Debut: ‘Through The Storm’ Inspires, Finding Unimaginable Resilience In The Face Of Loss

Northern Minnesota’s Red Lake Reservation is home to an inspiring group of Indigenous athletes and coaches with a powerful story to share. Charles Frank and Fritz Bitsoie’s co-directed feature, Through the Storm, follows Red Lake Schools’ football team, the Warriors. However, there’s a catch: the Warriors have found themselves in the middle of a 20-year losing streak. Despite the losses, the team remains undeterred, showcasing insane resilience, the importance of community, and that they are far more than their record; remaining true Warriors through it all.

While Through the Storm can feel technically formulaic and cookie-cutter at times, implementing a few common sports documentary tropes, the Warriors and those around them made the short worth watching. Heart, resilience, and spirit radiate through every frame. Even after 20 years of losses, the boys still show up and play their hearts out through blood, sweat, and tears, regardless of the outcome. Their attitudes speak louder than any words ever could, highlighting the Red Lake reservation’s strong moral compass and sense of community.

The team uplifts one another at any given opportunity, an example set by head coach Nolan Desjarlait, who has put his entire heart and soul into the team for years. From the first words he speaks, it’s clear that Nolan is a gem; his unwavering support has lasted through a multitude of hardships, including serious budget struggles, an inconsistent roster of players, and the loss of Nolan’s son, Nolan Jr., who tragically passed away in an accident in 2015.

Nolan Jr.’s presence is felt throughout the entire short, including old home videos of him playing what he loved the most, basketball, which is Red Lake’s biggest and most successful sport. He was a standout basketball player from a young age, impressing everyone around him with his drive and the sheer amount of skill he possessed so early on. Upon Nolan Jr.’s unimaginable passing, the community of Red Lake was deeply shaken, and his loss is still felt every day. The film memorializes him beautifully, with a dedication to him at the end and a segment featuring one of Nolan Jr.’s best friends now wearing his signature jersey number, #12, ensuring his presence is there alongside the team and his father every time they hit the field.

Another highlight of the short was senior player Micah Brun, a standout leader of the Warriors with NFL ambitions. While these dreams are certainly big, given the Warriors’ track record on the field, keeping hope alive is the team’s biggest strength. Their unconditional support and love for one another have built an unshakable morale that is felt in everything the team does, whether it be on the field or, in Micah’s case, planning for the future. From the various montages of the team during games, they show up and give their everything on the field, moving forward with their heads held firmly high every time, even through the countless losses.

Football, in Red Lake, is more than just a sport. Even in the shadows of Red Lake’s successful basketball team, the small but mighty football community has built a family over the years. The sport goes far beyond the field and into the personal lives of those associated with the team. Head Coach Nolan goes as far as to say, “If sports ain’t around, then it’s just a lot of bad, depression shit, you know?” For Nolan and his team, what makes all of the losses worth it is the collective experience and growth. While the losses are undesirable, they are dealt with by the Warriors in the best manner possible, with a team morale that is truly something admirable.

Unfortunately, the program is on the edge of extinction, with a minute budget hardly being able to support the struggling team. Micah goes as far as to say, “Eventually, I feel like football is not gonna be here anymore. It’s just gonna be cut out from Red Lake.” This is a heartbreaking reality. The years of perseverance from the team and the Red Lake Nation as a whole are completely ignored, which has happened frequently to other Indigenous communities throughout time. They are completely neglected by the current systems in power, leading to a multitude of struggles in reservations across the nation. The opioid epidemic and financial disarray, for example, have deeply affected the Red Lake Nation. 

Earlier this year, at Red Lake’s State of the Band Address, Treasurer Vernelle Lussier reported that “40% of band members live below the poverty level and that Red Lake Nation has a 60% unemployment rate.” These struggles have been completely overlooked, and unfortunately, the legacy of the Warriors is at stake because of this. Dismantling the team would create a void far beyond the field, carrying on to the next generation of boys on the reservation, who would lose out on the chance to join a tight-knit community and play on behalf of the reservation.

The short’s penultimate scene, an intense game of football in a ravenous storm, initially feels rather misleading given that the film’s title was presumably inspired by this game. While the team went out and fought their hardest, it ultimately was a simplistic game of football that never felt like it amounted to much other than another loss to add to a long list. However, this is a reflection of reality, and what makes the Warriors so special is not their football skills but their passion and drive for the game, which has guided them for over two decades.

The team has so many losses that, unfortunately, it’s their normal. It takes great mental fortitude to even step onto the field in the middle of the storm, and the team shows up and does just that, despite knowing that they will likely lose in the end. A mentor of the team summed it up well: “They are what their team is; they battle.” This could not be closer to the truth. A true battalion of warriors, the Red Lake boys have proven themselves to be.

While the third act and overall filmmaking felt relatively rudimentary, the short succeeds in capturing the Warriors’ journey and highlighting the people who make the team what it is. Micah, who is a reflection of everything the team and its legacy stand for, worded it best: “I’d rather lose with these guys 1000 times than win with a bunch of people I’m not really that close with. I’d choose this team so many times.”