Native Representation on TV: Where has it been? Where is it going?
From Left To Right: Paulina Alexis, Lane Factor, K. Devery Jacobs, and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai - Reservation Dogs/Hulu
November is National Native American Heritage Month, making it the ideal time to look at the state of indigenous representation on television to give credit to the good and call for improvement in the bad. Indigenous people make up a small, but important, percentage of the American population. The 2020 US Census reports that Native peoples make up roughly 2% of the US population but this percentage is deceptive for conveying the number of Native and their importance in the United States.
Though severely underrepresented in media today, efforts to increase awareness and visibility for indigenous peoples in television have allowed them to share their stories and talents with a wider audience. Shows like Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls feature indigenous peoples in both lead and supporting roles, while also attaining commercial and critical success. 2022 has been a great year for indigenous representation in television, with a greater number of shows starring, written, and created by Natives on the small screen today.
Before diving into the cascade of new Native-led shows, it’s important to understand why the success of indigenous shows now is so groundbreaking. It’s critical to know the obstacles that indigenous peoples have faced in their pursuit of inclusion in media to most encapsulate the triumph of these Native-led shows.
Where has it been?
Nielsen released a report with Gracenote Inclusion Analytics finding that indigenous peoples were present in less than 0.5% of lead recurring roles on television. With the percentage of Native leading roles not even accounting for 1%, there has historically and presently been a severe lack of Native inclusion in leading roles on television. In terms of share of screen ranking, Native Americans account for less than 0.5% of roles on either broadcast, cable, or streaming video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms. Though parity with the population is not the conclusive measure of accurate diversity in media, it is still a noteworthy checkmark that the television industry has yet to reach. These findings are further supported by UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report. which found that though diversity in media has been on the rise, there is still minimal presence of Native Americans in both on and off-screen roles in entertainment.
In addition to the overall lack of representation on television, there have also been two consistent obstacles for indigenous representation: miscasting and stereotypes. The problem of casting Native roles with non-Native actors has been a historic issue but has also been seen in media today. On the Paramount Plus television show Yellowstone, actress Kelsey Asbille had been cast as a Native woman. Though she claimed to be descended from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (ECBI), there were no records of her actual familial connection and the https://www.voanews.com/a/blockbuster-television-series-yellowstone-stokes-debate-on-Native-american-casting-spirituality- released a statement denying her claim. The following effects of Asbille’s casting sparked controversy and conversation among Native viewers. It sparked a boycott, but also served as a starting point for what the entertainment industry must do to accurately portray Natives. There were conversations surrounding the self-identification of Native heritage. Heather Rae, cofounder of The Native Networkers, stated, “Native identity and tribal affiliation is really complicated — mainly a result of genocide and Indian removal and assimilation efforts… I know the tribe has an official position on tribal identification, but there are many Native people who understand the diaspora that separated families from tribal systems.”
It is all the more important to ensure that Native actors get Native roles, as DeLanna Studi, actor and chair of the SAF-AFTRA National Native American Committee, further affirms. She recalls that in her last 17 years of active acting, she had never been asked to read for a non-Native role, which is not an uncommon occurrence for indigenous actors historically. This was due to the lack of visibility and stereotyping surrounding Native actors and roles. For decades, the view on Natives has been narrow, with most audiences only familiarized with one-dimensional images of indigenous peoples. The lasting image of media such as Disney’s Pocahontas left most audiences content with this straightforward, but not overly authentic, understanding of Natives and their identity.
Studi and Rae ultimately agreed on the point that active engagement and relationship building with Native communities should be at the forefront of improved Native representation. They call for authentic and comprehensive indigenous voices both on and off-screen in order to change the image of Natives in the wider American understanding.
Where is it going?
The conversation and push for improvement have seen great rewards so far that are expected to keep putting more Native voices in the spotlight. In 2021, Nielsen started the Native American, Tribal, and Indigenous Voices (NATIV) business group, a resource group focused on increasing the representation and visibility of Native peoples both in-company and externally, as they push for greater indigenous inclusion in the media industry as a whole.
2022 has also been a good year for Native representation in television. Many series this past summer have attained incredible success with predominant Native casts and crews. Shows such as Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls are praised for their breakdown of indigenous stereotypes and celebration of Native heritage. Even in the film industry, the long-running Predator franchise released the prequel Prey this year which starred a Native woman. With both critical and commercial acclaim, as well as on and off-screen inclusion, there are more Native stories being told today, and even more to come.
Reservation Dogs on Hulu is currently one of the most critically acclaimed shows streaming today and is centered entirely on indigenous peoples. The coming-of-age comedy follows four Native teenagers and their attempt to make it out of their home in Oklahoma to California. The entirely Native cast of the show won the Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series award at the 2022 Spirit Awards. It is also the first mainstream television show that has an indigenous person in every writer, director, and series regular position on the show. The show is produced by Taika Waititi, of Māori descent, and Sterlin Harjo, of Seminole and Muscogee ancestry. The show, which just released its second season, has been praised for its writing, inclusivity, and stereotype breaking advancements for Native representation.
Rutherford Falls on Peacock features co-creator and executive producer Navajo member Sierra Teller Ornelas and several indigenous writers also released its second season this past summer. One of the leads of the show, Jana Schmieding, is of Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux descent, and plays the head of a fictional indigenous tribe who has a deep friendship with a descendant of the titular town’s white founding family. The inclusion of Native players in the production of this show has helped create more authentic portrayals of Native characters, as it tackles the relationship between the white and indigenous peoples on the show.
Mohawk Girls also on Peacock has been described as Sex and the City for Native audiences. The Canadian show has been brought to American viewers through this streaming service, with resounding success. In the same vein of Reservation Dogs, Mohawk Girls brings a youthful energy that highlights this current generation of indigenous peoples. They depict Native peoples as they are today: complex and real members of society, not just one-dimensional portrayals of what an indigenous person is supposed to be.
Dark Winds on AMC follows two Navajo police officers in the 1970s, played by Lakota Zahn McClarnon and Hualapai actor Kiowa Gordon. The series premiere of the show saw 2.2 million viewers, an astounding number that helped the show secure a second season. In addition to representing indigenous peoples, the show was also filmed 100% on tribal lands. The series received permission to film at the Carmel Rock Studios facility on Native land in Tesuque Pueblo and on lands at Cochiti Pueblo, both in New Mexico. By putting the spotlight on Native lands as well as Native actors, the show helps push forward for comprehensive indigenous visibility.
There are even more upcoming shows slated for release that feature prominent indigenous players. Marvel’s Echo in 2023 on Disney Plus will feature Native Alaqua Cox (Menominee and Mohican) in a groundbreaking role for both indigenous peoples and the disabled community, as she is deaf and an amputee. Res Ball on Netflix will feature Navajo director Sydney Freeland who helped write the Native American basketball drama. The coming-of-age sports drama will follow a Native American high school basketball team on their quest for a state championship after the loss of their best player; an underdog story like classic Americans but featuring Navajo players.
Though Native voices and people have been denied the spotlight for decades, that is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Progress forward for indigenous and Native representation in television is on the rise and viewers should be excited to see more accurate representation and diversity in our media. Thanks to the focused efforts of Native actors, writers, directors, and other supporters, indigenous peoples are getting more opportunity to share their talents, their stories, and their culture with a greater audience.
