This May Be the Last Time

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“This May Be the Last Time” is a documentary by Native American filmmaker Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Creek) that interweaves the story of the 1962 disappearance of his grandfather with the rich history of the Muscogee (Creek) hymns the Seminole community sang as they searched for him. It’s the evolution of these songs, a form of a capella “line singing,” that Harjo determines to investigate and shed light on. Through interviews with community members and outside academics, Harjo discovers that the hymns likely entered the Seminole language via Scottish missionaries, who also influenced rural Appalachiacongregations, as well as African American churches in the South during the early 1800s, prior to the tragic relocation of Seminole communities on the notorious “Trail of Tears.” Tribal members sang the songs on the long forced march and they subsequently became mainstays of churches reestablished in Oklahoma.

Most intriguingly, Harjo’s sources help make the connection between one of their religious songs and the Rolling Stones’ cover of the Staples Singers’ gospel tune “The Last Time.” The roots of the song can be traced back to an African American spiritual from the 1800s called “This May Be The Last Time.” Filtering painstaking research on the evolution of Creek Nation hymns through a tragic narrative from Harjo’s family history, the director’s first nonfiction feature is heartfelt and illuminating. The documentary can currently be streamed at Netflix. To learn more, please visit the official website.