Nate and the Colonel (2003)

Paul Winters directs and stars in this Western, the Best Feature Film winner at the 2004 American Indian L.A. Film and Television Awards. Winters is Civil War veteran Ben Loftin, a colonel whose wife is killed by a Union fighter. On a voyage of vengeance, Loftin enlists the help of Nate (Rico Ross), a former slave and childhood cohort. Along the way, they save the life of the leader (Al Harrington) of a Chippewa tribe, who pledges his help.