You had the chance to speak with Mollie Burkhart’s granddaughter, Margie. What was something she shared about Mollie that surprised you or that you incorporated into the character?
What a caring mother she was. Margie shared that when her dad, Cowboy, would have chronic ear infections and earaches, Mollie would blow tobacco smoke in his ears, which is something a lot of elders do back home where I’m raised, too. And Margie herself is so smart and grounded, and loving. At our first meeting, her body language, her intonation and the way I could see thoughts turning over in her head went into how I shaped Mollie. Her observational wry humor, the intelligence, the ability to read what’s going on in the room, the warmth all stood out. I know that those things are inherited from family, so I feel like the biggest clues to who Mollie would have been is the way that she’s echoed in her grandchildren.
You spoke a few lines in the language of your people, the Blackfeet tribe, after your historic win at the Golden Globes. When and how did you become interested in studying Blackfeet?
Growing up on my reservation, I picked it up. I’m not fluent. One of the first sentences we learn how to construct is how to introduce yourself to a group of people. You say your Blackfeet name, and then you also tell everybody where you’re from, which people you come from, which is what I did at the Globes. I wouldn’t have been up on that stage if it weren’t for how early in my life my community identified my gift and my love for acting. Performing and telling stories has always been synonymous with my very name; I’ve always been encouraged to do this, in whatever form it takes. There were a lot of years where acting was a means of teaching and teaching about our history, specifically, the Native American boarding school experience.
After my speech at the Globes, it was moving to see the response from Blackfeet people on TikTok and Facebook. One family had recorded their little girl, who is learning Blackfeet along with English, and when she heard me speaking, she started talking back in Blackfeet to the screen, and then when I was done speaking, she went, “Soōkaapii,” which means “It’s good.” Like, “That was good.” That just broke my heart wide open.
Do you have any favorites among the nominated films?
I’m ecstatic to see the love for “American Fiction.” And to see Danielle Brooks hold it down for the entirety of “The Color Purple” — she’s unbelievable. And Sandra [Hüller’s] work, oh my God. And then people I’ve been watching for years — being in conversations, in rooms alongside Annette Bening has been mind-blowing and so touching. I’m stoked for everybody.
