Star Wars: A New Hope Has Been Translated Into A Navajo Language
In Star Wars, Alderaan, Leia’s native land, was completely destroyed by Darth Vader and his Death Star. Not entirely unlike the way the White Man destroyed the land of the Native Americans, turning their home (eventually) into a Starbucks-laden cesspool. Also, it’s common knowledge that George Lucas‘ first script for Star Wars featured dozens of scalping incidents.
The first Star Wars entry – and fourth episode – in Lucas’ space saga was the first Hollywood film to ever be dubbed in the native Navajo language, bridging the massive cultural gap between tribal cinema and science fiction.
Manuelito Wheeler, director of the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, AR, spent years translating Star Wars, in collaboration with Lucasfilm and Deluxe.
At the time, this was the 40th official translation of Star Wars: A New Hope, and believe it or not, the Navajo language – or Diné – is not equipped with words like “stormtrooper” and “holographic droid message,” so some liberties had to be taken.
Because there are generally more English words involved in the translations, there was some overlay.
Being conscious of this, Wheeler hoped for something far different from “what people saw in the old Kung Fu movies when the lip movements didn’t coincide with what was said. I don’t want to disparage the Kung Fu movies because I loved watching them.”
He continued about the Star Wars translation, “But this can become very distracting and we don’t want to see that happen here.
Voice auditions for this landmark undertaking, which covered most of the leading roles, were held on May 3-4, 2013.
The Navajo-dubbed version, titled Sih Náhásdlį́į́’ in Navajo, premiered in 2013 at a rodeo arena in Window Rock, Arizona. And in 2021, the Navajo dub of Star Wars: A New Hope became available to stream on Disney+ for subscribers worldwide.
Considering the cultural significance of the Star Wars franchise as a whole, and specifically the impact of Episode IV: A New Hope, it makes sense to have as many different versions as possible. Allowing access to all speakers, regardless of language, has been at the forefront since the beginning.
In 2023, it was announced that Star Wars: A New Hope would be translated into the Ojibwe language. So, while the 2013 Navajo dubbing was the first, it is trend-setting in making sure there are other Native American versions as well.
