plays the star and main character, Dollar who tries to balance being a drug dealer with taking care of his daughter, Danielle. Oxendine is a native of Maxton, N.C., who earned his degree in Theater Arts at UNCP and is currently working on a master’s degree in acting at the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. Some roles he played include Henry Berry Lowry in “Strike at the Wind,” “Macbeth,” and “Orsino in Twelfth Night.”
Billy Oxendine found out about the film through his sister, which led him to do this film since it speaks to the war on drugs that the Lumbee people go through. He related his character’s upbringing to what he grew up with. During the process of memorizing his lines, he worked on them through repetition and was very critical of himself. The experience was stress-free, very deep, and moving. He remains very proud of the film and is thankful to be a part of it.
“I hope that from this film people get an understanding of the struggles that the Lumbee people have dealt with for many years, and I hope to see a change come out of this,” said Billy Oxendine.
Harvey Godwin Jr. plays Dock in the film, who is Dollar’s grandfather. In the film, Dock betrays his family, which leads to tragedy. Godwin also graduated from UNCP and served as chairman of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina for two consecutive terms from 2015 to 2021. Godwin has appeared in both plays and films, from the outdoor drama “Strike at the Wind” to the comedy “Ernest Goes to Camp.”
Malinda Maynor Lowery, who is a historian and documentary film producer with the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, wrote Lumbeeland. She was a historical consultant for the Sundance Film Festival award-winning film “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World.” She has worked on films for almost 25 years, with her first short documentary being “Real Indian.” “Sounds of Faith” and “In the Light of Reverence” followed closely behind.
The director of the film, Montana Cypress, is from the Miccosukee Tribe, located in South Florida. He is the winner of Best Native Directed Short at the 2022 Phoenix Film Festival. Alaska Airlines and many festivals have used his films for entertainment throughout the country. One of his films was a PBS native report on alligator wrestling.
The casting director for “Lumbeeland” is Jackie Jacobs, who is a proud member of the Lumbee Tribe. She started a career in public relations at UNCP, where she looked for the wisdom and stories of elders and mentors. She helps clients, through a process of discovery, uncover the most impact of their own stories to create a message for the audience that is clear, concise, and consistent.
She has owned her own SAG talent agency while serving as a talent manager and a publicist. The top SAG/AFTRA casting directors in Seattle mentored her. She reached out to many networks, local theaters, social media, and digital casting agencies to get the cast for this movie. It came down to taped auditions, callbacks, and the overall aesthetic that she wanted for this film.
“I believe that we cannot allow Hollywood to define who we are as an Indigenous people. Lumbee stories are so rich and so important to share, and the only way to do that effectively is through Lumbee voices and Lumbee storytelling. It was a very special experience, and I was honored to participate,” said Jackie Jacobs.
Cheyenne Oxendine, a student at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, is working to be a film editor. She worked as a co-editor and script supervisor on “Lumbeeland.” For this job, she took notes on the director’s favorite shots and any notes that he gave for the scene. She had to keep track of the shots and get copies of the shooting script.
She has been the editor for films like “Bargain Mart,” “Next Stop, and “Crow’s Nest.” You can see all of her work on her Instagram page. Lumbeeland is the first film that she has done as a co-editor. One of the executive producers of the film, who knew her from volunteer work with the Lumbee Film Festival, contacted her to do the film.
“It was just like a bunch of people from the neighborhood—friends and family. We’re just coming together to support this one idea and tell someone’s story,” Cheyenne said.
The film has also been accepted to the Red Dirt Festival in Stillwater, Okla., in April, and the hometown premiere will be in July of 2024 at the Lumbee Film Festival.