Migizi Pensoneau, co-producer and writer of Reservation Dogs, recently joined the Avatar Studios team as a Native Consultant. Avatar: The Last Airbender (created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko) was released in 2005 and has skyrocketed in popularity since then. Netflix confirmed a live-action remake of the series in 2018. However, the original creators left the project due to creative differences in 2021 and later announced the creation of Avatar Studios, which is dedicated to telling new ATLA-related stories.
Pensoneau went on the “Avatar: Braving the Elements” podcast to talk about working with Avatar Studios. The first work conversation he had with the creators ended up being eight hours long, discussing Native representation. Working against stereotypes associated with his culture (Ponca/Ojibwe, from Northern Minnesota) in media is always difficult, but Pensoneau said he loves working with the Avatar: The Last Airbender team. Pensoneau commends the work environment created at Avatar Studios:
They’re [DiMartino and Konietzko] just really receptive to it. The way that the best fantasy things are is that they’re informed by real history, and not appropriative of real history or anything like that, but they’re informed by it and it makes it just a richer world. It was a collaborative conversation about “well these are the ideals from this creation story, so we don’t want to rip this off but let’s talk about these creation stories of yours.” And I told them about my nation’s and our tribe’s creation story stuff. It actually got spiritual and we talked very core beliefs. Everything is about the elements in the Avatar Universe and so how do we react with the world around us? In what ways are we respectful and disrespectful? It was pretty incredible. I felt not just listened to but respected and immediately a part of the team, which was fantastic.
Pensoneau’s own experiences, plus a background in screenwriting and giving talks on Native representation, make him an excellent candidate for the job. He also visited with other Native tribes, seeing in what ways they are different and any similarities between them. ATLA is influenced by many Asian cultures (particularly Chinese, Japanese, and Indian) and various indigenous cultures from around the world.
ATLA and its related media have been praised for its representation. Although, there is an ongoing conversation amongst fans about the accuracy of casting, as most characters were voiced by white actors. With very little information released about Avatar Studios' future projects, it’s unclear if this will impact any casting decisions in the future. The creators are continuing their efforts to be respectful to the communities they are representing by seeking out consultants, adding to the rich storytelling fans have come to expect from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Source: Avatar: Braving the Elements