Felix Clary
ICT + Tulsa World
The Cherokee Nation launched one of the only tribally operated film and media education and workforce development centers in the country on Sept. 3, with courses set to begin in January 2025.
The Cherokee Film Institute provides Native students education and career opportunities with a strategy aimed at removing barriers for Natives to enter the film and media industry. The institute’s advisory board consists of well-known Natives in the media, including Wes Studi (Cherokee actor), Amber Valletta (Cherokee actress), Faith Philips (Cherokee screenwriter).
“We continue to illustrate that Native stories are best told by those with authentic perspectives. Empowering a talented Native workforce is essential to ensuring Native Americans are seen, heard and respected within this growing industry,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. in a press release.
A recent study emphasized the need for more Native representation in the entertainment industry.
The study by IllumiNative, an organization dedicated to increasing visibility of Native people, and the University of South California Norman Lear Center, a research center that studies the cultural impact of entertainment, indicated that out of 51 television series, each featuring at least 10 Native characters, between 2020-2022, two out of three series with had no Native talent behind the camera.
The study combines quantitative research and surveys to examine Native stereotypes that are still present in modern media and how those stereotypes affect viewers’ opinions and beliefs.
One of the study’s major findings was that viewers of “Reservation Dogs” are more likely to support Native-supporting policies than non-viewers.
Native filmmaker Sterlin Harjo filmed his comedy TV series, “Reservation Dogs,” on the Muscogee Nation reservation in Northeastern Oklahoma. The main characters are four Indigenous teenagers navigating life in a modern, Native community that many Indigenous people find relatable. The final season of the three-season show ended in September 2023.
“Native creatives have been working for decades to get proper recognition in Hollywood. It’s not that it didn’t exist beforehand, but all the stars seemed to align in the past few years with support from a number of programs like IllumiNative that support Indigenous media,” said Soraya Giaccardi, senior researcher and outreach liaison for the Norman Lear Center. “These stories are now being told by Native creatives. Historically, these stories of Native people were told by non-Natives.”
Dying myths
The quantitative research aspect of the IllumiNative-Norman Lear study found that a recent shift from non-Native to Native talent behind the camera led to positive changes and less harmful stereotyping, said Giaccardi.
One prominent misconception Giaccardi mentioned that stemmed from past media representation of Natives is that Native communities are “continuously shrinking.”
“But those myths are dying out,” she said. With shows like “Reservation Dogs” becoming popular, Giaccardi said, viewers are starting to see Natives as “people with modern lives, with the same kind of trials and tribulations that we all face, not just people on TV, or people from the past.”
Giaccardi said the film industry has come far in recent years to erase harmful stereotypes but research studies like this should be performed “year after year” to show progress, as well as what room there is to change.
Thirty-four of the 51 shows have already been canceled, and Giaccardi is concerned that if Native-led films and series are not given a chance to build a large audience, it “would be easy to revert back” to non-Native-led portrayals of characters with harmful stereotypes.
A tale of two shows
The study surveyed the viewers of “Reservation Dogs,” as well as “Yellowstone,” a non-Native-led series set in modern Montana that portrays several Native characters. Viewers of each of the shows answered a series of questions about modern Native-supporting policies.
Viewers of “Yellowstone” were more likely to feel uncomfortable than non-viewers that some Native people wish to keep their spiritual practices closed to non-Natives. They were also less likely to agree than non-viewers that: the U.S. should be required to uphold treaty obligations that enable Native Americans to control their own lands; that Natives are one of the fastest growing groups in the U.S.; that sports teams with names that use appropriated Native terms should be renamed; that cities should change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day; that the government should expand national monuments to protect sacred Native lands; and that the U.S. should uphold treaty obligations that enable Natives to control their own lands and the right to hunt, fish and gather resources.
On the other hand, “Reservation Dogs” viewers who were emotionally attached to Native characters Elora and Willie Jack were more likely to support the Indian Child Welfare Act, a federal law aimed to keep Native children with their Native families and communities. The researchers believe this could be because in Season Two, a Native character named Cheese is removed from his home and placed in a non-Native youth home.
“Reservation Dogs” viewers rated themselves more knowledgeable about contemporary Native issues and culture compared to non-viewers. They were also less likely to believe that: Natives are doing much better financially due to casino money; that Natives would be better off if they tried harder and stopped complaining; that the U.S. has done enough for Native peoples and people should move on from the past; and that Natives must assimilate in order to advance.
The Cherokee Film Institute intends to amplify the efforts of Native talents like “Reservation Dogs” creator Sterlin Harjo by certifying more Native filmmakers who graduate from their program. The courses focus on draft development, hands-on training and mentorship opportunities that prepare students to enter the film industry.
“This is more than a place of learning; it is a place of empowerment and a solution to a problem,” Cherokee Chief Hoskin said. “Native misrepresentation stops here.”
This story is co-published by the Tulsa World and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the Oklahoma area.
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