In Person of interest We talk to the people we notice about what they do, eat, read and love. Next is Jana Schmieding, Comedian, actor, podcaster, and writer and co-star of a television show Rutherford Falls, which premiered on Peacock in April and has just been picked up for a second season.
“We see how the story affects the lives of these two characters, and how people grow and change when the truth is told about the story or dig in their heels and protect their story.” Jana Schmieding tells me about zoom. She wears avocado earrings self pearled, it describes the plot behind it Rutherford Falls, a new Peacock Original show that revolves around two friends: Nathan Rutherford, a descendant of the founder of the town of Rutherford Falls, and best friend Reagan Wells – played by Schmieding – who is a member of the (fictional) Minishonka Nation. She continues, “And the question arises, whose history do we cling to as Americans? And what happens when new truths are told? “
Schmieding, Miniconjou and Sicangu Lakota, enrolled in the Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux Tribe, says she got a call from co-star Michael gray eyes shortly after the show premiered. “He has appeared in many films, but his Native American and Native American actor histories have been erased many times,” she says. “He wanted to prepare me for this potential, but he also said, ‘Something different about this show is that they can no longer ignore us.'” With Native Showrunners Sierra platter of Ornelas, three other local writers and comics write and act in the room of the writer and Schmieding, the representation is fundamental to the show. “It is so powerful to be able to say, ‘We are here.’ We can get our message across, be in our power and make demands, and things will change. “
In Rutherford Falls, energetic Wells runs a small Minishonka cultural center in a big, glitzy casino, drinks lots of coffee, and really cares about the people in her life (I hope she can spend more time at the Fry Bread Truck in season two, too shown in the catchy show introduction). In real life, Schmieding is fun, smart, and passionate – and upbeat when it comes to restoring and growing indigenous food and culture. In the run-up to the announcement of a second season, we talked about their relationship with food, the importance of food sovereignty and what is missing in wellness culture.
I ate in the writer’s room … a lot of SmartPop! Popcorn. Popcorn is local, I claim, and potato chips are local too. I love good coffee. I like candy bars from this indigenous chocolate company Bedré, and the native food brand and winery, Séka hill, in California, whose Garlic-Herbal-Almonds are so good.
Food is the focus … in my family and my community. We don’t gather without food. I also know the history of my people and the trauma we share, especially the trauma surrounding food: being and having to be separated from their food Protect seeds during a time of genocide. Our food culture is so important to us.
Lots of indigenous people were separated from … our cultures. There are so many ways of being that have been colonized, silenced, and killed. And food culture is something that we as indigenous peoples hold onto because it was a way to connect with our land. I am a Miniconjou person, which means “a breeder by the river. “We were corn farmers; we have names for us that have something to do with our eating culture and our lives.
