‘Fancy Dance’ on Apple TV+ celebrates Native American culture

LOS ANGELES — Erica Tremblay’s new film, “Fancy Dance,” is not only a film that celebrates Native culture, but it also is a story about Native American women with multi-dimensional identities who face harsh realities in spaces that are virtually invisible.

“Fancy Dance” stars Oscar-nominated Lily Gladstone and Isabel Deroy-Olson. When Jax’s (Gladstone) sister goes missing, she cares for her niece Roki (Deroy-Olson). The film takes place on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma, and at risk of losing custody to Roki’s grandfather, the pair embark on a journey to track down Roki’s missing mother in time for the powwow.

Deroy-Olson tells Spectrum News missing and murdered Indigenous people is not a new thing. 

“It is not something that has just come out of nowhere. I think people are realizing that. Through films like ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ and ‘Fancy Dance,’ we get the opportunity to share those teaching and share that kind of desire to learn more,” she said.

Native Americans go missing and are murdered in the United States at alarming rates, says Tremblay, who directs and co-wrote “Fancy Dance.” Tremblay said she knew she wanted to talk about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (a phenomeon so endemic that federal investigators have created an MMIP Initiative to tackle it) and the forced removal of Native children that is still leftover from the boarding school era of the United States and Canada.

“Hopefully through empathy, through the humanity of these characters we can start connecting things,” she said. “My hope is that non-Native folks will recognize these characters in real life. In their Native neighbors and find better ways to be better citizens, find better ways to be less complicit in systems that are continuing to eradicate Native Americans.”  

Tremblay says she is hopeful that through art the world can bridge the gaps and “we can imagine a better future together.”

For indigenous viewers, Deroy-Olson says she hopes they see themselves in it, because while the film covers heavy topics, it does have moments of joy.

“Comedy is prevalent in our community. It is such an important part of our families,” she said. “We really have those moments in the film. I did not grow up looking at the screen and seeing myself represented. Now, my younger sibling and my younger cousins can.”

While the film is called “Fancy Dance,” it is also the name of an actual Native dance. Click the arrow above to watch Gladstone describe Fancy Dance and how each of the characters in the film makes it their own.

“Fancy Dance” will stream on Apple TV+ starting Friday.