(bright upbeat music) ♪ ♪ Yeah, the simple things in life ♪ - My guest is Karissa Valencia.

She is the creator and the executive producer and the showrunner for the new Netflix preschool children's series, "Spirit Rangers".

Welcome and thank you for joining us.

- Hello!

Thank you for having me.

I'm excited to be here!

- I'm excited to speak to you about this series, but first, I want you to share with our listeners and our viewers what a "showrunner" is.

- Ah, yes!

So, a showrunner-- (chuckles) it's like having all my dream jobs (Lillian laughs) at the same time!

I essentially oversee all the departments that it takes to make a TV series.

It's this combination of being creative and managing an assembly line.

'Cause we have to get through casting, directing, editing, art, records, post and it's just this long process where I'm at the top here leading the charge, making sure the vision is all consistent.

- Yeah.

It's quite a role, that's for sure.

And, I wanna talk about you being the first Native Californian to do this.

So, we'll get to that a little bit.

But first, I wanna talk about the Skycedar family and the children, Kodi, Summer and Eddy and then I wanna talk about the animals that they turn into.

They also have a couple of sidekicks, which is Coyote and Lizard.

So, tell me about the family.

- Our Skycedar family is my dream come true.

I always wanted to see myself on screen in a modern space.

So, I had also looked back-- and I'm a lover of national parks, but had realized I had never met an indigenous park ranger before.

So, in my dream world, this is a family of park rangers that are taking care of their land and place in a modern way using technology and their environmental sciences, their traditional ecological knowledge, but also celebrating their culture, knowing that their culture is magic.

My tribe believes in the transformation of certain people.

So, we have bear doctors and they transform into bears and also humans, and those types of stories really excited me.

I'm a fan of fantasy and supernatural stuff.

So, the Skycedar family is based on the Chumash and also the Cowlitz.

So, you'll see that they look like they have different skin tones, hair colors, hairstyles and it was a beautiful way to show that families can be multitribal, as well.

- So, I wanna talk a little bit more in depth about that.

But first, I wanna ask why the selection of the cub, the hawk and the turtle.

Why were these animals selected?

What was the reasoning behind it?

- So, this whole thing really started out with a bear.

I went to one of my tribes bear ceremonies and watched our dancers honor the bear.

They were wearing the skins and as I was watching I was just... it's just so beautiful to see that, the way that they move and honor our animals and place.

And I was thinking, like, 'what if a little kid found a bear skin and realized that they can also transform?'

So, that was Kodi.

That was the first character that kind of came up for me and then from there, I wanted to have this assemble of... assemble some superheroes and wanted to give them their own unique space.

So, I chose an animal that was land, water, and air.

And, the turtle was next because the turtle's on our tribe's flag.

So, really important to me.

And, he has all the rock art on his shell.

And then, Summer is a red-tailed hawk because they're everywhere in California.

I've always seen them.

Anytime we see them, we consider it a real treasure if I ever find a feather on the ground or anything like that.

So, I definitely wanted a red-tailed hawk in there.

- So, a lot of thought was given to the animals that the kids would turn into obviously and for good reason.

Now, the children have a secret necklace made of abalone shell.

Why was this the item for their secret power?

- So, it was a bit of I wanted to show off the Chumash jewelry, which is our beautiful abalone shells that we use in a lot of our necklaces and earrings and regalia.

So, each of the kids has the pendant in the shape of their animal, but it's a different color abalone shell.

So, Kodi's got the red shell, Summer's got the white shell and then Eddy has that traditional green-blue shell.

And, from a story perspective, we wanted to make sure that the kids can transform at any time.

So, if they're always wearing their necklaces with them, that would help ease that process.

But also, it is so cool just to see them in their park ranger gear and then wearing their Native jewelry.

I love seeing the combination.

- Well, they're definitely cute characters.

So, the animator who created them?

Very cute.

Was that with your direction or did you have that vision of what you wanted them to look like and what to be?

- Yes, I did and I am not an artist by trade, unfortunately.

I'm very jealous.

I wish I could draw.

We are partnered with Superprod Animation and they're based all the way in France.

And, they have gotten the American U.S. history course that they never asked for, and have learned so much about our U.S. tribes.

And with that, every tribe-- whatever-- every spirit, whatever tribal prints that they have on them are all inspired by the region that they're from.

So, Coyote and Lizard have rock art all over because they're Chumash.

So, that's where you'll see that come from.

So, it was in partnership with Superprod.

We also had Chris Aguirre early on in the development phase.

He is Apache and was brought on to really help me kind of start to do the visual development and creating the world from nothing, and it was a really fun process.

- Now, you have a great opening song, a great opening theme that it's really catchy.

And that's what it should be, right?

♪ ♪ Come and gather 'round, listen to the story ♪ ♪ Here in Xus Park where the spirits play ♪ ♪ Someone must protect Chumash territory ♪ ♪ Who will hear the call to save the day?

