Decolonizing Star Wars

I am not a Star Wars Uber Fan, but in case you need it, my Force Number is B7203183000 (see accompanying Star Wars Fan Club Correspondence).

Star Wars fandom, for me, comes and goes. I was pretty sure I was forever over it, but then Disney+ released The Mandolorian and here I am taking a stand like 1981 called and wants my Force Number back. This time, however, the force feels different. Back in the 1900’s Star Wars was about the epic battle of good versus evil. To help the audience out, the western symbolism of white and black was used. Good guys wore the white hats (the rebellion, Luke, Leia, R2D2 ). Evil (Darth Vader) wore black.

I was raised a middleclass white girl. My father watched a lot of TV -- Gunsmoke, Bonanza, John Wayne Movies. I know he took the family to movies, but the only vivid memory I have of going to the movies as a family is of Dad taking us to see Star Wars in 1977. Finally, a western the whole family could enjoy! 

The original Star Wars was released 43 years ago. A lot has changed since then. For example, instead of a teenager, I am now a mother who has raised 7 indigenous children into adulthood. My children have impacted my thinking way more than I ever imprinted their thought process. For example – they don’t look upon Star Wars as the epic battle between good versus evil. They see Star Wars as a glorification of imperialist/colonial mindset on both sides. To them, the true heroes of the Star Wars saga are the indigenous peoples who survive the endless warmongering of the Republic and the Separatists/Empire.

Take for example, Mandalore. When the animated series, The Clone Wars, takes the viewer to Mandalore in Season Two (ep 12 – 14), Duchess Satine has taken a position of neutrality. She will not pick a side in a war that has nothing to do with her planet. After some violent acts by the terrorist organization “Death Watch”, the Republic – shadow puppeteered by the evil Chancellor Palpatine – proposes to send troops to Mandalore for their own protection. Duchess Satine declines the offer.

“Defending? You mean to occupy our home. You would trample our right to self-determination…You will turn our planet into a military target, which will bring the war to us.” The clone wars were a mess where two equally corrupt governments each headed by the same shadowy Palpatine fought over who was the most righteous. In the end, it was the indigenous populations of each planet that suffered and died.

That was a pretty lengthy backstory to get to the topic that has been rattling around in my brain since the Mandalorian came out. My children believe that Baby Yoda is a sacred indigenous baby. And it is not just my children. Native Instagram and the Native Meme Staff Carriers have gone into a creative frenzy adopting Baby Yoda into a plethora of cultural content. 

NBC News published an opinion on why Native Americans identify so well with Baby Yoda. In the article, which you can read in its entirety here, the author discusses the concept of  "indigenization". The lack of representation for Native Americans in popular culture causes the community to give certain aspects of pop culture an “indigenous spin”. While insightful, this article does not address the question of why Baby Yoda.

DGO Magazine published an article on the influence of Star Wars on indigenous art. You can read that article in its entirety here. It seems only fair that indigenous artists pull from Star Wars as we all know Princess Leia got her side buns from the Hopi.

 The DGO article also mentions that Star Wars was the first Hollywood movie dubbed into Navajo. So why we’re asking, “Why Yoda?”, we should also be asking, “Why Star Wars.” I’m going back to my answer of decolonization. I don’t believe that Native Americans need to indigenize Yoda. He is an indigenous life form. Here's hoping Season 2 of the Mandalorian will remain focused on returning Baby Yoda (aka "the child") to his people and getting his #landback.