Welcome back for our second all Diné (Navajo) language film as part of Indigenous Showcase! Our first film screening of Navajo Star Warsin 2014 was a big success, in part due to the large population of Navajo people in this region. So join us for a special treat, Nemo Hádéést’íí!

Over the past year, the Navajo Nation has been working with Pixar Animation Studios, now owned by Disney, on dubbing a Navajo language version of Finding Nemo. The film, Nemo Hádéést’íí, a unique partnership with one of the country’s most recognized animation studios and one of the country’s largest tribes is giving way to a first for the two: the first Pixar movie to be voiced entirely in a Native American language, Diné.

The Navajo Nation has had success in the past with another high profile studio in creating the Navajo language version of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The tribe worked with LucasFilm on the project, which wrapped in 2013, and has since been released on DVD. It was spearheaded by the Navajo Nation Museum, who worked for more than a decade on a goal to dub a major motion picture into Navajo.

“It was a great success in that it brought attention to the importance of learning Navajo and an awareness to how learning Navajo is not something to be taken for granted. We all need awareness of the language and need to make sure it will survive in the future,” says Manuelito Wheeler, Director of Navajo Nation Museum.