Te Ata (TAY' AH-TAH) is based on the inspiring, true story of Mary Thompson Fisher, a woman who traversed cultural barriers to become one of the greatest Native American performers of all time. Born in Indian Territory, and raised on the songs and stories of her Chickasaw tribe, Te Ata's journey to find her true calling led her through isolation, discovery, love and a stage career that culminated in performances for a United States president, European royalty and audiences across the world. Yet, of all the stories she shared, none are more inspiring than her own.
Te Ata wants to tell one particular story, and it does so well. For anyone who doesn't know who the Chickasaw storyteller was, this biopic is inspirational and necessary.
By honoring the story and legacy of Te Ata, the film asserts its own, justifiable, importance in a time of continued Native American erasure from art and history.
Lacking both fluidity and complexity, "Te Ata" is a functional but one-note tribute told through educational storytelling that, unlike its subject, doesn't manage to inspire.
This inspiring tale of the early 20th Century Chickasaw stage performer and Native culture popularizer Mary "Te Ata" Thompson, although well-played by "The New World's" Q'orianka Kilcher, is told in the least inspired way imaginable. A real shame.
While Nathan Frankowski's biopic has the saccharine, deliberate feel of a Hallmark movie, that doesn't make the woman at its center any less inspirational.
It is time for a great Chautauqua to sweep across this nation to tell us of the spirit of the Native American, to teach and heal and unite. Watching Te Ata could be a good first lesson.
