In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day I wanted to provide a thread of acclaimed shows and films that feature Indigenous peoples! The film industry has such a violent legacy with native peoples, things need to be better. These are some of my favorite shows/films growing up.

1. Molly of Denali
This is the first nationally distributed children’s series to feature a Native American lead! It’s one of my favorite shows and features Molly, an Alaska Native girl. This is a show made and produced by native folks and is voiced by Alaska Natives.

2. Whale Rider (2002)
This is a film that stars the youngest actress ever nominated for an oscar. It’s a Māori coming of age movie and has themes of tradition and overcoming rigid gender stereotypes. It’s beautiful and so powerful.

3. Boy (2010)
Taika Waititi, one of the first Indigenous filmmakers to win an Oscar, directed this film. It features a young Māori boy in New Zealand in the ‘80s. i love this film :,)

4. The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2019)
Directed by Elle Máijá Tailfeathers, this film addresses issues like domestic violence Native women face . It features two Indigenous women, Violet Nelson (Kwakwaka’wakw) and Elle.

5. Chambers (2019)
I love this show. It’s a teen horror series and features Sivan Alyra Rose, the first Native American woman to lead a television series.

6. Roma (2018)
This is an Oscar nominated film!! It’s a movie that features, Yalitza Aparicio, an Indigenous woman, who plays a young domestic worker in Mexico City. She was also nominated for Actress in a Leading Role for the Oscars in 2019.

7. Blood Quantum (2019)
This is an Indigenous horror film!! It’s about the Mi'qmaq community facing the zombie apocalypse. When I first saw this I was just- this is contemporary Indigenous representation and it’s so good.

8. Moana (2016)
Disney film. The main character is voiced by a Native Hawaiian! It’s influenced by Polynesian culture and traditions and is beautifully animated.
I want to acknowledge that it’s not perfect but it was one of the first films where I saw representation like this.

I also want to reiterate that I don’t speak for all native peoples! But for folks wondering what else they can do, educating themselves about the land you reside on is the bare min, stop telling native folks that you’ve seen Disney’s Pocahontas, one of the worst films. There are

-better movies and films. Please do better and be cognizant of how you benefit off the dispossession of Indigenous land and say happy IPD to your native friends ALSO if you have the means consider paying for a cup of coffee for a native person today

Happy IPD to all my native mutuals I love you all

Also want to remind folks how significant it was to see @TaikaWaititi create films centered around Polynesian identity. Feeling really grateful and am so proud of where I come from.

“I dedicate this to all the Indigenous kids in the world who want to do art and dance and write stories.”
- Taika when receiving an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay

To native youth, you can do art, dance, write stories. You can be superheroes or live in the stars or fight in galaxies far away. These are things you can do. Don’t let a colonial construct stop you from dreaming the biggest things imaginable.