First Americans Museum mural lauds 'Reservation Dogs' and Native American Heritage Month

Aho! A new mural titled "Young Warriorz" that pays homage to the acclaimed streaming series "Reservation Dogs" is on view at Oklahoma City's First Americans Museum.

The mural is celebrating Native American Heritage Month, which is commemorated throughout the United States in November, as well as the September series finale of the award-winning FX show.

Streaming service Hulu, where all three seasons of "Reservation Dogs" can be watched, engaged Anishinaabe painter Blake Angeconeb to create artwork embodying the spirit of the show.

When can people see the 'Reservation Dogs' mural at OKC's First Americans Museum?

Angeconeb's colorful contemporary work is on display as a one-of-a-kind mural through Dec. 4 at First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.

“'Reservation Dogs' made all of us so proud to be from Oklahoma! We are so grateful to be able to host the mural supported by Hulu and FX celebrating this amazing and groundbreaking series," First Americans Museum Director of Curatorial Affairs heather ahtone said in an email to The Oklahoman.

"We hope the mural can serve as a temporary touch point where we can all join together and celebrate Sterlin Harjo and all of our community members who participated as talent behind the scenes and in front of the camera. Oklahoma creative Natives for the win!"

A coming-of-age comedy about four Indigenous teenagers growing up in the fictional rural community of Okern, Oklahoma, "Reservation Dogs" — co-created and executive produced by Harjo, a native Oklahoman and Tulsa-based indie filmmakerwho is Seminole and Muscogee, and Taika Waititi, an Oscar-winning New Zealand moviemaker who is of Maori ancestry — blazed trails from the time it debuted on Hulu in 2021.

"Reservation Dogs" was not only the the first mainstream television show on which every writer, director and series regular performer is Indigenous, but it was also the first full-time, scripted network TV series to film entirely in Oklahoma. 

"It should be a real source of pride for Oklahoma. I mean, how many of us have heard, 'Where is Oklahoma?' Or, 'I've only flown over it,'" Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of the Tulsa-based racial and social justice organization IllumiNative and an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, told The Oklahoman.

"That's just another one of the beautiful things about 'Reservation Dogs': It's just been such a love letter to Tulsa and to Oklahoma. And I think it's helped to put the state on the map."

Who is Anishinaabe painter Blake Angeconeb, creator of Hulu's 'Reservation Dogs' mural?

Angeconeb is an Anishinaabe woodlands artist who hails from Canada's Treaty 3 territory. A self-trained painter, he is part of the Caribou clan and a member of Lac Seul First Nation.

The Winnipeg-based artist has previously worked on an American Express Canada campaign as well as on a 2022 Google Doodle dedicated to Indigenous Canadian artist Norval Morrisseau (Copper Thunderbird).

"I named my piece ‘Young Warriorz’ because I wanted to honor how groundbreaking 'Reservation Dogs' was for Indigenous representation, and how important it was for me personally to see my community and culture portrayed on screen," Angeconeb said in a statement.

"It is done in my traditional Anishinaabe woodlands art style, which is used to tell stories, but with a contemporary twist."

What 'Reservation Dogs' Easter eggs are included in the mural?

The mural pays tribute the show's titular foursome — Bear Smallhill (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Elora Danan Postoak (Devery Jacobs), Willie Jack Sampson (Paulina Alexis) and Cheese Williams (Oklahoman Lane Factor) — who are often referred to on the show as "Young Warriors," especially by the fan-favorite character of William Knifeman, aka "Spirit" (Dallas Goldtooth).

“The four main friends are depicted as Thunderbirds, often considered the most powerful entities, representing strength and protection, with their friend Daniel watching over them," Angeconeb explained in his statement.

The series follows the "Rez Dogs" in the aftermath of the death of their friend Daniel (Oklahoman Dalton Cramer), whose suicide has cast a cloud over their lives and community,

“This mural is meant to acknowledge the journey that the main characters went on over the show’s three seasons, and all the youth they've inspired," Angeconeb said.

Fans of the beloved series will spy several Easter eggs in the mural, including an owl with blurred eyes, references to the Deer Lady, Bigfoot and "Dinosaur Oyate" and a shoutout to the 1491s, the influential comedy troupe Harjo started in 2009 with four other Indigenous creatives who all went on to work on "Reservation Dogs." 

Along with the mural at OKC's First Americans Museum, fans will be able to see Angeconeb's artwork dedicated to the series on Hulu’s social channels as well as in limited edition “wild postings” in Los Angeles and Seattle, where fans can tear away commemorative copies to take home.

For First Americans Museum hours, admission and other information, go to https://famok.org.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: New mural at OKC museum celebrates Native American Heritage Month