Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

My friend, Lee Dingus, is a Seneca artist and educator who has contributed to this blog in the past. I asked her to specifically share television shows and movies that do a solid job with representation. Indigenous created content is so much more accessible now, but I don’t think people know that. I certainly didn’t, until I began to educate myself.

I watched a series called Blackstone that followed a fictional First Nations reserve near Alberta, Canada. So not Native American, but a powerful thrust into contemporary experiences. I began to follow the actors and creators on social media so I could find other content.

My next stop was PBS where through the Passport feature, I was able to access quite a bit of content – documentaries, interviews, profiles. And a wonderful series called ‘Little Bird.’ One story led to another. Each time I chatted with Lee, I would say “I watched this show or saw this movie … ” with her permission.

What really motivated me to ask her to create this list was an episode of ‘The Waltons’ in which a very old Cherokee man and his grandson walk from the Carolinas to the Blue RIdge Mountains which was the original lands they inhabited (not owned.) The old man was determined to die and be buried in sacred grounds.

Two things struck me – the older actor retold the stories of the forced migration from Virginia to the Carolinas and then the more familiar stories of the Trail of Tears. It was heartwrenching, but the piece about Virginian mountains was important and often overlooked history. The second thing was the decision by the two male lead actors to demand a Native actor play this role. It was controversial because there simply wasn’t a solid actor in that age range, a very telling point. But it worked. For 1977 television, it was pretty progressive.

What else had I missed? Or ignored?

Her list surprised me because I thought some of these programs did not offer good representation. But I think there is value in understanding how it has changed over the years. And how it has shaped our understanding as white Americans of our Native American and all Indigenous neighbors. At first I was hesitant to add my own narrative, but I realize this is me introducing or reminding other white folx of this content, how it has evolved to the point where some programming is controlled by Indigenous creators. So the story isn’t through the white lens. But it is created and shared with us.

I am obliged to amplify it.

There is value for you to determine which programs you’ve seen, reflect on them, and then search for the others. I was going to do that work, but realized the search is part of the journey.

Lee sent this list.

• Smoke Signals
• The New World
• Wind River
• Songs My Brothers Taught Me
• The Last of the Mohicans
• The Missing
• The Education of Little Tree
• Dances with Wolves
• Older Than America 

• The Red Road
• Reservation Dogs
• Dark Winds
• Mohawk Girls
• Trickster
• Rutherford Falls
• Little Bird
• Echo
• The New World
• The Red Road
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• Prey
• Rez Ball
• Rumble
• North of North
• Basketball or Nothing
• Northern Exposure

Obviously, I have a lot to watch. I trust Lee’s guidance and appreciate her taking the time to create this list. I’ll revisit this at the end of the month.

You can support Lee through her organization Echoes of the Four Directions.