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Kalle Benallie
ICT
Kiawentiio, Mohawk, was cast in the highly anticipated Netflix series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” when she was 14. She’s now nearly 18 and its premiere date on February 22 is becoming an exciting reality for her.
“It’s here. It’s about to drop. Everyone can see it finally and it’s just crazy. It doesn’t feel like real life,” she told ICT.
The live-action adaptation based on the 2005 Nickelodeon animated series follows the young Avatar named Aang, the last living airbender in a war torn world by the Fire Nation. Kiawentiio plays Katara, a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe and is the last waterbender of her community. Katara and her brother Sokka, portrayed by Ian Ousley, are left together to help Aang bring balance and peace to their world. Ousley identifies as Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky, a tribal nation that isn’t federally or state recognized.
“[Katara] plays a pretty big part in the discovering of Aang, the Avatar and his journey to becoming a full master in all elements,” Kiawentiio said.
The new series is the second time the story has been told in live-action following the 2010 movie, “The Last Airbender,” a film that was panned by critics and fans. For the 2024 version, some criticisms have been changed such as gender issues, sexism and including more Asian and Indigenous representation.
Other Indigenous talent in the series include:
Joel Montgrand, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, portrays Hakoda and was in the 2020 film “Beans,” starring Kiawentiio. He is in the latest season of “True Detective” as well. Casey Camp-Horinek, Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, who plays Gran Gran has more than a dozen acting credits and played a key character in “Reservation Dogs.” Amber Midthunder, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribe, and Irene Bedard, Inupiat, Yup’ik and Cree, also make an appearance in the show.
Kiawentiio said while there are a lot of pros and cons in the business, she feels an immense enjoyment on set and feels like herself.
“My dad actually told me something that really opened my eyes. He said that he’s never seen me light up the way that I do on set,” she said. “It’s just something that I fell in love with over the years.”
She said her community’s love and support in Akwesasne is grounding.
“A lot of these people knew me when I was growing up so for them to see me on screen, especially in a position like this, is wild. I don’t think words can describe how grateful I am for that. I don’t take this lightly. I think representing my people is something that is always going to be important to me,” she said.
She hopes to have a viewing party for her community by showing two episodes at her previous school with a Q+A.
“Especially the elders here don’t really have Netflix or the right wifi or TV, that type of stuff, so I would love for people in my community to come and see,” she said.
Kiawentiio hopes what Indigenous youth will take away from this show is that it’ll be a gateway or stepping stone for others to know they’re capable of anything.
“I hope that seeing it on a show with this scale will be eye opening for my people, like you can truly do anything. It’s all up to you and how you think,” she said.
Kiawentiio said audiences can expect a lot of action, heart and family with some serious tones that were also present in the original show.
“I feel like the themes are actually very deep but in the live action version you can actually feel the weight of how these things can actually be, but with the light at the end, the hope peeking through and the light shining to a happy ending,” she said.
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