1923's Jennifer Ehle And Aminah Nieves On The Abusive Schools In The Yellowstone Prequel [Exclusive Interview]
The following post contains mild spoilers for episode 1 of "1923."
"1923," the second "Yellowstone" prequel (following in the footsteps of "1883"), is about to give us a look at life in the early twentieth century for the Dutton family, their ranch, and the people around them. Harrison Ford stars as Jacob Dutton, who runs the family's ranch with his wife Cara, played by Helen Mirren. They're joined by John Dutton Sr. (James Badge Dale) and Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar), the sons of Tim McGraw's character in "1883." But the Duttons aren't the only characters the new series follows.
In the first episode, viewers will meet Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves), a young indigenous woman who is forced to stay at a boarding school for her people run by the Catholic church. It's a cruel place where young women are treated like animals, forced to speak English, and beaten for any perceived infraction. We also meet one of Teonna's teachers, Sister Mary (Jennifer Ehle), who is not only abusive to her, but is herself abused by her superior, Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché).
I recently got a chance to speak to Nieves and Ehle about their roles in the Paramount+ series, the history of these schools, and creator Taylor Sheridan's writing.
'[I] just pray to Spirit that we're doing a really good job and honoring everyone'
It hasn't been specifically stated yet, but the character of Teonna Rainwater is very likely related to the "Yellowstone" character Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) from the fictional Broken Rock Indian Reservation. The school where Teonna is forced to study brings to mind last year's discovery of mass graves at a school for indigenous children in Canada. It's a heartbreaking story and one that has never been forgotten by the people affected. I asked Nieves about her research for the role involving the school in the show, and she said mistreatment is very much a part of her history:
"On my end, it just is, you know? It's been talked about in my family for a very long time because we have to know about it. It's not something that any of my people didn't experience. It very much lives within me, still, in my wounds and my family's wounds, and in my friends. It still lives within us all, and parts of what was happening then is still present into now.
But I spoke with a lot of elders still. We had [consultants] Mo [Brings Plenty], and Birdie [Real Bird] on set, which was incredible, and [I] just pray to Spirit that we're doing a really good job and honoring everyone."
The scenes in the school in the first episode are difficult to watch, but incredibly important to understand and learn from. In the trailer, we see a potential rescue of Teonna, though how it will all play out remains a mystery.
'I'm not apologizing for her in any way'
Jennifer Ehle plays Sister Mary, an Irish Catholic nun who is teaching at the school. I asked her how this storyline is connected to that of the Duttons, though she said she wasn't allowed to reveal anything. That said, Mirren's Cara Dutton is Irish as well. Going by their ages, Sister Mary could be a child of Cara's, though Mirren said in our interview that Cara doesn't have any children of her own. She could certainly be related in another way or not at all. Ehle did reveal a few things, though:
"Well, Sister Mary — I'm not apologizing for her in any way. But presumably, she was raised in an occupied country and in Ireland. Presumably, she was forced to not speak her native language by the British. And now she's in a very abusive religious community. And she's been in America probably 15 years ...
I don't want to ever sound like I'm apologizing. But one of the wonderful things about the way Taylor writes is nothing is ever just clear cut. He always turns the prism a little bit so that you can see the history of why things are happening."
Ehle is referencing how Irish children were often forced to speak English in schools by the British during their occupation, and often beaten for speaking their native language. It sounds like Sheridan is not interested in a standard western white hat/black hat confrontation in this show, and will instead be interrogating real-life injustices swirling in the lives of these characters.
"1923" will premiere on Paramount+ on December 18, 2022. Paramount Network is also hosting a linear airing of the debut episode following a new episode of "Yellowstone."