Based on the novel Powwow Highway by David Seals, it features A Martinez, Gary Farmer, Joanelle Romero and Amanda Wyss.

"[2] Buddy Red Bow, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe of Lame Deer, Montana and a quick-tempered activist, is battling greedy developers.

During a night at the local bar, he gets inspired by watching a car commercial that advertises to potential customers to find their own "pony".

Elsewhere, Buddy's estranged sister, Bonnie, is arrested in Santa Fe, New Mexico because of drugs planted in the trunk of her car.

Buddy's absence attracts concern that he won't arrive in time, but the tribal chief insists that he will always find a way and that he has done more for the community than anyone else.

Along the way they meet with friends in other communities, attend a Pow Wow at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where Buddy dances with other veterans, and visit the sacred Black Hills in South Dakota where Philbert reverently leaves a giant Hershey's chocolate bar as an offering to his ancestors.

However, Protector loses its brakes on a downhill road, forcing everyone to jump from the car except Philbert who seemingly perishes in the wreck.

Filming was done on location on Native American reservations in Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

[5] The historian Ryan Driskell Tate has noted that the "film presents political conflicts within Indigenous communities to counter popular caricatures of innate 'Indian-ness'."

He views the road trip as a “vision quest”—a way to claim the Cheyenne status as a warrior—and mounts his automotive pony horse, his Buick “Protector,” on a tour of sacred spots of Indian culture.

[8][9] In a three-star review, Roger Ebert called Gary Farmer's performance "...one of the most wholly convincing I’ve seen", and added "What Powwow Highway does best is to create two unforgettable characters and give them some time together.