♪ ♪ Here some the Spirit Rangers!

(oh yeah!)

♪ ♪ Here come the Spirit Rangers ♪ - [Lillian] But, I wanna know what's the message of the theme?

What are you trying to convey?

What lessons do you wanna instill in the children or the adults that watch it with them?

- For the opening, I am really welcoming you to the park.

It is a welcome to this Disneyland of all national parks to Samala Chumash territory.

We have some Samala language in there.

When our composing team was working on this song, they were brainstorming and kind of settled on-- Oh, my gosh!

They were thinking, "Who is the singer of this?"

At first they were like, 'maybe it's the Creator or something like that.'

And then they were like, 'no, it's Karissa.

She's the one who is welcoming you all to the park.'

So, they really wrote the song with my voice in mind thinking about that, yeah.

- Has this project been in your head for a long time to bring these characters to life?

Tell me about that, the characters themselves, and how they may have been living with you in your heart for a while.

- Yeah.

I think I really craft "Spirit Rangers" around 2018, '19-ish.

So, it wasn't that long ago.

I was right in the peak of my career in the preschool space and really learning the audience and the types of stories that are being told.

And, I had "Spirit Rangers" kind of in the back of my mind but just didn't know how to gear it towards.

Like, 'is this an adult show?

Is this an older kids show?'

And then, after learning so much from Chris Nee- who created "Doc McStuffins"- I was, like, this is a preschool show, a hundred percent.

All of our tribal stories are so universal with those lessons that we're sharing.

Like, trickster Coyote is always up to no good.

That's perfect for preschoolers who just wanna laugh and watch him do silly things.

So, that's where it really kind of found its home.

- I gotta say I like Lizard, or Lizzie Lizard, (Karissa laughs) - Yeah!

- 'Cause I like some of the one-liners and the quick comebacks it have.

Now, I understand you based the Skycedar family on specific tribes and you've said it a couple of times.

Did you talk to the tribes when you had this idea and knowing that you were going to kind of share their stories?

And, what were their thoughts or ideas?

What did they share with you?

- Yeah.

This is a piece of the puzzle that I've been so proud of because as we know, Hollywood has made stuff for a long time about us, without us, and I didn't want "Spirit Rangers" to be in the same trap.

So, I first went to my tribe, the Chumash, and had a meeting with my elders council and told them what I wanted to do, the show that I wanted to make as a way for me to give back to them.

'Cause they paid for my college education and this is something I wanted to give back to them.

And after I shared everything, they were just so moved and so happy, they gifted me these transcripts from my ancestor Maria Solares, who is the reason why we have our language and our stories today, and only the elders have those books.

But, they gifted them to me so I could adapt these stories and I had permission to do so.

And if there was any I had questions on, I would go to them and they would tell me, 'no.

Please don't do that'.

Or, 'here's another idea.

Try to do this character instead.'

So, it was something I really wanted to be respectful of and they've been involved at every step of the way.

And, when Dr. Joely Proudfit had this idea of bringing in another tribe, so the family was multitribal.

Which I really loved 'cause then we can have a variety of looks for our family, and Joey Clift offered to ask his tribe for permission.

So, he did a big eight-hour Zoom with his tribe, same thing as I did, and they wholeheartedly were very excited!

Both the Chumash and the Cowlitz are smaller tribes, so I don't think they get a lot of the attention that some of the bigger nations do.

So they were really, really excited to show off their culture.

So, Dad is Cowlitz.

You'll see him in his cedar hat.

And then Mom is Chumash, so the kids are a mix of both.

- So, that also gives you the opportunity to play with two different tribes, two different stories and way of thinking; and that we marry sometimes outside our tribe, right?

So, that kind of gives that opportunity to explore stories down the road.

- Yeah, definitely.

And, it's really cool to reflect that, that we're not a monolith.

We can belong to two different tribes and not know everything about each other.

So, when you're inside the Skycedars' house, you'll see baskets up on the shelf but you'll also see family photos of them at Mount St. Helens.

They can belong to both.

- Now, I'm gonna go back to the question I asked earlier because I don't think I got the answer and I may have cut you off, but I wanted to know what the-- we talked about the opening.

But, I wanted to know about the lessons that you're-- or the theme that you're wanting to convey.

What you want the little kiddos or the adults to walk away with.

I don't know if I got that answer or not, so I'm gonna go back and ask that one more time.

- Yeah, no problem.

So, I think as a whole I'm really hoping that kids and family will appreciate our environment.

You don't have to be Native to enjoy this show, but I do hope that those who are Native will feel pride and feel acknowledged that we are a community that's still thriving today.

And that also, folks who are non-Native learn a little somethin' new about the indigenous world!

And overall, I think themes that you'll see a lot in this series are community, friendship, not being perfect and just kind of that we're all connected.

