Reservation Dogs didn’t earn any Emmys on Sunday night, but that didn’t matter to the creators, actors, and writers of the groundbreaking Native American TV series. For them, the Rez Dogs story closed out the same way it began: as a celebration of community.
In the days leading up to the awards ceremony, cocreator Sterlin Harjo and many of the FX show’s young Indigenous actors were more excited for the family-reunion aspect of the Emmys than they were worried about winning. The Muscogee and Seminole showrunner wasn’t expecting to walk away with an award, and he didn’t care in the least.
“We changed our world, and nothing can take away from that,” said Harjo, who developed the dramedy about life on an Oklahoma reservation alongside Taika Waititi. “We had to climb a mountain just to make this show, and we accomplished so much. We Trojan-horsed our way inside the industry and brought the ruckus with us; it’ll never be the same.”
Even breakout star D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai—who scored a historic nomination for lead actor in a comedy series alongside giants like Steve Martin and Martin Short and was the youngest nominee in his cohort—had a level head going into the awards ceremony. (Jeremy Allen White of FX’s The Bear took home that honor, and shared an embrace with his network mate Woon-A-Tai before taking the stage.)
“I’m grateful for the nomination and getting more nervous as the day goes by. But the recognition I wanted was from the [Indigenous] people we represented,” said the 22-year-old Oji-Cree actor as the hours ticked down to the ceremony. “The reaction we got from our community is the only thing that matters to me.”
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The occasion also offered some much-needed closure, since the show’s third and final season aired during the 2023 writers and actors strike—and therefore didn’t have an official premiere. “I gave Reservation Dogs my own goodbye on set, but we weren’t able to send the show off with our heads held high,” said 31-year-old Mohawk actor Devery Jacobs, who acted as a big sister of sorts both on the show and on set. “For Indigenous artists and rez kids to see a bunch of rez dogs at the Emmys who look like them and have similar upbringings to them is the biggest takeaway of all.”
The rise of Jacobs and her Native costars reflects the start of a crucial sea change in the industry, with unprecedented authentic Indigenous representation both onscreen and within this year’s Emmys nominations. “This is only the start of it,” said 19-year-old Creek Seminole and Caddo actor Lane Factor, who spent much of his teen years making the show. “Rez Dogs’ greatest strength is that it’s one of those real human stories that connects us all, and it’s incredible to see in real time so many more people from all backgrounds telling their own stories.”
The show’s impact isn’t lost on luminaries like Jodie Foster, who on Sunday night earned her first Emmy for her role in True Detective: Night Country. She used her acceptance speech to honor the Iñupiat and Inuit communities of Alaska, where her show was set. Earlier in the week, she also expressed her appreciation for Rez Dogs to Jacobs at a pre-Emmys event.
“She explained how much she loved Reservation Dogs and talked about each of our performances—and I just about died,” Jacobs said with a laugh. “Being a queer person and seeing her work as a queer artist, I am such a mega-fan of hers, so that was so meaningful.”
Rez Dogs got a steady shower of compliments throughout Emmys weekend as the gang, including extended family members like Lily Gladstone and Amber Midthunder, brought the ruckus to events across Los Angeles. Before the FX and Vanity Fair party on Saturday, Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota writer-producer Bobby Wilson joked on Instagram about duking it out with the stars of The Bear—but that sibling rivalry resulted only in selfies and shared admiration.
The show’s cast and crew saw these events and the Emmys as opportunities to uplift Indigenous designers like Bethany Yellowtail, Lesley Hampton, Keri Ataumbi, and Kenneth Johnson—or in the case of Bdewakantunwan Dakota and Diné writer-actor Dallas Goldtooth (who brought some levity to Reservation Dogs as William “Spirit” Knifeman), to show off the moccasins he’d made.
As Reservation Dogs so eloquently did throughout its three seasons, the Emmys red carpet also gave a chance to shine a light on the hard-hitting issues plaguing tribal communities, with Woon-A-Tai donning a red painted hand across his mouth to bring awareness to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis.
For veteran Hunkpapa Lakota actor Zahn McClarnon, whose career spans more than three decades and includes credits like Fargo and Westworld, this Emmys ceremony hit differently than past ones he’s attended. “It feels extra special to see Native content finally being recognized by the TV Academy,” he said. “We still have a ways to go, but even during my career, we’ve come a long way, and I’m very proud to be a part of that.”
But perhaps no one embodied—quite literally—the legacy of Rez Dogs better than 24-year-old Alexis Nakota Sioux actor Paulina Alexis, who was determined to attend the Emmys at 37 weeks pregnant. She was more nervous about her water breaking on the red carpet than losing out on an award.
“At first I wasn’t planning to come, but then I realized I wanted to share this moment with my [unborn] son,” she said. “Changing things for future generations is why I do what I do—so they don’t have to grow up how I did, not seeing themselves truthfully represented on TV and not feeling good enough just because they’re Native.”
Back home, friends and family held watch parties, cheering every time Rez Dogs was mentioned—like when hosts Eugene and Dan Levy playfully pointed to the series’ previous Emmys snubs, not unlike the delayed reception for their own Schitt’s Creek. Indigenous superfans across the country watched with optimism and anticipation to see if their show would win the Emmy for outstanding comedy series. But as it turns out, the outcome of the awards ceremony didn’t matter to them either. After Hacks took home the final honor of the evening, devotees flooded social media to express their love for Rez Dogs and their pride for the unprecedented Native representation on such a big stage.
“We had no idea that the show would be so well received by the world,” said Bishop Paiute writer-director-producer Tazbah Chavez. “When we were writing season one, we decided we might as well tell our truth. What we did for our community in showing the world our humor and our humanity is so much bigger than any award.”
After the ceremony, the Rez Dogs family reunion continued at Disney’s after-party, where the cast and crew hit the dance floor with the kind of unabashed elation that might accompany an Emmys win. For them, it recalled the joyous moments they’d shared while producing the show in Oklahoma, far from the glitz and glamour and expectations and influences of Hollywood. Much like how they made their trailblazing show, these rez dogs celebrated their achievements in revolutionizing Indigenous representation by doing it their way.
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