Stereotypes have long plagued pop culture as a whole, pigeonholing cultures and races to a singular perspective. This is why inclusion and representation is so important. Not only to give a platform to exemplify what makes these cultures special but also to educate the people who have little to no knowledge about them. One of the biggest victims of this media colonization is Indigenous people, especially women. There are 566 individual federally recognized tribes in the U.S., with many more that are not recognized, all with different and unique cultures and practices. From the Disney adaptation of Pocahantas to several TV Halloween specials, they have been narrowed down to fantasies and costumes.
In recent years, Indigenous women have fought to grab hold of the spotlight and give us a glimpse into the beauty of their culture as well as the horrors they’ve experienced over the years. From the Marvel Cinematic Universe to award-winning films to the stage, here are just a few of the powerful Indigenous women defying the stereotypes and taking back what’s rightfully theirs.
Echo
Maya Lopez, aka Echo (Alaqua Cox), was introduced to the MCU in the 2021 Disney+ series Hawkeye. Cox is an Indigenous woman, as well as being deaf and an amputee. The on-screen portrayal of her character incorporates these aspects of her real life. Not to mention, she still does her own stunts, which is seriously badass. The series follows the events after Hawkeye, with Maya dealing with the blowout of shooting her pseudo-father figure, Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), in the face after uncovering that he was behind the death of her actual father.
Echo is the first series under the Marvel Spotlight banner, a collection of projects still connected to the greater universe. Fans can jump into it without any prior knowledge of the 40+ projects that came before it. We also can’t ignore seeing the first TV-MA project in the MCU, which is pretty surreal. The action is stellar and doesn’t pull any punches; it’s brutal and bloody. But most importantly, Maya’s journey is front and center. One that takes her back to her roots and forge a new path forward for herself. After years of Kingpin using her as a weapon, it’s time for her to stand on her own.
Her ancestral ties are the key to unlock her true potential and power. She’s strong, smart, resilient, and ambitious, but her actions and lust for power have consequences. Marvel collaborated with the Choctaw Nation in every aspect of the series to make sure their culture was represented correctly. There will even be a dubbed version completely in Choctaw. Sydney Freeland (Navajo) and Catriona McKenzie (Gunaikurnai) direct episodes of the series. All five episodes of Echo will be available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu on January 9.
Jayli Wolf
Singer, songwriter, writer, actor, producer, and filmmaker Jayli Wolf is recovering her Anishinaabe/Cree heritage and educating others through these many artistic endeavors. Wolf was also the daughter of a Sixties Scoop child. Her song “Children Of The Government,” off her debut EP Wild Whisper, examines this through the eyes of a child who fell victim to the government-led policy that took Canadian-Indigenous children from their homes and placed them in non-Indigenous foster homes to strip them of their culture.
With her background in acting, music, and beyond, she teaches Indigenous youth about the entertainment industry and mental health, using her success as proof that dreams can become reality. After growing up in a Jehovah’s Witness Doomsday Cult and facing the trauma and hardships of her family, witnessing what her perseverance has accomplished through avenging her heritage and forming her own identity through various art mediums is truly remarkable.
She describes her music as dark pop, blending electronic elements with her ethereal vocals. Wolf released a new EP, God Is An Endless Mirror, in September of 2023, with the video for her single, “Welcome Child.” She produces and directs all of her music videos, including her latest release.
She has expressed that music has provided her, as it has for many of us, a haven for self-discovery and an almost therapeutic release.
Kahhori (What If…?)
Season Two of Marvel Studios’ animated multiversal anthology series What If…? just aired over the holiday season and introduced a brand new character, Kahhori. Voiced by Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs), this is a brand new character to Marvel as a whole. The character, specifically created for the series, is likely to crossover into the comic and live-action mediums sooner rather than later.
The sixth episode of this sophomore season shows what if the Tesseract (the blue cube that holds one of those glowing rocks Thanos was so obsessed over) landed in the sovereign Haudenosaunee Confederacy before the colonization of America. Not only did Marvel work closely with the Mohawk Nation to ensure the designs and attire were culturally accurate, most of the episode is spoken in the native Mohawk language.
