What was the first movie to be completely dubbed in a Native American language?

On July 3, 2013, the 1977 film ‘Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope’ premiered in Navajo. While Native American languages had appeared in films prior to this, ‘Star Wars’ was the first major motion picture to be completely dubbed in an Indigenous American language.

A collaboration between Lucasfilm and museum director Manuelito Wheeler of the Navajo Nation, the project was born out of an idea Wheeler had to preserve the Navajo language.

Indigenous languages are rapidly dying out all over the world, with some spoken by only a few remaining elders. In many ways, film is an ideal medium to help preserve these languages. That being said, it's not always easy work, especially when you have to translate words like "droid" and "lightsaber.” The ‘Star Wars’ team had tu use Navajo phrases meaning "metal that is alive" and "sword of light". R2-D2, for example, became “the short metal thing that's alive”.

In the years since the release of Wheeler's ‘Star Wars’ project, other films have also been dubbed into Navajo, and many brand-new Indigenous language films have been produced.