Reservation Dogs

Awards: 

• American Film Institute Award: Top 10 Programs of the Year (2021,  2022, 2023)

• Gotham Awards: Breakthrough Series – Short Form (2021)

• Independent Spirit Awards: Best New Scripted Series & Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series (2022)

• Peabody Awards: Entertainment (2022)
  ("Reservation Dogs," 2025)

Plot Summary
Our show opens on a reservation in Oklahoma where four teenagers are stealing a delivery truck. Willie Jack, Bear, Elora, and Cheese are all baby-faced bandits selling their goods to hardened criminals like Kenny Boy and his junkyard henchmen. Their ultimate goal is to save enough money to leave the reservation and head to California. Last year their friend Daniel died and it has motivated them to get out of their hometown. A new teen gang on the reservation sees the bandits as a threat and uses intimidation tactics. Bear and his friends are named Reservation Dogs by the rival gang despite seeing their actions as means of escape and not gang activity. Supernatural ghosts and one lethargic cop encourage the teens to turn their lives around for the good of the native community.  
 
Critical Evaluation
Teen gang life has continued to be an important theme in young adult literature since S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. In real life, we see goofy teenage vandalism and theft can turn into violent adult turf wars. Knowing that the founding of the LA Crips started as teenagers banding together, I felt the potential dark turns waiting for the protagonists as they committed small "harmless" crimes (Fremon, 2007). Even if the gang fights are innocent enough to start, paintball guns can easily be replaced with actual guns. Crime and gang life as a genre acts as a warning to delinquent youth and a comfort for rehabilitated youth.

In the first episode, the characters start to see the consequences of their actions when the delivery driver of the truck they stole is fired from his job, and his wife leaves him with nothing. I appreciated that the dialogue was very true to life, and even the spirit guide who died in the battle of Little Big Horn cursed and used modern slang. Overall, I would continue this series and follow up with more work from director Sterlin Harjo.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation

  Reservation Dogs is rated MA for mature audiences. At first, I debated if this would make it inappropriate to recommend for young adults. After researching the reasons for the rating and the overall sensitivity of TV and film ratings, I judged the content of the story as important for any older teen to view. Depending on how a library organizes DVDs, they may be alphabetized with all materials or placed in a children's or adult's section. If the materials are all organized together, I see no challenges, but if there is a separation between children and adult materials, I would place it in the adult section based on the rating. Older teens will not be limiting their browsing history to children's DVDs. I have never seen a teen-only DVD display, but if Reservation Dogs or any other MA materials are challenged, a strong reconsideration policy is crucial. I found one of the key reasons for the MA rating of Reservation Dogs is the suicide of their friend, Daniel. Suicide is a heavy topic but extremely relevant to the teen experience. 

Reason for Inclusion

Contemporary stories about Native American youth are important in a young adult collection. If the reader does not encounter Native Americans where they reside, it is especially important to gain insight into the unique struggles faced by this population.

Creative Use for a Library Program

Reader's Advisory: Life on the reservation is a complex theme to be explored by older teens. Reservation Dogs can be included with a reader's advisory that has similar stories such as Rez Ball. Along with contemporary stories, a library's collection must be complemented by nonfiction materials that document the history of Native American genocide and forced relocation to reservations to understand the systemic problem of reservations.

Local Spotlight: In general, I would like native stories to be more integrated into local spotlights. American towns and cities were built on native land, and any local spotlights should include a note of original settlements. A map of the town could be displayed alongside a map with original names associated with the area, or those names could be added as labels on one collaborative map. A town's history should not start from the founding by a settler or company but rather with an acknowledgement of any original inhabitants. Any local (city, state, geographic region) author or local book displays should make an effort to feature native voices if possible. Too often you can find local indigenous literature in one section and state or city focused books in another. If Oklahoma is your library's home, please consider using Reservation Dogs, and director Sterlin Harjo, in any local spotlight series.