The Mohawk superhero was imbued with the power of the Tesseract, giving her tremendous powers of super speed, teleportation, super strength, telekinesis, and portal creation, just to name a few abilities. Kahhori has already become a fan favorite, earning global praise, and people are already clamoring for her transition to the big screen in live-action. Her team-up with Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell) in the season’s finale gave us a tease at what Avengers: Secret Wars could offer a few years down the line. With multiversal implications afoot, this could be the perfect window for the character to debut in live-action. All of What If…? is streaming now on Disney+.
With War
Hailing from Portland, OR, the anti-colonial vegan straight-edge hardcore outfit With War is on a mission to spread land acknowledgment from the Indigenous perspective. This is the pinnacle of our awareness of the centuries of wrongdoing caused by the colonization of America. This legacy of genocide, slavery, and other unspeakable acts that are glorified by national holidays and American history books is still a prevalant problem today.
They recorded their two-song release from 2019’s War Cry on Chinook Land. The release is short but filled with two-step beats, chugging guitars, and lyrics fueled by injustice from vocalist Tish Rico. “Not all humanity is free” is a lyric that really stands out in the song “Liberation.” The song screams that the world is plagued by hunger and homelessness and that we share this planet with animals, but take the entire environment and its livelihood for granted.
The band is certainly carving out a name for themselves, with Patrick Flynn (Fiddlehead, Have Heart) dubbing them one of the best new hardcore, punk, and protest bands. They also appeared on the song “Champ” from Portugal. The Man’s latest album, Chris Black Changed My Life. With War is currently working on new music and solidifying a full lineup so they can tour and continue to spread their important message.
Lily Gladstone (Killers Of The Flower Moon)
Academy award-winning director Martin Scorsese’s latest offering, Killers Of The Flower Moon, explores the tragic Osage murders of the 1920s. While the film stars acting juggernauts Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, the true highlight of the movie is Lily Gladstone. She plays Mollie Burkhart, a real-life survivor of the Osage murders. A resident of Gray Horse, an Osage community east of Fairfax, Oklahoma, a hot spot for liquid gold in the 1900s. The Osage people were all granted headrights under the terms of the Osage Allotment Act of 1906, a share of the royalties from the oil found on their land.
These headrights can only be passed on legally to their heirs. Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) becomes convinced by his uncle, William K. Hale (De Niro), to marry Mollie and secure a legal claim to that oil money. Hale’s plan of murder, also known as the “Reign of Terror,” took the lives of eighteen Osage and three non-Osage people, including all of Mollie’s family. But she persevered, survived, and helped bring justice to the ones she lost. Gladstone portrayed Mollie masterfully and is the heart and soul of the film.
Gladstone has already won a Golden Globe, with a history-making first Indigenous winner in the category of Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Motion Picture. In addition, she has earned nominations for a Critics Choice Award, Satellite Award, Gotham Award, and numerous others. Moreover, she is not only a strong contender for an Oscar nomination at the end of this month but also a favorite for the Best Actress award later this year. Killers Of The Flower Moon will be available to stream on Apple TV+ on January 12.
Black Belt Eagle Scout
Katherine Paul, the musician behind Black Belt Eagle Scout, moved back to her native Swinomish land in the state of Washington during the pandemic. It was a move that she described as spiritual and enlightening. She took online classes to learn her native language, Lushootseed, as another way to tie her back to her roots. This journey led to the group releasing their third album, titled The Land, The Water, The Sky, in February 2023.
Paul grew up in a musical family that had a drum group that sang pow-wow songs throughout her childhood. Black Belt Eagle Scout is a blend of indie rock and folk that infuses the music of her childhood and her people. It explores life through a lens of positivity and hope. There’s always going to be bad and evil in the world, but her music gives the world a vessel of peace and nature while still acknowledging the past wrought with colonial violence.
NPR, Pitchfork, Stereogum, and many more have critically acclaimed her music. You can catch them on tour this February and March.
This is only a mere fraction of the incredible Indigenous women who use their talents to celebrate their heritage and spread information that helps people understand the complicated and dark past that formed the country a lot of us live in today. There’s always room to learn and improve as a society. Hopefully, these movies, TV shows, and musicians help bring a better understanding of the unfortunate hardships a lot of people either had no idea about or were glossed over in the history books.
