IllumiNative and USC Cite ‘Reservation Dogs,’ ‘Yellowstone’ and More in Native Representation in Television Report

IllumiNative, a Native woman-led racial and social justice organization, has partnered with the USC Norman Lear Center’s Media Impact Project to release their latest research study, “Native Representation on Scripted Television: Heightened Visibility and Its Impact on Audiences,” which investigates stereotypical depictions of Native peoples in contemporary TV and their influence on viewers.

The study was completed in two parts. Researchers selected 51 series that released new episodes between 2020 and 2022 for content analysis, examining how they portray Native characters. A survey-based study was also conducted on three shows with notable Native characters, “Rutherford Falls,” “Reservation Dogs” and “Yellowstone,” measuring how they impact viewers’, beliefs, knowledge and support of social issues affecting Native American communities.

The impact study showed that “Yellowstone” viewers were significantly less likely to agree than non-viewers that the U.S. should uphold treaties allowing Native Americans to control their own lands. “Rutherford Falls” viewers, however, were shown to be more likely to agree than non-viewers. “Reservation Dogs” fans were shown to be more likely to support policies like the Indian Child Welfare Act, which stops Native American children from being separated from their Native American families.

“This analysis reaffirms our long-held belief that when non-Native people tell our stories – even those that may be well-intentioned – there’s a high risk that these stories will ultimately diminish Native autonomy or further stereotypes of our communities,” said Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and CEO of IllumiNative. “While it’s refreshing to see that the shows analyzed deployed stereotypes infrequently, the truth of the matter is that since the beginning of Hollywood, Native peoples have been subjected to negative depictions of our culture and history, and these have real impacts on attitudes and policy support.”

The content analysis showed that two-thirds of the series analyzed had no Native talent working behind the camera, but the ones that did had better audience reception. The results also showed that the series had a mostly positive depiction of Native people. However, 34 of the 51 series have ended, and of the 17 still on air, only four have Native filmmakers working in production.

“Our content analysis points to some exciting trends in contemporary Native depictions, while our impact study really illustrates how powerful these on-screen narratives can be,” said Soraya Giaccardi, senior researcher at USC Norman Lear Center’s Media Impact Project and lead author of the report. “Not only was viewing series with prominent Native characters associated with knowledge of and beliefs about Native communities, but also with support around very concrete present-day issues, such as the Indian Child Welfare Act or ending the use of Native appropriation in sports.”

Read the full report here.