BAFTA nominee Chaske Spencer boards Standing Bear, a civil rights drama from Jim Sheridan and Andrew Troy

Standing Bear was the head of the Ponca people and a Native American civil rights activist. Chaske Spencer has been signed to play the titular character in a film on the Ponca leader. Jim Sheridan and Andrew Troy will be directing the historical drama film. The duo's name was first reported back in 2023 with the project.

The film will chronicle the Trail of Tears, which refers to the forced displacement of Native American tribes between the years of 1830 and 1850. Let's find out more about the upcoming project.

Chaske Spencer to star in Standing Bear

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Deadline has confirmed that the BAFTA Award-nominated actor Chaske Spencer has been cast in and as Standing Bear. The Ponca chief, originally called Mantcunanjin, is known for his 1879 Omaha court trial.

The film will focus on the Trail of Tears as well as the trial that helped Native Americans get recognition as human beings by the US law. Andrew Troy has been working on the film for several years, and it has managed to get support from the Native American groups. Several tribes, including the Athabascan Tribes of Alaska, Senator Pete Ricketts, the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, and Governor Jim Pillen, among others, have extended their support for the film.

Troy has also written the script with Jim Sheridan; they have adapted Joseph Starita's novel I Am a Man. It will be produced by Troy, Sheridan, and Paul Green under the banners of Troy Entertainment, Hell’s Kitchen Limited and Anonymous Content.

Bart Daly and Warren Anzalone are the executive producers, along with ex-senator from Nebraska, Burke Harr, as well as Colby Coash. After things fall into place, the production of the film is scheduled to begin in February next year.

Troy had earlier told Deadline,

"Standing Bear has been completely left out of our school text books. Traveling the country, I learned that even Native people are unfamiliar with his name and the impact he had on their lives. Chief Standing Bear’s story needs to be told.”

Sheridan said: