I didn’t expect to have a post for today because I spent so much of yesterday waiting for my car to get towed. But then a letter from Tokata Iron Eyes showed up in my email and convinved me that I had to share it – pretty much in full, because there’s no way to link to it. I am not a big awards watcher, although I have a pretty good idea how important they can be, especially to those in the profession. And I was watching the awards the night Halle Berry won the first Best Actress Oscar given to a woman of color, and I lost it. I’m glad I saw it, although “Oscars” are still “So White” overall. I wish I could have seen the Golden Globes, if only for Lily’s speech. Instead, I’ll just lose it quetly at home.
The letter:
Today, I share with you some happy news! Last night, in case you missed it, Blackfeet and Nez Perce actor Lily Gladstone made history as the Golden Globes’ first Indigenous winner in the category of Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama. Gladstone, who uses she/they pronouns, brought an understated power to their portrayal of Mollie Burkhardt, an Osage woman struggling amid the murders of her family and community by greedy settlers, in Martin Scorcese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
After beginning their acceptance speech with a traditional Blackfeet introduction and a round of thank-yous, Gladstone said something important and inspiring: “This is for every little rez kid, every little urban kid, every little Native kid out there who has a dream, who is seeing themselves represented in our stories — told by ourselves in our own words — with tremendous allies and tremendous trust, with and from each other.”
That’s a statement filled with both truth and nuance. It’s a beautiful sentiment, but Gladstone may also be acknowledging that Hollywood remains a space with rich and powerful gatekeepers. Even in 2024, non-Native filmmakers (allies or not) like James Cameron (the “Avatar” franchise) and Scorcese are most often still the ones helming stories featuring Indigenous People and perspectives.
As my father, Chase, wrote to you last year, this needs to change. Allies are important, and representation is wonderful. Still, even the most positive representation onscreen is not the same thing as agency — the ability to tell our own stories, centering our own narratives. And agency, particularly for the Native women without whom this story does not exist and the movie could not function, is largely missing for much of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” When Native actors occupy the screen, the movie seems to vibrate at a different frequency. I’m left wondering what could have been had their characters’ arcs been less peripheral.
Much has been written about the movie by Indigenous People across Turtle Island. From a glowing review by our friend, Vince Schilling, to a scathing indictment from “Reservation Dogs” star Devery Jacobs, opinions on the movie vary widely — and understandably so. The three-hour-plus epic, based on true events, is ambitious, messy, and devastating. One thing everyone seems to agree upon, though, is the powerful performances given by Gladstone and other Native People in supporting roles. I, for one, look forward to seeing more from all of them, especially in movies and shows written and directed by Indigenous storytellers.
In case it slipped anyone’s mind, Tokata’s fathere, Chase Iron Eyes, is the head of Lakota Law and a pillar in indeigenous struggles, particularlt those of Standing Rock.
