By J. S. Martin

Director Iñárritu, aiming for authenticity after centuries of Hollywood casting Italian actors to play “Cherokee,” hired Native American consultants and cast members like Duane Howard (Elk Dog) and Arthur RedCloud (Hikuc). He insisted that the Arikara dialogue be performed in the actual, endangered language.

At first glance, it seems like a simple technical request. But dig deeper, and that query exposes one of the most controversial and fascinating aspects of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s 2015 Oscar-winning epic. It asks a loaded question: Are the Indigenous characters in this film speaking a real language, and why can’t I understand them?

The problem? Most streaming services—and even the original Blu-ray release—treated these sections differently. English subtitles would appear for Glass’s grunts and Fitzgerald’s (Tom Hardy) mumbles, but when Chief Elk Dog issued a war cry or a mother sang a lament over a burned village, the screen often went blank. No subtitles. Just silence. This technical oversight plays into a deeper cinematic trope: the idea that Indigenous dialogue is merely “atmosphere” rather than narrative.