In 2020, Disney+ released the Hawkeye series centered around the popular character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. But with this series debut came the introduction of Maya Lopez, an antihero who is Native American, deaf and an amputee.
Maya Lopez is a Native American of the Cheyenne Nation. Her Echo guise includes a white handprint that covers part of her face. She is one of the few deaf comic book characters. She has also adopted the Ronin codename and was a host of the Phoenix Force.
The show centers around Maya Lopez, a deaf Choctaw superhero who attempts to process the death of her father and embrace her Indigenous roots and family. Over five episodes, the show dives into Maya's Choctaw culture and roots in an exploration of her origin story.
Echo is the first Marvel show led by a Native American cast. It also prominently features sign language. The central character in Echo is Maya Lopez, played by Alaqua Cox, who was born deaf and is an amputee.
Marvel Studios' Echo | This Is Choctaw | Disney+ & Hulu
Is the Echo actress Choctaw?
Alaqua Cox (born February 13, 1997) is a Native American (Menominee) actress. She landed her breakthrough role – her first ever acting experience – as Maya Lopez / Echo within the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Disney+ series Hawkeye (2021), continuing as the protagonist in the spin-off series Echo (2024).
In one week, Maya Lopez returns to Disney+ (and Hulu, simultaneously) in Marvel Studios' Echo, as her past actions finally catch up with her and she travels home — not to New York City, where viewers last saw her, but to Oklahoma and Choctaw Nation.
In the comics, Echo was originally a member of the Cheyenne Nation of the Great Plains. For her MCU induction, Echo was altered to become a member of the Choctaw.
Echo incorporates authentic Choctaw mythology, honoring the heritage of the Choctaw people in Oklahoma. Maya Lopez's powers are connected to her Choctaw heritage, allowing her to "echo" the abilities of her ancestors and confront her enemies.
Marvel Studios' “Echo” brings a powerful and authentic representation of Native American culture to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Echo filmmakers worked with the Choctaw Nation during all stages of production to ensure the Choctaw culture, language and history were accurately represented.
The consensus, however, is that whenever possible, Native people prefer to be called by their specific tribal name. In the United States, Native American has been widely used but is falling out of favor with some groups, and the terms American Indian or Indigenous American are preferred by many Native people.
Alaqua Cox is making history as the lead star in the new Disney+ series, "Echo." Cox, who is deaf and hails from the Menominee Nation in Wisconsin, said Monday on "Good Morning America" that being an actress has given her a platform to address the importance of representation in Hollywood.
'Echo' star Alaqua Cox is breaking barriers for representation as a deaf, indigenous, amputee superhero in the new Marvel series 'Echo,' streaming on Disney+. The highly-anticipated debut of Marvel's latest series, "Echo," is almost here.
Just how bloody and badass is Echo, the upcoming Marvel Comics-inspired limited-run series focused on the deaf Native American anti-hero last seen in the Marvel series Hawkeye? According to Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and other outlets, it will be the first Marvel Series to get the TV-MA rating.
Echo. Maya Lopez made her screen debut (played by Alaqua Cox) in Hawkeye. In 2023, she will also have her own MCU solo series, Echo. She is a member of the Cheyenne Nation and, as Echo, Maya uses her photographic reflexes to mimic anything she sees — making her a formidable fighter.
Choctaw, North American Indian tribe of Muskogean linguistic stock that traditionally lived in what is now southeastern Mississippi. The Choctaw dialect is very similar to that of the Chickasaw, and there is evidence that they are a branch of the latter tribe.
Studies show some members of the Choctaw Tribe in Oklahoma have blood characteristics not found in any other part of the world. This discovery was made in 1997 at Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI). The “type” or minor blood group is known scientifically as ENAV(MNS42).
Choctaws are Native Americans who traditionally lived in what today is part of the southeastern United States. Before 1820 Choctaw territory encompassed more than 23 million acres, primarily in present-day Mississippi, and extended into sections of present-day Alabama and Louisiana.
Why did Marvel change Echo from Cheyenne to Choctaw?
In order to be more authentic to the story and the character of Lopez, we leaned into the specificity of her being from one tribe only. To give her a fresh start, and given we had Choctaw writers in the writers room, that meant she became Choctaw instead of Blackfeet or Cheyenne.”
Why did they make Echo Choctaw instead of Cheyenne?
The writers were told that they did not need to adhere to the cross-matched Indigenous iconography of the comics, and that they could instead delve into their own backgrounds as members of the Choctaw nation to give the character a new beginning.
The only real standout being Vincent D'Onofrio's excellent portrayal of Kingpin, but even that is tarnished by the writing and a limp wiltering flower of an ending. Echo also suffered from bad editing with the pacing and storyline feeling like they were all over the place.
In Marvel Comics, Maya Lopez's Echo is a member of the Blackfeet Nation, which primarily resides in Montana. This was altered to place her as a part of the Choctaw Nation in the MCU, centered in the town of Tamaha, Oklahoma.
Pushmataha ( c. 1764 – December 24, 1824; also spelled Pooshawattaha, Pooshamallaha, or Poosha Matthaw) was one of the three regional chiefs of the major divisions of the Choctaw in the 19th century. Many historians considered him the "greatest of all Choctaw chiefs".
Chafa was the first Choctaw woman and ancestor of Maya Lopez who helped her family escape the collapsing Nanih Waiya. She then was able to echo to many of her descendants and help them in times of need.
