“Reservation Dogs” is, at least for now, a one of a kind show equipped with an entirely indigenous writers room and heavy reliance on native directors, actors, musicians, and production designers. The show, simply put, is a complete antithesis to what colonialism attempted to do. Incidentally, Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) begins on the basis that colonialism as well as racism is endemic to society. 

In the pilot episode titled “F*ckin’ Rez Dogs” you are introduced to what seems to be a particularly angsty group of teenagers, the Rez Dogs,  stealing a truck full of chips called “Flaming Flamers”. Like any good show it builds and layers begin to peel back. The audience learns that the group stole the truck in order to get to California or, more importantly, off the reservation, of which they say is the reason their friend Daniel is dead. The Rez Dogs associate life on the reservation to that of limited options, limited resources, and a limited future. There is an overhanging fear in the air that the place they were born will be the place they succumb to, unable to escape. 

What I love about this show is the absolute lack of hand holding for non-native people. This is a conscious element of “Reservation Dogs”, Sterlin Harjo the show’s co-creator, said in an interview with The New York Times that the writers approached the show “writing from the inside looking out” meaning that non-native people most likely won’t understand every cultural reference or inside joke. This is because the show was not created for the sole purpose of educating. Rather it was made to provide representation to a drastically underrepresented part of society; Taika Waititi, the show’s other co-creator, said “Native people feel unseen, like they don’t matter as much as other minorities. If I had seen a show like this when I was a kid, it would have made all the difference.”

With the intent of creation in mind I find myself thinking back to my “ignorance is bliss” comment from my previous post. As a non-native person when I watch “Reservation Dogs” I watch it from the outside looking in; I am stuck analyzing the general socioeconomic and sociopolitical power structures. Whereas if you are a native person these structures may not be the first thing that stand out since they are the structures that you have grown up in and been potentionally defined by. 

Honestly, I think the coexistence of different types of appreciation creates such an incredible show. The fact that I can watch this and gain a greater sense of appreciation as to what it means to grow up indigenous without being overly pandered to is quite frankly a joy. “The unutterable will be – unutterably – contained in what has been uttered”, which for me means, language alone cannot express states of existence. For the same reason that fables, legends, and myths were effective so too are books, movies, shows and other such media. We find the unutterable contained within us all, so sometimes you just gotta shut up and listen.