Weve watched this world grow from four kids to a whole community.
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And that was your nephews.
And she was like, Ah, I wondered because I could feel that.
Nothing happened that couldnt happen in life even thearrival of a long-dead loved oneor centuries-old spiritfelt plausible in Okern.
It was a beautiful thing, Harjo told Vulture in a wide-ranging conversation about the shows legacy and style.
My life has changed.
A lot of peoples lives were flipped upside-down.
Also, for me, it was a coming-of-age.
And you cantkeepcoming of age.
You have to just be of age at some point.
Weve watched this world ofReservation Dogsgrow from four kids to a whole community that are Reservation Dogs.
That was always the intention.
The finales a perfect way to end it.
But I knew I wanted a lot more characters in this last episode, so I brought everyone back.
Im a really big Robert Altman fan.
What did you achieve by shooting this episode the Altman way?There is awarmth.
Its a very rounded-out episode, not hard-edged, almost like a hug, you know?
Shes trying to convince herself, and shes also truthful in telling him that.
She believes its gonna be okay.
It speaks to viewers, too.
He was here, now hes not, its like the show, right?
Its gone, but its notgone.
Have you dug graves?Yeah.
I was like,I want to dig this grave now.
One of the most beautiful things when we dig a grave is how funny it is.
We always have so much fun doing it and joking.
You get in there with your cousins and brothers and uncles and dad for the person that you loved.
You dont have to go to extreme places to tell stories that connect to people.
Theyre right here in front of us.
Even though were Native, everyone can identify with what these characters are going through.
That was the goal of this show.
Can we talk about the character of Fixico?
Early in the series, I never could have imagined how important he would become.
It shows how we treat our people and how community works.
You have to fill in that hole and figure out whos taking the spot.
I loved my great aunt.
She was my grandmas sister.
We called her Doe.
She was the center of our family.
They were cooking, taking care of people, and making sure they were okay.
They learned that by watching her and being in her presence.
Thats also something that happens in Mabel.
That episode is based on what happened when my grandmother passed.
I took what I saw and transferred it to Willie Jack and Elora.
You see how, without talking about it, they start taking care of people.
I wanted to show that.
And it all connects back to Fixico.
The characters have all been to these funerals.
Theyve all dug graves for people.
When Fixico passes, it illustrates how this all works and how theyve gotta just step up anddoit.
Wes Studi was great as the Sphinx inMystery Men, but roles like that are rare for him.
I knew a lot of guys like him.
In the show,Fixico started the Nards youth summit.
Then he had them face different directions and choose which direction to go in.
What does that description make you think about?
Throughout history, weve been painted in a false light to fit this westernized view of who we are.
In our communities, these spiritual leaders are regular people.
Theyre wearing blue jeans and Oklahoma football or baseball caps.
Theyre not pretending to be something theyre not, and thats what makes them so important.
They are us, and it’s possible for you to identify with them.
They dont pretend to know everything.
Thats the difference between European religions and Native ways of life and spirituality.
We dont pretend to have answers.
Also, that happened to me one time!
He was doing a bit of a grandstanding thing, where he had us moving in different directions.
It was very confusing, and we were all wrapped up in a ball at the end of it.
I recreated that on stage one time in Portland, Oregon, with my comedy group, the 1491s.
Was the character of Fixico named for anyone in particular?No.
I have a lot of friends that are Fixicos.
Fixico is like Harjo.
Its a common name, so I used it for his character.
A lot of people want catharsis and closure when a show is nearing the end of its last season.
It has nothing to do with the crime or what unfolds.
That can be jarring, but it works really well.
Thats the way this show is set up structurally: You dont get your hand held through everything.
That allows for audience participation and imagination to fill those gaps.
Thats something I truly feel and implement with this show.
Its about the moments in between and how seemingly mundane things can carry really great and profound meaning.
Theres something in that; I dont know what it is, exactly, but it felt right.
And it also felt like Native storytelling.
It felt like the stories I heard growing up, how they told stories around a kitchen table.
Thats what I wanted to capture.
Was there a meaning or moral in those kinds of stories?
Or was it mainly about the experience?There was always some meaning in there.
I think that thats true for all people, but with Indigenous people for sure.
We have these stories we call trickster stories, and theyre always so confusing.
But theres always a meaning buried in them.
Youve gotta figure it out.
When my family would tell stories like that, they were always lessons about things.
It doesnt wrap everything up with a bow.
Its up to you to figure it out and pull meaning from it.
In a way, thats how this show operates.
We dont hit anyone over the head.
We dont force them into corners.
What did you do?Sometimes wed get more pointed.
When Hokti says, What do you think they tried to do when they were trying to destroy us?
They were coming after our communities because they knew if you break the community, youll break the individual.
Thats one of the more pointed lessons in the whole show.
Every now and then you’ve got the option to play with that.
You mentioned Robert Altman earlier.
Were you making it official by bringing in his frequent collaborator Ethan Hawke in the ninth episode?Right!
We even named him Rick!
Ethan was so great.
I was in awe of him.
He was so gracious and took the job so seriously.
It lets us know that someone whos done such great work believes in what were doing.
He didnt have to come.
He probably didnt get paid great compared to what hes used to.
But he made it happen.
Obviously, I shoot it like that as well.
Filmmakers like Altman and Linklater and Jonathan Demme deal in human emotion, and truth, and naturalness.
They know that drama doesnt have to be big.
When I watchedDazed and Confused, I felt like that was my life as a high schooler.
It was the most important thing.
We went to the lake, and thats where we partied.
For a lot of us, that was all life was ever gonna be.
That was the highlight!
A lot of times I thought,This is it.
This is what Im here for.
Linklater deals with that.
He deals in life.
He deals inreallife in most of his movies.
When I sawBoyhood, I was blown away.
I like to play Guy Clarks L.A. Freeway on the guitar.
My daughter told me, That song will always remind me of you.
When that happened, I was like:Man.
Richard Linklater tapped into all of us.
That doesnt just feel like a plot point.
I learned as much from white stories as I did from Native stories.
The worlds a better place if you think of us as all together.
The worlds a better place if we dont think of ourselves as separate and siloed away.
We learn from each other.
I was talking to Ethan Hawke recently about some old literature he was reading.
There were some writers who were very strongly against the Trail of Tears, who were activists against it.
You dont think about the people who were fighting to let us keep our home.
Characters like White Steve and Kenny Boy are in the community, you know?
Thats why Kenny Boy gives that moving speech about community at the end of episode eight.
Because hes a part of it.
He also shows up at Fixicos grave with an armload of shovels!Right!
He comes in the clutch, and hes inspired.
Hes even inspired by Maximus to get a mohawk!
I hope everyone gets an opportunity to tell their stories.
There are so many great stories.
And thats part of whatReservation Dogswas about.
Were not just one thing, were a lot of things.
And I hoped to make room for other people to do their own shows.
We have to continue this.
