Navajo mystery series Dark Winds seeks true story-telling

[Tanuki]

https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/navajo-mystery-series-dark-winds-seeks-true-storytelling

"Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin are the big names behind “Dark Winds,” but they’re not the most important.

That distinction belongs to the Native creators and actors who ensured the AMC mystery series rings true to the Native experience and enduring culture, which largely has been snubbed or recklessly caricatured by Hollywood.

This time the storytelling is “an inside job,” said director Chris Eyre, resulting in what he describes as a “Native American, Southwestern film noir."

Based on Tony Hillerman’s admired novels featuring Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police, AMC’s “Dark Winds” puts the newly teamed lawmen on a double-murder case that could be linked to a brazen armored-car heist.

The investigation and what underlies it is gripping but, as with Hillerman's books, what distinguishes “Dark Winds” is its intricate blend of nuanced characters and relationships, spiritual traditions and the devastating toll of entrenched inequality.

The last aspect is painfully illustrated by a midwife’s warning to a pregnant woman to avoid a hospital birth or risk unwanted sterilization, a reflection of what Native Americans faced in the series' 1970s setting, the producers said. (A 1976 U.S. General Accounting Office study found that women under 21 were being sterilized despite a moratorium, among other issues.)"...more)

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Excellent series with another outstanding performance by

"Reservation Dogs" co-star Zahn McClarnon.

As good as "Dark Winds" is, "Reservation Dogs" is even better. And both star this actor.

If you have not seen "Reservation Dogs," what is wrong with you!

[AZSkiffyGeek]

6. I just finished watching "Rutherford Falls"

Sitcom set in a small town on a New England reservation. From the same people behind The Good Place. Ed Helms is pretty much playing his Office character, and it has a "Parks and Rec" or "Northern Exposure" feel. Almost the entire cast is Native, and most of them are in "Reservation Dogs" as well.

[Eliot Rosewater]

7. Me too. The one criticism I saw that made sense was finally a show about NA and the star

is the whitest guy in Hollywood.

It is a good show.

[SheilaAnn]

2. It's probably one of the best shows currently on TV. They conveyed the ritual for a young woman who

had started her menstrual cycle, the ways you take a new friend to meet your family, all so very interesting. This is a very good program and I don't usually look forward to shows, this one I definitely do.

[Eliot Rosewater]

3. The young Woman or all the Women in this show are doing a GREAT job!

Elva Guerra is who the "young" Woman is I am referring to.

[SYFROYH]

4. I like Dark Winds but the Navajo Times slammed it for poor language skills

They had great things to say about the overall acting, but thought the Dine pronunciation was so poor that they were grateful for English subtitles.

Ouch.


https://navajotimes.com/ae/culture/dark-winds-fails-authenticity-test/

[AZSkiffyGeek]

5. I saw a follow-up

Chris Eyre took their concerns to heart and is planning to work on the Dine language issues.

[Eliot Rosewater]

8. Good, the LAST thing we want is for the show to lose credibility or popularity.

[SYFROYH]

12. Thats great news.

In all fairness, Dine is super difficult. WWII Japanese couldn’t learn it.

I went to college in northern AZ and we told that learning Dine would be useful but we never sound better than an unintelligent child.

[plimsoll]

22. Tons of sounds English speakers just honestly can't even produce.

It takes me a while but after a couple hours I can still pick up about 30% to 60% of the Tlingit when people speak it around me, but I don't even bother to speak back.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

9. The director did a couple other Chee/Leaphorn movies for PBS about 20 years ago

"Skinwalkers" and "Thief of Time."
He's also the director of "Smoke Signals," which pretty much introduced me to Native American cinema.

[niyad]

21. I loved "Smoke Signals". Sometime last year I stumbled on 20th anniversary

Last edited Fri Jul 8, 2022, 01:21 AM - Edit history (1)

panel discussion with the actors. It was fascinating. Evan Adams, the young man who played Thomas is now a public health doctor.

Interesting note: while searching for the discussion I just mentioned, I saw that "Smoke Signals" is currently free to watch on youtube.

[cbabe]

10. And Star Wars dubbed in Navaho

https://m.

Some scenes

https://themoth.org › stories › navajo-star-wars

The Moth | Stories | Navajo Star Wars
Apr 6, 2022Navajo Star Wars by Manuelito Wheeler Manuelito Wheeler wants to help preserve the Navajo language by dubbing Star Wars. Listen Now Add to Playlist Featured on The Wisdom of Elders Original Air Date Apr 06, 2022 Location Mesa, Arizona Recorded Jan 26, 2018 Duration 12:52 Tags Cultural Traditions

How it came to be

[Deuxcents]

11. Is it on YouTube or PBS?

[Silver Gaia]

16. It's on AMC.

It can be streamed on AMC+.

[Bayard]

13. I've seen the first 3 episodes

I like it. I needed something to fill the hole that Walking Dead ending will make on Sunday nights.

[Doc Sportello]

14. Thanks for posting and letting people know about this great aeries

And it's not just great because it is done by Native peoples, but also because it's first rate drama. From the writing to the acting and directing. I grew up around Native people and, even though it has taken too long, it has been fantastic to see shows such as this and the equally great Reservation Dogs, break through. They portray the kind of Native people I knew in authentic ways. Highly recommended.

Dark Winds is on AMC while season 2 of Reservation Dogs begins next month on Hulu.

[Silver Gaia]

15. This is a GREAT show.

Not to be missed!

[Sympthsical]

17. I see Zahn McClarnon, I watch

Episode 2.8 of Westworld, Kiksuya, is one of the best episodes of television I've ever seen. All the Native characters are speaking in Lakota.

McClarnon in Fargo was also excellent.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

19. He's great in Reservation Dogs

He also had a small part in Hawkeye, and I think a larger role in the upcoming spin-off Echo.

[Xavier Breath]

18. Props to all involved in this series.

I read a review touting it and decided to watch the first episode to see if I could find a good show for the summer. It's compelling story telling set against some of the prettiest country you could hope to ever see.

[Liberal In Texas]

20. Thanks for posting! Was a big fan of Hillerman.

Even had to do a little touring back in the day around Shiprock and the Four Corners to absorb the atmosphere.

And love it that Zahn McClarnon is in it. He was super in "Longmire."

Guess I'll have to sign up for AMC+ now LOL.

[SharonClark]

23. Amazon Prime offers AMC+ for 99c

a month for 2 months during Prime Days. It’s quite a deal and I signed up for AMC+ just to watch this series.