KIRTLAND – The story behind one of the most successful high school sports programs in America is about to be told to a national, if not international, audience with the help of an enterprising filmmaker and San Juan County native.
Lynette Lewis, a graduate from Piedra Vista High School who lives and works in Phoenix, is in the final stages of making the documentary “Kirtland Dynasty,” which is likely to be released next year.
The documentary features interviews and historic archived footage from the Kirtland Central girls basketball team, winners of 21 state championships dating to 1980. Lewis, who played basketball at Piedra Vista and has deep ties to the community, has had the support of coaches and administrators from schools in San Juan County and the Navajo Nation.
“I grew up knowing the impact of basketball in the community, and I looked up to a lot of these players who came up before me, and now as an adult, it inspired me to tell the story of this specific school that created this legacy,” said Lewis, 36. “I spoke with several players from the 1980 state championship team, and from there it just kind of trickled down where other players and coaches came out and participated.”
In addition to producing and directing the documentary, Lewis serves as director of Basketball Operations and Program Development for the Native American Basketball Invitational, one of the most prestigious basketball tournaments for high school students in the country.
Born in Shiprock, Lewis moved to Farmington and is working in Phoenix with former professional basketball players and coaches in hopes of promoting the sport for future generations. Her work with NABI, which dates to 2011, allows her to offer tournament management, consultation and basketball skills training services for Indigenous communities.
Lewis is Navajo and graduated from Piedra Vista High School in 2006. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Arizona State University and has spent much of her professional career advocating for Native youths on and off the basketball court. Lewis has managed camps across Arizona and other parts of the country.
“Giving back to the community is something we’re deeply committed to, and that comes in the form of basketball training camps and helping manage tournaments,” Lewis said.
Lewis and her team of filmmakers shot footage of games from the 2022-23 season, as well as this past season as Kirtland Central worked its way to a third consecutive trip to the Class 4A state finals, which ended with the Broncos beating St. Pius at The Pit in Albuquerque last March.
That victory secured the Broncos’ 21st state title, which ranks them fourth in the country for most state titles by a girls high school basketball team. USA Today recently honored the Broncos with the distinction of being the national Girls Team of the Year by the newspaper company in the most recent High School Sports Awards.
Lewis hopes the documentary will not only help tell the story of the team and its success, but also bring about added interest in basketball and the importance of the sport across the Navajo Nation.
“The female representation of the sport is one that doesn’t get told enough,” Lewis said. “It’s hard as far as exposure is concerned, that even with as much talent as there is on the reservation, but there’s no one there to see it and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to do this.”
In addition to interviewing players and coaches from Kirtland Central, Lewis also explores other top basketball talent representing the Navajo Nation, including Navajo Prep athletic director and girls basketball coach Rainy Crisp. Navajo Prep won its latest Class 3A state championship this year.
“Female Indigenous athletes mean a great deal to me, and I wanted to do something for my community and show people how immense the talent is out here,” Lewis said. “(Crisp) is someone who a lot of us look up to, and I wanted her presence in the documentary being a state champion player and coach.”
The documentary focuses on former Kirtland Central greats like Nadia Begay-Watson, who played for the Broncos in the early 2000s before playing college basketball at Boise State University. Begay-Watson is Kirtland Central’s volleyball coach. Also featured in the documentary is Jaimey Reboca, who followed her prep career as a Bronco by playing two seasons at Montana State University.
“Kirtland Dynasty” is in the final phases of production, including editing before the project gets pitched to national or international distributors like Netflix or Hulu. The editing and distribution process requires nearly $50,000 in funding in hopes of having the film be released by next summer.
“Telling this story is really important to me, and I hope we can get the word out even more with the trailer out there,” Lewis said. “I think if we can keep getting the word out and promoting the film to the right people, we can have this out sometime next summer.”
For more information about “Kirtland Dynasty,” email Lewis at info@lrlewisllc.com.
