2024 could be the year for Indigenous Stories

2024 vt Hattak Vpi Homma nan vnnoa anoli im afvmmi ahinla

Published January 22, 2024

By Chief Gary Batton

Audio in Choctaw Language

The Choctaw Nation is extremely proud for our part in the Disney+/Marvel series “Echo” that is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. The story follows Maya Lopez, a Choctaw superhero, who is deaf, that has broken away from a crime syndicate and is now fighting to keep her Oklahoma family safe from her former crime boss.

Our participation in “Echo” and in the Paramount+ series “Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” is groundbreaking for the Choctaw Nation. Our language department worked with both series creators to ensure that the Choctaw language is spoken flawlessly. Both series shine a much welcome spotlight on the Choctaw Nation, our people, our culture, and the heritage that originated from our ancestors.

In my lifetime I can’t remember a time when there were so many Native American entertainment choices. The focus on indigenous stories is sort of an awakening by the entertainment industry and shows there is rich soil here to plant their storytelling seeds.

For instance, the groundbreaking, Peabody-award winning Hulu series “Reservation Dogs” tells the story of teenagers on a fictional reservation. The series is helmed by an all-indigenous crew of writers, directors, and actors and it was filmed on the Muscogee reservation in Oklahoma. Also, the Hulu movie, “Prey,” that was nominated for six Emmys, is the fifth installment of the “Predator” franchise that tells the story of a young Comanche woman who uses her hunting skills to save herself and her tribe from a killer alien.

Just this month, at the Golden Globe awards, actress Lily Gladstone made history when she became the first indigenous person to win the best performance by a female actor in a dramatic motion picture. Gladstone is also a favorite to win the best actress nod for the Oscar this year for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman who is the wife of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart in the Martin Scorsese-directed film “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation in northwestern Montana and lived on the reservation until the age of 11.

Despite progress, indigenous representation in media is low. Native American representation in entertainment is still less than 1%, according to the social-justice organization IllumiNative. The good news is there are Native American creators who are willing to tell their stories and there are studios that are willing to invest.

The Choctaw Nation remains committed to Native American stories. We are always on the lookout to present the Chahta spirit of Faith, Family and Culture to a larger population. The more content out there that highlights the Choctaw Nation’s sovereignty and promotion of self-empowerment is all the better for what we are trying to accomplish here as a thriving tribal nation.

What I challenge you to do is support indigenous storytelling in all forms of media. Watch the movies, tune into the TV series, and read indigenous books. The more in-demand that indigenous stories become, the more that the entertainment industry will want to produce and that is a positive for all indigenous people, including the Choctaw Nation.

Yakoke and God Bless!

Disney+ / Marvel ittatakvli, “Echo” ya himonasi Disney+ micha Hulu vt pisachi ka Chahta Okla yvt iba takla tukvt fehnachi ahli. Nan vnnoa yvt Chahta tvshka na fehna ikhvklo iakaiya. Anumpa kobvffi ittvhoba ya i filvmmi cha himonasi ano im Oklahoma chukka achvffa yvt na kaniohma chi kiyo ka i tanampi.

“Echo” anonti Paramount+ ittatakvli, “Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” il iba takla tukvt Chahta Okla ya im anukfilla himona. Chahta Anumpa yvt vlhpiesa hosh annumpa chi ka ittatakvli ikbi tuklo ka pim anumpa kashkoa yvt iba toksvli tuk. Ittatakvli tuklo yvt Chahta Okla, pim okla, pim aivlhpesa, anonti hvlbina pi hattak tikba aminti kash aiokpvchi pvla o tohwikelichi.

Hattak Vpi Homma nan isht ilaiyukpa atokoli lawa yakohmi hosh asha tuka hvshi kanvlli ak ikhano. Nan isht ilaiyukpa aiokpvchi yvt Hattak Vpi Homma i nan vnnoa apistikelit okchali mikmvt yakni awaya achukma pa nan vnnoa anoli i nihi ahokcha hinla ka pisachi.

Hulu ittatakvli, “Reservation Dogs,” Peabody Award ishi tukvt himitthoa yosh ilatomba yakni ahli kiyo ho aiasha ka i nan vnnoa anoli. Ittatakvli ilvppa, i holissochi, pehlichi, micha nan isht vtta moma kvt Hattak Vpi Homma atuk mikmvt Oklahoma ya Muscogee Reservation aholbvt toba tuk. Hulu holbvt toba, “Prey,” vt “Predator” ai isht ahalaia i tushafa isht tahlapi kvt Emmy hannali ho vlhtoka tuk. Comanche ohoyo himitta owvtta imponna kvt ilap anonti im okla ya nan vbi inla ahlakoffichi tuka i nan vnnoa anoli.

Himak hvshi ya, Golden Globe Awards ash, Lily Gladstone, Hattak Vpi Homma ohoyo vmmona hosh holbvt toba ya moma i shahlit yvmihchi tukvt vlhpisa ishi tuk. Osage ohoyo, Mollie Burkhart ako Gladstone vt ahobvchi tukvt isht vtta moma i shahli Oscar isha chi kvt imohla. Martin Scorsese i holbvt toba, “Pakanli Hvshi Ninak Aya Nan Vbi” ya Ernest Burkhart tekchi ahobvchi tuk. Gladstone vt Montana ya Blackfeet Reservation aivtta cha afvmmi pokoli awah achvffa ona tuk.

Mahaya kia anumpa lawa ya Hattak Vpi Homma ahobvchi yvt akanlusi. Nan isht ilaiyukpa ya Hattak Vpi Homma ahobvchi yvt tahlepa tushafa achvffa ik ono ka IllumiNative vt anoli. Hattak Vpi Homma nan ikbi yvt nan vnnoa anola hinla hiokma holbvt toba aiikbi yvt fohkvcha hinla kvt anumpa achukma.

Chahta Okla yvt Hattak Vpi Homma i nan vnnoa ibbak fohka hosh aiasha. Chahta shilombish, na yimmi, chukka achvffa, micha im aivlhpesa ya okla chito i shahli ka i haiakacha chi kvt e hoyo billia. Chahta Okla i kucha pehlichi iksho anonti ile atohnuchi akosh oktvni hiokma, i shaht mahaya okla hvpia kvt aiahlichi hvpi bvnna ka achukmalechi.

Anumpa lawa mominchit Hattak Vpi Homma nan vnnoa anoli ya ish apela chi ka hvchi paffi li. Holbvt toba pisa, na holbvt toba apisa tiwwi, micha Hattak Vpi Homma i holisso hochefo. Hattak Vpi Homma nan vnnoa ya asilhha moma hiokma nan isht ilaiyukpa aiokpvchi yvt ikbi bvnna chi. Ilvppvt, Chahta Okla aieninchit Hattak Vpi Homma moyuma ka im aiahli.

Yakoke anonti Chihowa hvt hvchi holitoblashke!