"this may be the last time" received positive reviews from critics. guy lodge of "variety" said in his review, "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 artful and illuminating." justin lowe in his review for "the hollywood reporter" praised the film by saying, "the mystery of pete harjo’s disappearance turns out to be somewhat more prosaic, although harjo plays out developments in the missing-person search skillfully enough to maintain interest, much in the storytelling tradition of his tribal elders."