A campaign for the presidency of the Navajo Nation—the largest Native nation in the U.S., overlapping three states—draws 17 candidates in 2014. A couple are career politicians focused on maintaining the status quo in the community. Meanwhile, the destructive problems of poverty, drugs, low employment, and more go unchanged, attracting progressive candidates such as Moroni Benally, an academic who is also gay, Mormon, and an expert on public policy. The film follows several candidates (including the incumbent) as they jockey for opportunities to be seen and heard. But it’s Benally who proves most compelling, a self-deprecating man with a quick laugh and concern that his gay identity might hurt his parents’ standing on the reservation. (The Navajo nation disapproves of gay marriage, though LGBTQ issues don’t come up in the campaign.) It’s interesting to watch candidates sort out which messages—and how they are packaged—do or do not appeal to unpredictable voters. And the chance to watch an important election, minus the kind of machine politics seen in non-reservation races, is also refreshing. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
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