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Indigenous actors are having a moment in TV and film

Lily Gladstone presents the Robert Altman award during the Film Independent Spirit Awards. If she wins the Oscar for Best Actress, she'll be the first Native American woman to win. (Chris Pizzello/AP)
Lily Gladstone presents the Robert Altman award during the Film Independent Spirit Awards. If she wins the Oscar for Best Actress, she'll be the first Native American woman to win. (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Indigenous culture has powered some of the most important film and TV projects of the last year. There’s the revitalization of HBO’s “True Detective” with “Night Country,” an installment centered on two women’s struggle to solve the murder of an indigenous woman in Alaska. AMC’s “Dark Winds,” Disney+’s “Echo” and FX’s “Reservation Dogs” are also examples of creatively successful projects that use indigenous cultures and characters as their creative fuel.

But are they creating new tropes while breaking new ground? And how committed is Hollywood to telling these stories?

NPR TV critic Eric Deggans weighs in.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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