Messing with Amber Midthunder is serious business. A cocky Predator found that out the hard way in Hulu's hit movie "Prey," as did various foes facing her butt-kicking mutant in FX's "Legion." Even her character Rosa Ortecho is one big ball of rage over on The CW's "Roswell, New Mexico." Midthunder's 17-year-old self would've been so proud.
"When I started [acting], I really liked drama," Midthunder told Salon in a recent Zoom interview. "I thought that emulating and experiencing things that were as real as possible was really interesting to me. I was not super into theatrics or comedy or anything like that. I think when I first started, I'd really been chasing that transcendent feeling of actually experiencing a whole nother world and life."
"When I got the audition, I had so much fun with this character and ... how there was so much room to play and be silly, which I've not done before in my acting."
Eight years later, Midthunder has plenty of dramas under her belt and is honing her comedy chops. "Quality is quality; it all requires skill," she observed.
That's how she came to Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi's comedy "Reservation Dogs." In Wednesday's episode "Decolonativization," directed by Tazbah Rose Chavez and written by Erica Tremblay, Midthunder plays TikTok influencer Miss Matriarch, a guest speaker for the Native American Reclamation and Decolonization Symposium (yes, NARDS). Our favorite Okern, Oklahoma teens reluctantly file into the Indian Health Clinic to attend the symposium, lured in by the promise of a Sonic gift card.
Before Miss Matriarch kicks off the day's NARDS activities, she takes to the stage for the traditional land acknowledgment. Well, traditional – with her own earnest twist.
"Before we start I want to acknowledge the traditional caretakers of this land: the Caddo, the Osage and the Muscogee, of course," she says. "But before them were our Neanderthal relatives, so acknowledge them. And before that even, the dinosaur nation, Dinosaur Oyate."
Midthunder plays Miss Matriarch as kind and eager, perhaps a little bit too eager. As with everyone on "Reservation Dogs," there's a laser-focused truth to her character that becomes entertaining in its specificity. This might be Midthunder's first outright comedic role, but it certainly won't be her last. While "Reservation Dogs" is a scripted series, she was able to add some of her own touches to that grand speech.
"You don't go in thinking like, 'Oh, I'm gonna plan to riff on this or riff on that,'" she said. "But they give you [prompts] and open you up. Sterlin and Tazbah spoke to me. That was all a guided improv like, 'Talk about Neanderthals and just keep going. Take it all the way to dinosaurs and stars and all kinds of stuff.'"
"Oyate," meaning "the people" or "nation" is just one of many Lakota phrases that Midthunder naturally drops into the speech. It's a language the actor already knew, unlike Comanche, which she had to learn for "Prey."
"That's the language that I grew up with in my house. I'm Lakota, Nakota and Dakota," said Midthunder. "And my dad is conversational in I think all three. Miss Matriarch was written as Lakota. Tazbah was like, 'Throw in as much as you want to.' So that's when I said, 'Dinosaur Oyate,' or whatever."
Paulina Alexis, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Lane Factor, Devery Jacobs and Elva Guerra in "Reservation Dogs" (Shane Brown/FX)
"The amount of times I've heard the real version of acknowledging – 'Everybody that came before you and everyone that will come after you' – those words and then putting them in the environment that makes them funny was cool. Those are the kinds of jokes that you make, but in another space it wouldn't be funny. Nobody would get it. But in that world, ah, it feels so good to make those kinds of jokes.
Check out the rest of Salon's interview with Midthunder.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you come to join this episode of "Reservation Dogs"?
"Her wardrobe was very distinct in the script. When I first got the audition, she was written as wearing 'mismatched regalia.'"
Obviously, my mom casts it, but it's not up to her. Anytime they wanted me to do anything I would have said yes. When I got the audition, I had so much fun with this character and the concept and how there was so much room to play and be silly, which I've not done before in my acting. Also, I think "Reservation Dogs" balances so well poking fun at things that are real, then really doing something that just punches you in the stomach. That to me is what I really admire about the show.
Have you attended any of these types of youth symposiums before? Obviously certain things are heightened for comedy, but how accurate is it? We see a potato dance, journaling and various trust exercises.
Yeah, definitely throughout my life and my childhood I've been in these situations where you're at some kind of event, and you have adults talking to you about stuff, and you're like, "I'm just here for the just here for the games. I'm here to hang out with my friends." And they're doing something really deep. It's also why it was funny, being on the other side, playing a character like this. She truly genuinely believes in what she's doing, just really actually thinks that she's doing a good thing. So it was fun and funny to get to play.
Amber Midthunder in "Reservation Dogs" (Shane Brown/FX)
How was it as for you to approach this role? She's funny, but also kind of sweet too.
