Blending the classic Western with a thriller/crime genre staged on the Navajo reservation, Dark Winds was inspired by the crime series by Tony Hillerman, a journalist whose 35-year career produced 18 novels, starting in 1970 with The Blessing Way. While the TV series takes its own imaginative directions, it features Hillerman’s leading characters as it submerges us in the culture of the Navajo community. The superb storytelling by series creator (and Chickasaw descendent) Graham Roland makes Dark Winds one of the finest and most unusual productions on television.
Set in the early 1970s, Dark Winds is filmed in New Mexico and the vast reservation known as Navajo Nation. The Navajo land overlaps Four Corners, the geometrical intersection of four states divided by perfect right angles: Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The reservation’s haunting scenery features enormous, singular stone formations against barren terrain; the most striking is Window Rock in Arizona. It’s named for the gigantic circular hole that naturally eroded the sandstone clean through, presumably a benign omen, since Window Rock became the tribal capital. If you’ve never seen this formation in person, check it out online. And then go see it.
Dark Winds gets a rating of excellence across the board for casting, characters, stories, writing, suspense, and, for all we know, on-set catering. Each episode takes us into the ceremonial Navajo culture (also called Diné) that’s steeped in tradition and considers their land sacred. Navajo life is permeated with the supernatural—including evil or benign spirits, and good or bad omens—like if a coyote crosses your path from an inauspicious direction, it’s a warning to turn back.
Many Navajos in the series have Anglo nicknames that capture their own trait or tendency, such as Bowlegs or Bigman or High Pockets (meaning “tall”), or Falls Off Horse (self-explanatory). And when pointing to a particular direction, Navajos have perfected the art of motioning with their lower lip (try it!) rather than pointing the index finger, especially toward a person, which is at least rude, if not bad luck.
Joe Leaphorn, played by Zahn McClarnon, is the steadfast Navajo cop overseeing the reservation’s tribal police force who serves as our North Star. Whether he’s onscreen or not, we care about him and what he’s thinking. He has an almost Zen vibe, a sense of quiet that relies on inner clarity. And we rely on him to make sense of what we’re seeing, and to find the way to resolution, especially in his own family. Leaphorn and his wife mourn the death of their only son, who was among several workers killed in a factory explosion. Assuming this crime could never be solved through “white justice,” Leaphorn pursues his own investigation, which becomes a focus of Season 2.
McClarnon’s history of similar roles has built him into the superb leading character he was born to be. His onscreen presence seems so natural and feels so right. Boyish and slight of build, the humble, five-foot-six McClarnon is apologetic about his lack of the requisite macho of a six-foot hero, like Gunsmoke’s Marshall Dillon or Sheriff Walt Longmire of the Longmire series (in which McClarnon played the Cheyenne reservation’s Chief of Police). But as his fans might agree, what McClarnon lacks in presentation, he makes up for with presence.
McClarnon’s seasoned character is the anchor of each episode, even when he’s offscreen. Of Hunkpapa Lakota descent and now in his late 50s, he has a boyish face and demeanor suggesting that he probably laughs a lot when he’s just being Zahn. And for the series’ quality and success, he credits the filmmakers, including executive producers Robert Redford, George R. R. Martin, Cheyenne-Arapaho filmmaker Chris Eyre, and creator Graham Roland, for hiring mostly Native Americans in the cast and crew, and for “humanizing and normalizing” their image for the vast TV audience.
Leaphorn’s Navajo police force includes two associates. The tall, young, good-looking Jim Chee is played by Kiowa Gordon, a citizen of Northern Arizona’s Hualapai Tribe, whose previous work includes roles in The Twilight Saga and Rez Ball. As Chee, he personifies an experienced law officer who adds energy and focus to the team. He’s a fun guy to hang with and feels a respectful attraction to his teammate, Officer Bernadette Manuelito.
As the third squad member, Officer Manuelito is a smart, young, dedicated, and humane police officer who is determined to unravel even the toughest cases. She’s portrayed by Canadian-born Jessica Matten, whose credits include Rez Ball, Blackstone, and the Burden of Truth series. Matten has dedicated her life to helping Canada’s Indigenous communities claim their proud identity and leave their long, abused history behind. She also observes that Canadians seem to be far ahead of Americans in their acceptance and appreciation of Native cultures.
Dark Winds Season 2 was ranked among the 10 most-watched cable dramas in 2023, which—together with Season 1—is streaming on Netflix. Season 3 is now airing on AMC TV and streaming on AMC+, with Season 4 already in the proverbial oven. Until you’ve watched Seasons 1, 2, and 3, you might want to avoid any reviews since they’re oozing with spoilers. Just round up a USA map and the remote and check out the Dark Winds territory for an original and worthwhile adventure.
Watch Seasons 1 and 2 on Netflix, and Season 3 on AMC or AMC+.