Saving a language: PBS series 'Native America' to screen episode chronicling journey to dub films in Navajo

Manuelito Wheeler knows the power a narrative can bring.

As the director of the Navajo Nation Museum, Wheeler works to not only tell the stories of Native peoples, but also a push to preserve the stories.

This is why Wheeler teamed up with the PBS series, “Native America,” for its second season, which filmed in Albuquerque.

“We were at the KiMo Theatre during filming,” Wheeler says. “Season two wants to focus on things, topics that pertain to Native peoples’ futures.”

In one of the episodes, Wheeler was interviewed about the process behind dubbing a few feature films into the Navajo language.

“That was my role,” he says. “There’s always a degree of difficulty and it takes skill. Fortunately, the team I work with evolves with me. They happen to be the right people to take on these tasks.”

Wheeler will take part in a free screening of the second season of “Native America” at the KiMo Theatre at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10.

The episode to be screened is the last of the four-part series, “Language of Life,” which celebrates the power of Native languages and the inspirational people who are saving them.

From secret recordings to “Star Wars” films dubbed in Navajo, follow the revolutionary steps transforming Native America.

Saving a language: PBS series 'Native America' to screen episode chronicling journey to dub films in Navajo

The screening will be followed by a discussion/audience Q&A session moderated by Shawn Spruce, host of the national radio program “Native America Calling.”

Panelists will include: “Native America” Executive Producer Gary Glassman, Series Producer/Director Daniel Golding (Quechan), Series Producer Jennifer Johns (Diné) and Wheeler (Navajo).

Season two of “Native America” follows the brilliant engineers, bold politicians and cutting-edge artists who draw upon Native tradition to build a better 21st century.

Each hour reveals a core tenet of Native heritage: the power of Indigenous design, how language and artistry fuel the soul, the diverse ways that Native women lead, and the resilience of the warrior spirit.

Brought to life with dynamic stories of the here and now, these thematic episodes launch an active dialogue between past and present.

“This special screening at the KiMo is the perfect Spaghetti Western ending, since we filmed the screening of the Navajo version of ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ here just about a year ago,” Glassman says. “We are looking forward to bringing our film home to our friends in Albuquerque and the Navajo Nation.”

Wheeler says while working on the Navajo translations of “Star Wars,” “Finding Nemo” and “A Fistful of Dollars,” the importance was understood about having the projects happen.

Some have taken three months to do, others about a year.

“What I hope for people to get out of this work is to bring awareness to our languages because they are on the tipping points,” Wheeler says. “For the Navajo language, it can go either way. We run the risk of losing our language and with the loss of a language, there is the loss of culture. I want to bring awareness to this important matter. Native peoples are the original inhabitants of this country. We can’t lose our culture.”