November is National Native American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the history and culture of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated Island communities.
Indigenous stories are not just those of grief, pain, and fury. Indigenous stories are also comprised of joy, resilience, beauty, and remarkable strength.
In media, Indigenous stories often go untold, and when there are stories that give insight into their cultures and communities, we often see them through the lens of the white perspective.
Recent shows like Reservation Dogs and Mohawk Girls center an Indigenous lens, but these gems are few and far between.
The offerings of Indigenous representation in the mystery and thriller genre are far from perfect, but if you know where to look, you just may find something wonderful.
Here are the best mystery movies and shows highlighting Indigenous communities.
Mystery Movies That Highlight Indigenous Communities
Killers of the Flower Moon
Based on the book of the same name by David Grann, this film is set in Oklahoma in the 1920s. After oil is discovered on tribal land, members of the Osage Nation are murdered off one by one.
This film showcases just one example of how Indigenous people have been historically mistreated. Though the Osage people retained their mineral rights, the law required them to have a white legal guardian to manage the money of Osage members, as they were considered incompetent.
But it also shows the fierce determination and resilience of a people, even in the face of constant betrayal on personal, legal, and governmental levels.
This film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and the incredible Lily Gladstone, an actress of Piegan Blackfeet and Nez Perce heritage who was the first Indigenous actor to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.
Through Black Spruce
This Canadian film from 2018 was based on the book of the same name by Joseph Boyden. It is one of the rare films that puts an Indigenous character completely at the forefront of the narrative, letting them serve as their own hero rather than relying on what is often white law enforcement.
When a young Cree woman, Suzanne Bird, goes missing in Toronto, her identical twin sister, Annie (Tanaya Beatty) decides to investigate. As Annie connects with all the people her sister used to know, she finds herself almost settling into the space Suzanne left behind.
Back home in Northern Ontario, Annie's uncle Will, (Brandon Oakes), gets into some trouble of his own. On both sides of the drama, Suzanne and Will find themselves in the crosshairs of dangerous drug dealers.
Wind River
This neo-Western crime film was written by Taylor Sheridan to raise awareness of the disturbingly high number of Indigenous women who are raped and murdered across America.
After U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Agent Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) discovers the frozen corpse of 18-year-old Natalie Hanson (Kelsey Asbille) on the Wind River Indian Reservation, FBI Special Agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) arrives to investigate the possible homicide.
As Lambert and Banner investigate, they uncover tensions not only between the local Northern Arapaho tribe and the community of white transient oil workers, but between the reservation law enforcement and multiple branches of non-Indigenous authorities.
Wild Indian
This film from Ojibwe filmmaker Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. follows two cousins—Makwa (Michael Greyeyes) and Teddo (Chaske Spencer) as they clash over a decades-old secret.
As children, Teddo taught Makwa how to shoot a rifle, a skill young Makwa used to murder a classmate. Together they buried his remains.
Now after a 10-year prison sentence for drug dealing, Teddo is trying his best to do what's right, and successful Makwa has given into his violent tendencies to keep the truth concealed.
Though the film puts its Indigenous stars in a villainous role, it makes profound statements about the mental and emotional consequences of the treatment of Indigenous communities, as well as the lack of worth attributed to Indigenous life.
Seeds
Kaniehtiio Alexandra Jessie Horn, a filmmaker of Mohawk descent, recently premiered this comedy thriller at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Her work won the 2024 Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award.
The film follows a young Mohawk woman, Ziggy (portrayed by Horn herself), who takes on a job as an influencer for Nature's Oath, a seed company. When her cousin asks her back home to the reservation, Ziggy is soon pulled into a battle to protect their heritage from corporate interests.
As this movie very recently made its film festival debut, it is not yet available for streaming or distribution. But it is a story to keep an eye out for.
Television Shows That Highlight Indigenous Communities
Dark Winds
This police procedural series premiered in 2022, created by Graham Roland, a Chickasaw Nation citizen.
Set in the Southwest during the 1970s, the series follows three Navajo police officers, Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten).
In the wake of a double murder, these officers must challenge their spiritual beliefs to get to the bottom of the truth.
A third season of this show is expected to premiere in March of 2025.
Echo
It's no small thing to see an Indigenous character head a Marvel show. Based on the Marvel Comics property of the same name, Echo follows Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) as she makes a return to her Oklahoma hometown.
While she means to finally face her past and reconnect with her Native American roots, Maya must also contend with the deadly Fisk organization she is determined to dismantle.
Bringing in sci-fi and superhero action to this crime mystery, Echo tells a uniquely intersectional story of a woman whose identity consists not just of Indigenous heritage, but of a Deaf and disabled background as well.
Yellowstone
From the same creator that developed Wind River comes Yellowstone, a thrilling Western drama that follows the Dutton family.
The Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is the largest ranch in Montana. As it borders the Broken Rock Indian Reservation and the Yellowstone National Park, there is no shortage of conflict.
While the show does largely center around its white cast members, it dips into the issues and politics of Indigenous life.
True Detective: Night Country
The fourth season of the hit series True Detective follows a case in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska. Chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Trooper Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) investigate the deaths of eight researchers whose bodies are frozen and mutilated.
With the discovery of a woman's severed tongue, they are also looking into the murder of a Iñupiaq woman who has ties to protests over mine construction.
According to the National Crime Information Center, "In 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, though the US Department of Justice’s federal missing person database, NamUs, only logged 116 cases.”
Four in five Indigenous women have reported experiencing violence in their lifetime, and more than half have experienced violence of a sexual nature. The murder rate for women living on reservations is 10 times higher than the national average, and murder is the third leading cause of death for Indigenous women.
For Indigenous men, homicide is the fifth leading cause of death. Yet still many clear homicides are dismissed by authorities as suicide, accidents, or substance abuse issues.
If you are an Indigenous individual experiencing violence, call or text 1-844-7NATIVE (1-844-762-8483).
If you would like to learn more and find ways to help and support the Indigenous community, visit NativeHope.org.
