ALASKA NATIVE SPECIAL SECTION
ALASKA NATIVE SPECIAL SECTION
WGBH Educational Foundation
Molly of
Denali
Honored for authenticity, inclusion
By Vanessa Orr
Molly of Denali, the first nationally distributed children’s series to feature an Indigenous lead character, recently won a 2020 George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. Since its premiere in July 2019 on PBS Kids, the series has reached some 40 million people, including 700,000 Indigenous and Alaska Native viewers.

The show takes place in the fictional village of Qyah, Alaska, and features Molly and her family, her dog Suki, and her friends Tooey and Trini. Together they like to go fishing, build snow forts, and maintain dog sled teams, among other Alaska pastimes.

“It is not only fun and engaging but a lot of the values incorporated into the show are universal,” says Dewey Kk’ołeyo Hoffman, one of the show’s Alaska Native collaborators. “Concepts like taking care of each other, self-sufficiency, adaptability, and respect for the land and water are things we want to promote.

“It also shows Molly doing things with her family like taking part in traditional Native ceremonies throughout Alaska, showing the importance of connecting and learning from each other,” he adds of the Koyukon/Gwich’in/Dena’ina child living in Alaska’s Interior.

In addition to the television series, audiences also have access to podcasts and games. More than 107 million people have streamed the show, with 4.2 million podcast video streams and more than 17 million games played online via the PBS KIDS Games app.

While the show emphasizes the importance of traditional values, it also blends contemporary aspects of rural life, like the use of technology to aid in communication and travel.

“I like that our show demonstrates how families and communities have adapted and how they are able to use what is available to stay together,” says Kk’ołeyo, adding that it seems to resonate with Indigenous peoples who were forced or chose to move from their family settlements to regional or urban supply centers.

“Over time, many families like mine become less connected to our ancestral homelands. Molly of Denali can hopefully show the places we live today and those we trace back to and encourage others to explore their own family stories,” he says.

One of the reasons behind the success of the show is that it involves Alaska Native voices in all aspects of the production. Every Indigenous character is voiced by an Indigenous actor, and the project was developed with input from Alaska Native collaborators. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provided funding for a scriptwriting fellowship for Alaska Native writers, and even the theme song is sung and played by Indigenous musicians.

According to Kk’ołeyo, this commitment to telling the story from an Alaska Native view started from day one.

“A few years back, there was suddenly an interest in all things Alaskan, including the naming of Denali, which garnered national attention,” he says. “A WGBH Boston team had the idea of setting a show in rural Alaska, and when they approached us here to see if we had any thoughts, we were happy to share.”

Season One writers and producers traveled to Alaska and met with Alaska Native collaborators, which led to some of the stories that viewers see on screen. “People shared across cultures some very personal family histories,” said Kk’ołeyo, “which is one of the reasons why it has such an authentic voice.”

With society’s renewed interest in Indigenous cultures, Kk’ołeyo hopes that more attention will be paid to depicting a more diverse population on children’s TV.

“There is a need for more educational content for children, especially shows that non-white children can identify with,” he says, adding that he would also like to see characters of nonbinary gender identity. “Shows need to reflect the people that children see in their communities—not just feature those with privilege who are always asked to tell the story. We need to hear more from those who aren’t usually heard.”