A PTN and Disney/Lucasfilm are among the partners on a project to create an Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) dub of the 1977 film Star Wars: A New Hope.

The undertaking is led by Maeengan Linklater, director of operations of the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council in Winnipeg, alongside Cary Miller, the University of Manitoba’s associate VP Indigenous scholarship, research and curriculum, and Michael Kohn, Lucasfilm’s head of distribution operations.

The federal government is providing financial support for the project through Canadian Heritage’s Indigenous Languages and Cultures Program, with APTN and Disney/Lucasfilm also contributing.

The translation and recording process will take place in Winnipeg, with auditions of local Anishinaabemowin voice actors set to take place in 2024. Post-production will be handled by Lucasfilms’ Skywalker Sound.

The finished product is expected to have a theatrical premiere across Canada, and will later air on APTN, with further details to be announced.

One of the project’s goals is to become a proof of concept for Indigenous language speakers in Manitoba to translate future projects, as well as develop their own original film and TV concepts in their native language, according to a news release.

Mike Omelus, executive director of content and strategy at APTN, said the project “will help make a classic film more accessible to our Anishinaabe audience,” in a statement, noting that “language revitalization is fundamental to our work as an Indigenous broadcaster.”

Minister of Canadian Heritage Pascale St-Onge added that making Star Wars: A New Hope available in Anishinaabemowin “will help showcase this language to the world.”

“It is my hope that this is just the beginning of many projects where stories are made available in First Nations, Métis and Inuit languages,” she continued.

Image courtesy of Lucasfilm