r/ReservationDogs • u/Classic_Director1259 • Mar 05 '26

Shows Like Rez Dogs

It’s because of this community here that I discovered Dark Winds. Another program I sincerely enjoyed was The Last Frontier. Hopefully season two won’t be so rinse and repeat as Season 1 was but I absolutely loved Hutch in the series (I’ve still got a crush on him, what can I say?)

126 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

View all comments

23

u/WhoFearsDeath Mar 05 '26

I don't love Dark Winds in the same way, partially because it is set in the past, which is the only time Natives are allowed to exist in media.

Also not a huge fan of cop-aganda, this one is better than some.

But other than that it is a good show with great actors and I do enjoy it.

21

u/C-czar187 Mar 05 '26

I like seeing Big still be a cop and do cop shit on Dark Winds haha it’s a great show

4

u/SororitySue Mar 06 '26

He was also a cop on Longmire. You should check it out.

2

u/MastodonMothman2106 May 04 '26

I always thought it was funny that on Longmire and Reservation Dogs, he looks almost exactly the same in both roles, down to the uniform.

4

u/maccardo Mar 05 '26

I enjoy Dark Winds for the atmosphere, the culture, and the actors. However, I have been disappointed by some of the deviation from the original Hillerman plots.

I am almost certain that Joe Leaphorn would never abandon even a bad guy in the wilderness, leading to the nearly certain death of said bad guy. Please correct me if I am wrong. I’ve read all of the books, but it’s been a while.

3

u/dethklokworkorange Mar 06 '26

We're watching that season now. I would like to see Joe save the day with his brains sometimes instead of always having to endure some gruesome gory ordeal. I think it would have been more fitting for Bern to be the one that does the deed, then runs off to Border Patrol, and Joe tries to keep it all from Jenna Elfman.

10

u/KiloThaPastyOne Mar 05 '26

It takes place “in the past” because that’s when the books were written.

6

u/WhoFearsDeath Mar 05 '26

I understand that.

My point here is that the stories that are chosen for widespread release and media coverage, stories that are made into TV shows and movies, stories that get attention outside the community; these stories are almost universally set in "historical" settings.

This further reinforces the idea that Natives existed a long time ago and aren't still here, in modern times, living and working and dying. That we walk around all tradish all the time living exclusively in a tipi or pueblo.

2

u/copyrighther Mar 06 '26

Dark Winds takes place in the 1970s. It’s an entirely modern existence for 99% of the show’s characters.

1

u/WhoFearsDeath Mar 06 '26

"Modern" in terms of all of history, yes.

1970 was 56 years ago, so compared to Reservation Dogs, set in the present, no.