In the Land of the Head Hunters (1914)
The son of a Kwakwaka'wakw chief completes a vision quest and wins the daughter of another chief, then must rescue her after a rival sorcerer's brother abducts her, leading to a war-canoe pursuit. Staged and performed entirely by Kwakwaka'wakw people of coastal British Columbia.
Photographer Edward S. Curtis’s only film, In the Land of the Head Hunters was the first narrative feature with an all-Indigenous cast. Long surviving only in fragments, it was restored and rescored as In the Land of the War Canoes and is preserved in the National Film Registry.
Background
Photographer and ethnographer Edward S. Curtis made In the Land of the Head Hunters as his only film, shot with Kwakwaka’wakw people on the coast of British Columbia. It is widely described as the first narrative feature with an entirely Indigenous cast. The community members performed the story and many of the traditions it depicts, and the film was long thought lost in its original form, surviving only in fragments. It was later restored and reissued under the title In the Land of the War Canoes.
What to watch for
The story follows a young man’s vision quest and his pursuit of a chief’s daughter, leading to a war-canoe chase that is the film’s most dynamic sequence. Its lasting value lies in its record of ceremony, dress and daily life, performed by Kwakwaka’wakw people. Watch for the way the film presents its community on their own terms, while also noting that Curtis’s staging and the ethnographic outlook of the era shape what the camera shows. The narrative is simple, but the scenes of canoes and ceremony remain a rare record of the period.
