Native American actors have been getting their much-deserved dues in recent years in Hollywood, with younger and older Indigenous actors benefiting from more opportunities. Native Americans, Indigenous peoples, and First Nations peoples are all names for the peoples who can trace their origins to the original tribes, confederations, and communities that called America home long before any Europeans came ashore. Persecuted from the outset, even modern Hollywood is not free from the sin of disrespecting and disenfranchising Native American actors. There’s a long, sad history of Hollywood whitewashing Indigenous roles, that is when they’re even included at all.

But the story has been changing in the 21st century. Native American movies and TV shows are telling real stories of Indigenous peoples, made by and starring those closest to them. With shows like Reservation Dogs and Dark Winds, and movies like Rez Ball proving popular with critics and audiences alike,...