‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ Released With An Ojibwe Dub
Image Source: Global News
We love seeing new dubs of our favorite classics! This time it’s Star Wars: A New Hope, or Anangong Miigaading in Ojibwe (Anishinaabemowin). The University of Manitoba, the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council, and APTN partnered with Disney/Lucasfilm to create an all-Ojibwe version of A New Hope.
The cast, translators, and advisors on the project are all multigenerational Anishinaabe people, an Ojibwe term for the group of culturally and linguistically related Indigenous communities (Ojibwe, Algonquin, Chippewa, Odawa, and Potawatomi First Nations, among others). These communities are located around the Great Lakes in the United States and Canada.
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Image Source: CBS
The Ojibwe dub, Anangong Miigaading: A New Hope, was directed by Ellyn Stern Epcar and produced by Michael Kohn. Vocal talents were provided by Aandeg Jedi Muldrew as Luke Skywalker, Theresa Eischen as Princess Leia, Ajuawak Kapashesit as Han Solo, and Dennis Chartrand as Darth Vader, among others. The actors are absolutely thrilled to star in the newest cultural take on the Star Wars universe. Chartrand expressed pride in the project's lasting impact, noting, “My children will be able to hear this into the future and learn from it and use it.” At the movie premiere, Kapashesit expressed excitement, hoping for “more opportunities like this…for Indigenous people who want to work and practice their languages.”
The forerunner to the Ojibwe dub of A New Hope came in 2013 with a Navajo version directed by Epcar as well. Dougald Lamont, formerly of the Legislative Assembly for St. Boniface in Winnipeg, Manitoba first reached out to Lucasfilm in 2021 to see if an official dub into Ojibwe would be possible. He connected with an executive there, Pablo Hidalgo, who is from Winnipeg, and they launched the language revitalization project together.
Image Source: Radio Canada International
Anangong Miigaading: A New Hope had its opening theatrical release in Winnipeg on August 8, 2024, and has continued a limited run in Winnipeg and other select areas, including in Wisconsin later this month. Walt Disney Studios Canada is aiding exhibitors on how to put on and offer free screenings of the special feature for the community. The dub will be available as an option when watching A New Hope on Disney+ at a later date.
“A new hope, it’s a whole meaning there -- the hope that people will continue to speak our languages.” - Theresa Eischen
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