For Manny Wheeler, getting the 1977 blockbuster film “Star Wars: A New Hope” dubbed in Navajo was a labor of love.
Wheeler, a consultant for the entertainment industry pertaining to language and culture, said the process of obtaining permission from Lucasfilm took the better part of a decade – not because the company didn’t want to give permission to use it, but because it was challenging to find the right person within the company to speak to.
“I think that they get hundreds, if not thousands, of requests for all types of things relating to ‘Star Wars,’ and it was just it was ultimately finding the person whose job it was to get dubbing done,” he said. “Finally, I found that person. And once he got the request, he sent me an email and wanted to have a meeting, and he thought it was a great idea.”
If you go
WHAT: “Star Wars: A New Hope” translated into Navajo Presentation and Movie Night, hosted by the Center of Southwest Studies and Reed Library at Fort Lewis College.
WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 26).
WHERE: Center of Southwest Studies Courtyard, FLC, 1000 Rim Drive.
ADMISSION: Free.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit https://tinyurl.com/rzd7f6ew.
NOTE: Costumes encouraged. Chairs and popcorn will be provided.
Wheeler will be on hand to talk about the dubbing project – and to screen the film – Sept. 26 at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College.
The idea for the project came from speaking with his wife about the future of the Navajo language and its preservation, Wheeler said.
“She’s a Navajo language teacher, and that’s where that discussion was born,” he said. “How do we bring awareness and get people excited about Navajo language? Because our concern is that Navajo language could be in real trouble if we don’t do anything about it.”
The choice of “Star Wars” as the film to be dubbed was based on the selection of a film that had broad reach and appeal, to young children all the way to elders. Once “Star Wars” emerged as the choice, the next challenge was finding funding for the project.
“I had to go through different programs within the Navajo Nation,” Wheeler said. “It was such a new and different project that it wasn’t as easy of a sell as people might think it would be. They just thought it was a really far-out idea. And they thought it was too risky. But ultimately, I found a program that was willing to take that risk, and they funded the project, and that was the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department.”
The dubbing was done in Gallup, New Mexico, at Knifewind Studios and featured 70 Diné voice actors, according to a news release from the Center of Southwest Studies. It’s dubbed in Navajo with English subtitles. Once the film was finished, Wheeler said the plan was to simply be a one-time showing, but it quickly gained popularity and progressed selling out DVDs at the Navajo Nation Museum, to having them in Walmart, to now, where the film is available for viewing on Disney+.
And for Wheeler, the importance for this project can’t be understated.
“We want to bring awareness to Navajo and Native languages, and especially in the United States, that our cultures are embedded in our language, and when we lose our language, we’re losing our culture,” he said. “That’s one thing to think about for Native people, and there’s a lot of tragedy in that history. But to put it in perspective, even English: Our American culture is embedded in the English language, so that goes for all Americans. So imagine losing the English language, and that’s the position that Native people are in right now.”
katie@durangoherald.com
