In this op-ed, writer Kate Nelson explores what Lily Gladstone’s Oscars 2024 nomination signifies for Indigenous people and Native Americans.
When Lily Gladstone took to the Golden Globes stage to receive her Best Actress award for her phenomenal performance in Killers of the Flower Moon and spoke her Blackfeet language, Indian Country erupted in celebration. She explained that she was accepting the honor on behalf of “every little rez kid, every little urban kid, every little Native kid out there who has a dream to see themselves represented and our stories told by ourselves in our own words.” The Blackfeet/Nimíipuu actress made history in that moment, and she’s making history again with her Oscars Best Actress nomination (a first for a Native American, following in the footsteps of Mexican actress Yalitza Aparicio, who was the first Indigenous Best Actress nominee ever).
It’s not hyperbole that Gladstone is sharing her accolades with Indigenous audiences everywhere. After all, until very recently, Native Americans like myself have seldom seen ourselves authentically depicted in media — or depicted at all, for that matter. We’re featured in less than 1% of primetime TV shows and popular films, according to recent research from social-justice organization IllumiNative.
That erasure is far from accidental; it’s one of the many long-lasting results of colonialism, which aimed to wipe out Native cultures altogether. Even today, Indigenous communities are plagued by problems like outsized violence, disproportionate poverty rates, health disparities, and shorter life expectancies. It’s only now amid a Native renaissance that we’re witnessing the revitalization of rich, dynamic, diverse tribal traditions across Turtle Island.
After decades of stereotypical media portrayals of Indigenous peoples as exotic, mystical, stoic, lazy, or otherwise in need of white saviors, it’s high time we started seeing some honest representation. Finally, our joy is being celebrated and our traumas recognized in hits like revolutionary TV show Reservation Dogs, Marvel’s Echo (featuring the first deaf amputee Native superhero), and Martin Scorsese’s epic film detailing the Osage people’s stranger-than-fiction history.
It’s also high time that Hollywood honor the incredible Native artists bringing these stories to life, both in front of and behind the camera. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in particular, has done a disappointing job of celebrating Indigenous talent. It was only in 2019 that renowned Cherokee actor Wes Studi — who has starred in more than 30 films, including Dances with Wolves, The Last of the Mohicans, and Avatar — became the first Native individual to receive an Oscar. When he accepted his Governors Award, he quipped: “I’d simply like to say, it’s about time.” (That same year, Aparicio was nominated for her compelling portrayal of a domestic worker in the film Roma, though she didn’t win.)
Before that, the most memorable Indigenous Oscars incident was activist Sacheen Littlefeather’s appearance at the 1973 ceremony to decline Marlon Brando’s Best Actor award for The Godfather. The crowd booed as she explained that he was protesting Hollywood’s unfair portrayals of Native peoples. Nearly 50 years later, just weeks before Littlefeather’s death in 2022, the Academy officially apologized for that mistreatment. Although her ancestry was called into question after her passing, Littlefeather’s impact amplifying Native issues is undeniable.
In short, proper industry appreciation for Indigenous storytelling is long overdue — we’re talking nearly a century of Oscars with a pretty pitiful track record. But with her historic awards season run, Gladstone is changing that. To get there, she has stood on the shoulders of people she calls “tremendous allies,” namely Scorsese and costars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
Rez Dogs creator Sterlin Harjo recognizes the power of that allyship. “Killers has big industry people behind it, and thankfully they used that platform to lift up amazing people like Lily,” the Seminole/Muscogee showrunner tells Teen Vogue. “Marty and Leo have truly lifted up what is important about the story. They have lifted up the Osage Nation and put Lily in the forefront ahead of themselves. I think that’s what’s most impressive about Killers.”
Harjo’s trailblazing TV series, which Gladstone had cameos in, has been woefully underappreciated by industry awards voters, despite receiving ongoing critical acclaim and notable accolades like a coveted Peabody Award. For him, making this groundbreaking show about everyday life on an Indian reservation has been the reward in itself.
He makes a good point. Just a few years ago, it would have been unimaginable that a movie like Killers would get made at all, let alone with backing from industry titans like Scorsese, Paramount, and Apple. Or that it would authentically depict the systematic murders of the Osage people, who consulted on the film. Or that an Indigenous actress like Gladstone would be rightfully recognized for her portrayal of survivor Mollie Burkhart, who in so many ways represents the enduring resilience of Native peoples the world over.
It’s not just rez kids that Gladstone is inspiring. For Native audiences of all ages, her unprecedented Hollywood recognition serves as a beacon of hope for the future of Indigenous entertainment. Rising Menominee/Mohican star Alaqua Cox, who is making waves in Marvel’s Echo, cried upon seeing Gladstone accept her Golden Globe. “I’m so happy for her,” she tells Teen Vogue. “My whole family was watching together, and my two aunts started bawling. I teared up, too. It was so beautiful to witness history being made.”
Which brings me to my final point. As an avid awards season watcher, I’m typically pretty invested in the outcome of the Oscars. But in this case, we have already won. It’s a victory in itself that Native stories — which for centuries were shut down and sequestered — are finally being told by Native storytellers, with support from Hollywood power players. And it’s a victory that the industry is finally honoring Indigenous talents like Gladstone, who may be the first but certainly won’t be the last. As Wes Studi so simply yet eloquently put it: It’s about time.