We lean on that a lot.

- And, kindness.

- Absolutely.

- Just being kind to our fellow person that's in our space, right?

Just being kind.

You kind of said that, a little bit at the beginning, but I want you to tell me, why was it important for you to create this series?

You said you wanted to kind of give back because the tribe had put you through college; you wanted to recognize them.

But, why was it really important to you?

I don't know-?

Maybe from when you were a little girl to now?

You're still pretty young!

(both chuckling) Why was it important to you to do this series?

- Well, this series, at the end of the day, it has really healed my inner child.

Growing up Native was tough in California where our curriculum is you have to build a Spanish mission in third grade.

And, it's like really tough to hear yourself spoken about in the past tense.

And that really, really stuck with me; that feeling of being invisible.

And, I also think when I would tell people that I was indigenous, I would just get all the silly questions under the sun and I just didn't wanna have to deal with that.

So, I wouldn't even say that I was indigenous sometimes, and I just look back on that and regret it.

But, it's also just like it's part of the process.

And now, here I am loud and proud Native in all types of ways, and I'm just hoping that this next generation won't experience that.

- And, do you think that people do ask silly questions?

Or, is it because they just don't know the answers?

They don't know the history?

They just don't know what they don't know?

- Yeah, I think it's a bit of both.

I think our community has been caricaturized in a way that those silly questions can come from.

But there's also, just like, people are genuinely curious and those types of people that have good intentions, I'm always happy to answer.

'Cause if you're taking an interest in learning about us?

Like, amazing!

Because, we're still here.

- I think it's really important to not be afraid to ask questions if you're genuinely-- - Yes!

- Wanting to learn more about the culture.

- Exactly!

Completely agree.

- I'd now like to introduce Frank Blanquet.

He's a producer/director for FNX: First Nations Experience.

- I wanna talk to you about why this series or how this series showcases California Indian culture, a culture that's really as invisible, I think, as Native people are in mainstream television for so long.

California natives are even a little bit more invisible than most tribes.

- So, growing up, there was not a lot of Native content and if there was, it was never California tribes.

So, I remember growing up, and even some of my fellow Native kids, California Native kids were like, "Did we used to live in tipis?

I didn't know that."

And then, my dad and family would be like, "No, we did not."

But, that's what we're seeing on screen.

So, even just building my own sense of self as a kid, I was leaning on media and that was the only Native representation.

So, being the first California Indian showrunner and showing off the Chumash tribe just means the world to me.

I can't wait for there to be more indigenous California content out there.

I feel like we are definitely feeling more invisible compared to the other tribes, but this is just the beginning.

We have so many stories to tell and I'm really proud of all the Samala language that is in the series.

We have basket weaving.

We built a visitor center inside the ranger station that is so special!

It was built in part with the culture department from my tribe.

So, everything you see in there was just designed from us!

Which, is so great.

You'll see our basket weaving patterns as trim around the visitor center, certain artifacts, and a lot of our California animals: coyotes, lizards, poppies, our wildflowers.

I'm really happy to show all that off.

- I even caught a tribal elder on one of the episodes.

- Yes!

Oh, my gosh!

Thank you for asking and noticing.

That is Maria Solares.

I am one of her descendants and I've been living with her stories the past two years.

Those books that my elders gave me, I've been reading like crazy.

And, I just feel like I've learned so much more about my tribe because of those stories.

And if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here now with "Spirit Rangers" getting to share more of our culture.

So, she was definitely in the visitor center watching over us.

- Thank you so much.

Appreciate it.

- Okay.

Why Netflix?

And, what did it take to get this project off the ground?

- So, Netflix was at a really exciting time, and they still are, where they just started four years ago; brand new animation studio and looking for diverse stories that were not your traditional Disney, Nickelodeon.

And for me as a creator, that was so enticing because I had worked for studios that have a brand.

They have boundaries they gotta keep, whereas Netflix at the time, they were just like, "Do whatever you want," which was so exciting to explore my voice as an artist.

But also to tell my team, "let's create the show we've always wanted.

What would you do?

What would we wanna do?"

So, Netflix was the perfect partner for that.

Mm hm!

- Alright.

Well, let me talk about the team and the voices or the cast.

Is everyone involved of Native background?

- So, all Native characters are voiced by Native actors.

We definitely have park visitors who are not indigenous and still can visit our park, of course.

But, yes.

We have a stellar, stellar cast.

I am obsessed with our Spirit Ranger kids.

They're so, so talented.

But, this series also has Tantoo Cardinal, Wes Studi.

They're Sun and Moon who watch over the park, which was so special to me because they are elders in the park but also elders in the Native Hollywood space.

They really paved the way for us, so I'm really happy that we have them on the show.

And then, every episode has its own original song and it's been really fun to invite casts that can sing, or some cast that you didn't know could sing who will!

