Pawnee Writer to Raise Funding for New Film

Pawnee Reserve, OK. (November 7, 2024) Pawnee Nation member Randi LeClair continues to fight for the visibility of Native Americans in the film industry.  She’s specifically targeting the interpretation of Pawnees with her latest film, The Circle of Chawce.  Randi LeClair graduated from Oklahoma State University with a BA in English (Creative Writing) and the University of Oklahoma with a Master of Professional Writing (MPW).   

In 2010, she received a Sundance Native Filmmaker’s Lab Fellowship for her short script, The Other Side of the Bridge.  In 2015, she was awarded another Sundance Native Filmmaker’s Lab Fellowship to produce The Other Side of the Bridge, which premiered at the Tulsa American Film Festival (2024).   

Her short film, Rariihuuru, aka The Letter, about Pawnee baseball player Moses YellowHorse, premiered at the Native Crossroads Film Festival and Symposium at the University of Oklahoma in 2017.   

The same year, she also directed the play Blood Boundary for the Native American New Play Festival.  In 2020, she earned an LA SkinsFest Native American Feature Film Writer’s Lab Fellowship.  In the summer of 2022, LeClair was awarded a Vision Maker Media Creative Shorts Fellowship for her short film, The Circle of Chawce,which is currently in pre-production.  Most recently, LeClair (along with co-writer Todd Fuller) won the SeriesFest Storytellers Initiative for her pilot, “Cross X Stitches.” 

“I’m forever grateful to The Jacobson House (JH) Board of Trustees (Board), in particular, EJ Sweetly (Vice Chair), and Beto Rivas (Member), for organizing and hosting this amazing fundraising event for my film.  EJ and Beto have believed in, supported, and advocated for my film.  Without EJ, Beto, and the JH board, my film, The Circle of Chawce, would not be possible.  I look forward to screening the finished film at the Pawnee Nation soon!”  

The fundraising event took place on the University of Oklahoma Campus at The Jacobson House on Friday, October 18, 2024, in Norman, OK. 

For more information on the Live Script Reading and Fundraiser event, visit:”