Star Wars is a cultural phenomenon that has shaped pop culture in the United States and abroad since the first movie came out in 1977. George Lucas’ creation of the franchise brought us iconic characters such as Darth Vader, Yoda, Princess Leia Organa and Chewbacca. 

The Star Wars universe is home to over 30 different languages — not including the over 50 human languages the movies have now been translated into. Only two of the languages that Star Wars has been translated into are Native American languages. This summer, Star Wars was — as a result of indigenous language activists — dubbed in a second Native American language: Ojibwe. “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977) was originally dubbed in the Navajo language in 2013.

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Both the Navajo and Ojibwe languages are designated as endangered languages according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Navajo is considered a “vulnerable” language, which means that while it is endangered, it is the least at risk of going extinct compared to other endangered languages. Ojibwe is designated as “severely endangered,” which is only two levels of endangerment away from being completely extinct. These two communities, however, have been fighting hard to revitalize their languages and make them more widely spoken after their ancestors fought hard to preserve their languages despite centuries of cultural oppression.

With nearly 170,000 speakers, the Navajo language is the most widely spoken Native American language in the U.S. Today, many of the speakers of the Navajo language are Elders, some of whom only speak Navajo. Elders are leaders in indigenous communities that protect and pass down traditional knowledge and cultural practices. This made the dubbing of Star Wars particularly impactful, as Elder Navajo speakers and younger generations of the Navajo community became able to share this piece of iconic media. 

In an interview with PBS, Star Wars Navajo voice actor Geri Hongeva said, “It’s a great deal for me because my grandparents can see this movie … There are a lot of Elders in our community where Navajo is the only language known.”

Manny Wheeler, a Navajo Tribal member and director of the Navajo Nation Museum, was the mastermind behind the Navajo dub of Star Wars. He personally auditioned hundreds of Navajo speakers in order to put together a talented voice cast for the movie, who went on to bring these characters and the Star Wars universe to life. 

To Wheeler, dubbing Star Wars into the Navajo language allowed for a great cultural exchange to occur. “The force and the universe is all interconnected,” Wheeler said in an interview with PBS. “When you put that in the Navajo language, especially for an Elder to hear that and be thinking, ‘Yeah, of course.’ It’s not just a movie, that’s stuff we really believe.”

A second Indigenous language dub was released this summer when “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977) was released in the Ojibwe language. This project was spearheaded by the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council and the University of Manitoba in collaboration with Disney and Lucasfilm. This is just one of the many projects undertaken by the Ojibwe people in recent years to preserve and revitalize their language.

As first language speakers of Ojibwe continue to diminish over the years, language activists hope that projects like this will encourage younger generations to learn Ojibwe. Making popular media accessible in Ojibwe and other endangered Indigenous languages allows for tribal members to interact with their language in all aspects of their life. With so few Ojibwe movies and TV shows, projects like the Star Wars dub allow for language learners to practice their language skills in a casual, non-school setting. 

Niigaanii-Animikii Inini Kalvin Hartwig, the language-culture coordinator for the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, voiced Red Leader in the Ojibwe dub of the film. In Red Cliff’s tribal newsletter, “Miisaninawind,” Hartwig stresses the importance of creating films spoken in Ojibwe. 

“I want to see all our communities be fluent again, and if we strive hard today, doing everyday things in Anishinaabemowin like watching Hollywood films recorded in Ojibwe, [it] will be a normal experience for future, fluent generations.”

The practice of normalizing language use is an idea central to all language preservation and revitalization efforts. It can be seen here with indigenous language activists in the U.S. to Gaelige language activists in Ireland and the Māori language activists in New Zealand. To ensure that endangered languages continue to be used by younger generations, they must be accessible in everyday life, including the media and entertainment we regularly consume. 

In the U.S., this is especially important for Native American languages. Before European colonization, there were more than 300 Indigenous languages spoken in North America; today, there are only approximately 170 Indigenous languages spoken. Without more efforts like dubbing Star Wars in Navajo and Ojibwe, there may be only 20 Indigenous languages spoken in North America by 2050. 

Peyton Dacy is a junior writing about the importance of language revitalization as an indigenous language dies out every 40 days. Dacy’s column, “Every 40 days,” runs every other Tuesday. He is also the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director at the Daily Trojan.