“We Have So Many Stories To Tell”

D'PHARAOH WOON-A-TAI: BEAR

"Hollywood likes to think they need a reason to help us, or that we need a handout. We don't. Of course, we need help, but we don't need pity. I can say this show is changing the representation of Natives in this community."

DEVERY JACOBS: ELORA DANAN

"There has never been a better time to be an Indigenous artist in the industry, but it's long overdue. There has been a lack of representation as well as misrepresentation for as long as Indigenous people have been in film. We've rarely been afforded the opportunity to take our stories into our own hands. The beauty of Indigenous storytelling is that we have so many stories to tell."

PAULINA ALEXIS: WILLIE JACK

"Growing up, you don't see a lot of Native Americans on TV. We've always been here; we're always going to be here. You feel like you go unnoticed as an Indigenous person. I'm not sure why — we're funny and our culture is so beautiful."

LANE FACTOR: CHEESE

"I'm very new to this industry, but Native people haven't had the best time in the film industry. But with all the progress made in the last couple of years, I think it's one of the best times to be a Native actor or writer, because there are so many opportunities opening up."

STERLIN HARJO: COCREATOR–WRITER– EXECUTIVE PRODUCER – DIRECTOR

"We had Native people in every department [on this show], so the actors felt at home. It was very much a family atmosphere. The Native sense of community is very contagious, because it's natural for human beings. The way Hollywood usually works is very unnatural, and our modern life is unnatural because we forget that we are a part of a community."

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This article originally appeared in emmy magazine, Issue No. 8, 2021