Remaining Native
Ku Stevens, a 17-year-old Native American runner, struggles to navigate his dream of becoming a collegiate athlete as the memory of his great grandfather's escape from an Indian boarding school begins to connect past, present, and future.
Ku Stevens is a high school senior with the skill and drive to become an elite runner. But he struggles to find the balance between an exclusive sport that glorifies individual triumph and the values of interconnectedness and community he was raised with on the Paiute reservation in Nevada. Even though he doesn’t have access to a coach, cross-country team, or recruiters, Ku is determined to get a running scholarship.
When the remains of thousands of Native American children are discovered across North America, Ku’s painful family history reemerges. Ku’s own great-grandfather escaped an Indian boarding school by foot at age 8. In an act of reverence, Ku sets out to run the same 50-mile escape route his great-grandfather took.
