Kiawentiio, a 17-year-old actor and singer from the Mohawk people, plays Katara, a beloved character from “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” in Netflix's live-action remake. The show hit the streaming platform Feb. 22 and quickly soared to No. 1 on Netflix's list of top TV shows in the U.S.
The ethnicities associated with the four main characters are: Aang: Asian - East Asian or South Asian. Katara: Native American - Indigenous North American. Sokka: Native American - Indigenous North American.
An actor from the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan is appearing in one of the biggest shows of the year. Joel D. Montgrand plays the role of Hakoda in Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is out now.
Kiawentiio was born into a Mohawk family in Akwesasne, a First Nations reserve that is located on both sides of the Canada–United States border, spanning the St. Lawrence River.
Kiawentiio, a 17-year-old actor and singer from the Mohawk people, plays Katara, a beloved character from “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” in Netflix's live-action remake. The show hit the streaming platform Feb. 22 and quickly soared to No. 1 on Netflix's list of top TV shows in the U.S.
Lying about being native american to get the role? (Netflix Avatar)
What race is Katara supposed to be?
The starring roles of the show (Aang, Katara, and Sokka) were coded as being of East Asian (Aang) and Inuit (Katara, and Sokka) descent, but were played by actors of European descent in the film.
To the film's credit, Maori actors were cast to portray the Metkayina people, including Cliff Curtis as Tonowari, the leader of the clan. But the filmmakers could have also cast Polynesians, Natives with a seafaring history and culture, in the roles of the Metkayina.
The Naʼvi language has its origins in James Cameron's early work on Avatar. In 2005, while the film was still in scriptment form, Cameron felt it needed a complete, consistent language for the alien characters to speak.
“uhh, friendly reminder that katara is an inuit character, indigenous to northern canada, alaska, greenland etc. so casting an asian would be a form of erasure, and indigenous actors are underrepresented as it is,” one user tweeted. “The water tribes are inspired by Inuit culture and geography location.
In-universe, Katara is ethnically Water Tribe. The closest real world equivalent to the Water Tribe is the North American Indigenous Peoples known as the Inuit. She doesn't exist in real life. She's a fictional character in a cartoon series.
The Water Tribes are modelled on the Inuit peoples. In the series, these characters have a dark complexion. In the film, however, these characters are also portrayed by white actors, Nichola Peltz as Katara and Jackson Rathbone as Katara's elder brother, Sokka.
And although Avatar was an American production, its creators forged a distinctly Asian world, with influences from monastic Tibet, Thai kingdoms, and Japanese villages, as well as Arctic indigenous communities. This unique approach was not lost on the TV writer Albert Kim when he watched the series with his daughter.
The Na'vi language was created by Paul Frommer, a linguist and professor at the University of Southern California. Frommer was approached by James Cameron to create a language for the Na'vi species that would be both realistic and culturally appropriate.
The 2024 version of Avatar: The Last Airbender goes for authenticity. Showrunner Albert Kim cast many Native American actors to portray some of the show's most beloved characters. Starting with Katara, the Water Tribe girl who accompanies Aang on his journey and even learns some water-bending powers herself.
The fully grown avatar is much closer in appearance to the long-limbed Na'vi than to a human. Typical adult size ranges from nine to ten feet (2.75 to 3.0m) tall with blue skin, bioluminescent markings and large eyes with golden irises.
James Cameron recently spoke with Empire for their January 2023 issue and was asked why he decided to make the Na'vi blue in Avatar. It turns out that there's not any grand reasoning behind the choice, it was simply the only colour he felt wasn't taken by other cinematic characters. “As for the colour: green was taken.
Are there black people in Avatar: The Last Airbender?
While the series may not have explicitly black characters, it is important to recognize that the Avatar universe is a work of fiction and its representation of diversity may not align with real-world demographics.
Their influences and sometimes appearances are drawn greatly from Inuit and Native American fashion. In the Foggy Swamp Tribe, inhabitants wear simple leaf-hats, loincloths, and wristbands, all in green, reflecting the color of the water and their surroundings, and sometimes they also use wooden armor.
Zuko is the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation and a skilled firebender, meaning he has the ability to create and control fire. He is the eldest child of Fire Lord Ozai and the older brother of Princess Azula.
