Indigenous directors, writers, actors take flight in 'nerd' culture

With the release of the Marvel/Disney+ series Echo, the mobile game Contest of Champions adding an original First Nations character, and a crowdfunded table top role-playing game, Coyote and Crow, creators and actors say the future of Indigenous nerd culture has never looked better.

Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, a Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) actor from Kahnawà:ke, south of Montreal, has had roles in Reservation Dogs, a popular FX series, and Rhymes for Young Ghouls, a horror film by the late Mi'kmaw creator Jeff Barnaby.

Now she has a supporting role as a character named Bonnie in Echo, the story of Maya Lopez, whose ruthless behaviour in New York City catches up with her when she returns to her hometown and must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots and embrace the meaning of family and community if she ever hopes to move forward. It premieres Jan. 9.

Its cast also includes legendary Indigenous actors Tantoo Cardinal, who had a major role in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-bound movie Flowers of the Killer Moon, and Graham Greene, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in Kevin Costner's hit Dances with Wolves.

Jacobs said being a part of the project and mainstream Indigenous representation has been a "wild" experience.

"I don't know if I ever could've imagined that for myself being a young Native kid from the rez," she said.

"I'm hoping that this marks only the beginning of Indigenous storytelling in this industry. We have so many stories in our communities, we have such rich cultures … and histories and legends."

Sydney Freeland, \who is Navajo from the southwestern United States and the director of Echo, said working on the series and being part of Indigenous representation is exciting.

"Native content can be tough to get into, not only creatively, but financially [as] there's been a [change] in interest and focus," she said.

Rutherford Falls, Reservation Dogs and Prey bring Indigenous storytelling to mainstream media, she said, with Indigenous people both in front of and behind the camera. 

"I think with Echo it's just incredibly exciting to see a native Indigenous character get a platform that is the scope and scale and size that is Marvel," she said.

Joel Ostensen, a writer from Skatin Nations, is on the creative team behind the Marvel mobile game Contest of Champions, which recently introduced Cheeli'lth, its first original First Nations playable character.

Cheeli'lth is a Sixties Scoop survivor and her story is based on the experiences of Ostensen's mother.

Creating such a character for the game "genuinely means the world," Ostenesen said.