I had a lot of conversations about her. She really genuinely believes that what she's doing is the best way to do that. She's one of those people who just over-"sacred-ifies" everything, like smudging with the smoke, just ridiculous. She's misguided.
Miss Matriarch's outfit was spot-on in that every item was piled on to convey her identity: the beaded earrings, the concha belt, the ribbon skirt, everything. Was there any discussion about her attire?
Her wardrobe was very distinct in the script. When I first got the audition, she was written as wearing "mismatched regalia." And that's when I was like, "Ah!" And then they changed that to be a little bit more regular. The fitting was so much fun. Honestly, that fitting was such a cool one because there were so many different Indigenous designers and jewelry makers, regardless of the character.
And then, thinking about who it was for and having that freedom to go three steps extra was really silly, but it was so much fun. Those earrings are earrings that I would really wear. And that was a really nice ribbon skirt. I would wear all those things. But when you put them all on together at the same time and then you walk into an IHS, you're like, "What am I doing?"
"The action roles that I've ended up doing, I think are these happy collisions of characters that I find interesting, or that I connect to with filmmakers who I really respect."
Also culturally specific but so different was the wardrobe you had to wear as Naru for "Prey." What was great was you didn't have to wear a corset or whatever one usually associates with period pieces. But you had to perform a lot of action in it. Was it comfortable?
I mean, compared to a corset, yes. But I worked for so long, and at times it was in the 90s, and you're running up a mountain. Buckskin is really hot. Or if the buckskin has been washed for five days in a row, it turns into rawhide.
But I think that the costume was great. Having pants instead of a dress, I think is true to her character because that's what she was doing on her own. But she still has the earth paint colors and her family designs and twisted fringe and stuff like that. Those are all real. And then she has her own personal flair.
Amber Midthunder as Naru in "Prey" (David Bukach/20th Century Studios)Between "Prey" and "Legion," you've done a lot of action. Do you get something extra by acting through movement, because so much of the movie was not silent, but it wasn't based on dialogue?
I definitely do. The action roles that I've ended up doing, I think are these happy collisions of characters that I find interesting or that I connect to with filmmakers who I really respect, who if it wasn't an actual role I would still want to be working with. I happened to get to do really fun or really crazy, really cool things, and then that becomes a part of the story. Action for the sake of action can be very impressive, but weaving that into a narrative, I think is when done well can be so delectable. That's what I've been able to be a part of . . . where the action is truly a part of the expression of the story or the character.
"Prey" is also groundbreaking in that it's the first movie to have a full Comanche dub where you had to record audio for the film a second time. Have you watched the full Comanche version?
We did I think six screenings or something in our press room before we launched; we'd done a pre-screening there in Oklahoma City and then in Lawton for the Comanche Nation – but they were happening at the same time. The screening that I sat was in Comanche, and I didn't know it was going to be Comanche. I sat down and there were subtitles. And I was like, "Why are there subtitles? We should turn the subtitles off." And then it started, and I was like, [gasp!] So yeah, that was when I saw it – in Oklahoma with the Comanches.
So many stories were written about Sarii, your dog companion in "Prey." Did you expect that sort of reaction?
I guess watching the movie, she is great. But while she had a lot of energy and was really cute, she was not a movie dog. She was a dog that got trained for our movie. So to see that she had a real character is so cute. The dog that I see in "Prey" is a totally different dog than I knew. And I'm like, "Wow, she's a good little actor."
Ania (Cody Big Tobacco), Itsee (Harlan Kywayhat), Wasape (Stormee Kipp), Taabe (Dakota Beavers) and Naru (Amber Midthunder) in "Prey" (Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios)What do you feel that you learned about yourself on both "Prey" and "Reservation Dogs"?
The thing that stands out to me about both of those, especially having them so close together was being in a space with so many Indigenous people on set. It provides a level of comfort that I've never experienced before because there's just things that are normal, and there's just things that are understood, and there's just things that make sense. Whether or not that's a work environment, just anytime that you're around somebody who shares the same culture as you, there's just things that you don't have to explain, there's things that you can't explain. Being able to share those things and have that in the workplace was a completely unique experience that became really infectious.
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I noticed you had directed a short before. Do you think you'd like to tackle directing a TV shows sometime in the future?
It's funny, I directed two short films when I was in high school. I mean, I have so much respect specifically for directing; I think it's a huge job. I'm sure it's in my future somewhere very, very far down the line. I did produce a film in the pandemic that is out streaming now called "The Wheel," and it premiered at TIFF last year. Developing and being involved creatively in a long process is what I found that I really enjoy. Finding the story that I love, developing it, moving through the phases and seeing it from being a little egg until it's a full creature is what I really enjoy. So I think that that's probably more my interest, producing and developing and obviously, acting.
"Reservation Dogs" and "Prey" are streaming on Hulu.
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