We have-- Kimberly Guerrero sings a song.

We also have Brooke Simpson who is-- Ah!

Her voice is beautiful and she sings a song for us.

It's been really great to have our Native cast flex this animation muscle.

- Now, staying on the cast for just a little bit.

Did you go through the whole casting call and go through that?

Did you know these young kids?

- We did a casting call with the guidance of the amazing Rene Haynes.

She and Elise [Buedel] helped us scour this country for our Skycedar family.

And then from there, the baton was passed to Allyson Bosch, who's a voiceover director, casting director.

And her and I had worked together on "The Chicken Squad" previously and I had seen her work with kids, and she's so good.

And, I knew she'd be great for our first-time kids but also, a lot of our Native talent has never done voiceover before.

So, they really needed somebody experienced who was gonna tell them, and train them and support them.

So, she was somebody I brought on and I'm so grateful for it.

- And then, lastly, regarding the writers, are the writers Native, as well?

- Yes, our writers staff is entirely indigenous.

That was something that was really important to me because I am only one person, and I think to make our show great, it was gonna take more than just my perspective.

So, all of our writers are from indigenous backgrounds.

We have Joey Clift, who is Cowlitz; Kelly D'Angelo, who is Haudenosaunee; Carlee Malemute, who is Athabaskan, Shelley Dennis and Chris Crenwell who are both Choctaw and bringing our experiences together.

That writers room is really, really special and I feel really lucky that they felt that they could be vulnerable and talk about what it was like to be a Native kid.

Sometimes it was a joy; sometimes it was really hard.

And, we just shared all of our stories and put it into the Skycedars and all these visiting spirits.

- Well, I have to say, the show is really lovely and brilliant to watch.

It's colorful.

It's gorgeous.

But now, I wanna ask you about being the first California Native American showrunner.

Will you share a little bit of your journey that got you to this point?

And, maybe it goes back to living on your reservation and as you mentioned earlier, they got you to college.

Tell me a little bit about your journey getting to this point.

- I am a huge animation nerd!

(chuckles) I love animation; always wanted to be in this space.

One of my first heroes on the screen was Pocahontas.

I am a '90s baby; she was everything to be.

I remember at our powwow one year when I was, like, 10 years old, Irene Bedard was there and my sister and I were just like, "Oh, my god.

There she is!"

And, we had her sign our DVD and it just meant the world to me that she looked like me and my sister.

She was-- like, representation really, really matters!

And it wasn't until, of course, I got older and realized the source material was not great and Pocahontas' story was so romanticized.

And, that's when I knew I needed to be on the other end of the camera.

Like, I wanted to be in the driver's seat of creating that Native content or just Native characters that are fully realized characters.

So, I went to school at the University of San Diego, where I was an English major and a communication studies major; mainly focusing in creative writing 'cause I didn't know a path to TV and film.

And then, I got into Syracuse University for grad school.

And, that's where I really got my hands dirty with TV and film and learning the ropes and just knew it was for me.

And after that, I moved to Los Angeles.

My first job was a NICKtern at Nickelodeon.

So, as an "intern" there, and then went on to work as a production assistant on "Dora".

And then, a script coordinator on "Doc McStuffins" and "Vampirina".

And then, that's when I started writing and then "Spirit Rangers" came about!

It's been a very fast..."few" years?

I guess I've been out here for eight years now.

- Wow.

And, what would you say to the younger you?

- Gosh, I would just say to-- that I am not alone.

I think back then, being Native and wanting to tell Native stories felt really isolating.

I was often the only Native in the building or the room, and then to come out here to LA and meet an amazing array of Native artists is just fueling my creative soul.

And, seeing the success of "Reservation Dogs" and "Rutherford Falls" and "Prey", it is so, so inspiring and I think I would tell myself to keep going.

Native stories do matter.

- And, have you had any feedback from audiences or what has been the buzz about?

Has it been seen yet?

I know it's gonna air soon.

But, has it been seen or viewed by audiences yet?

- So, "Spirit Rangers" comes out Indigenous Peoples' Day, but we did have a private screening recently this past weekend and that was really special.

'Cause we got to show two episodes; that's four stories total.

And oh gosh, yeah!

It was really special hearing the kids come out of the theater saying, like, "Eddy's my favorite", or "I wanna be Summer", or, like, using their necklaces to try and transform!

It's been getting really positive review just from even that little screening, and I love that people can't get that song out of their head!

That makes me really happy.

So, I'm just so excited to share it with the world on Indigenous Peoples' Day.

- Alright.

Karissa, thank you so much for your time.

Thank you for this creation!

I look forward to watching it on Netflix.

- Awesome!

Thank you for having me.

- [Lillian] This program was originally produced for 91.9 KVCR Radio.

♪ ♪ Yeah, the simple things in life ♪