Sterlin Harjo is opening up about the final season of Reservation Dogs.
The critically acclaimed series – which follows a group of Indigenous teens as they come of age in Oklahoma – returned to Hulu this week for its third and final season.
In an interview with Variety, Sterlin explained why the series is coming to an end.
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“It’s a story that had an ending,” he told the outlet. “It’s a story about people going through transition, and specifically kids going through a very transitional moment and grief. I just don’t think that lasts forever. I think that we’re meant to be with them during this transitional time. To me, the show’s too important to drag out.”
The second season saw the show’s characters finally making it to California and experiencing a cathartic moment in the ocean where they were able to honor their friend Daniel, whose death was the impetus for their trek out west. But Sterlin explained that it was important for the characters to be back in Oklahoma for the new season.
“Back in Oklahoma is where we get to tell the story that we’re telling,” he said. “That’s where the magic happens. It’s also where this world is created. Being out in the rest of the world doesn’t feel as ‘Rez Dogs’ to me, so we needed to get them back.”
But things quickly take a turn when Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Ta), who’s still grappling with the disappearance of his dad, misses the bus taking everyone else home.
“Bear is in a big transition,” he explained. “Bear is dealing with a lot of the things that he’s put aside for the first few seasons. Things with his dad, things about who he’s going to be, about his future. And it’s all kind of coming to a head… He decides, ‘I don’t need my dad anymore.’ That he doesn’t need anyone. And I think that’s part of Bear’s journey — him figuring out what he does need actually and who he needs.”
The new season will also address the reality of U.S. Indian border schools, which attempted to eradicate Native traditions in the 19th and 20th centuries.
“We have an opportunity to tell some truths, and that’s what the show has been about — about telling the truth about who we are,” Sterlin said. “And that part of history is very truthful, about what happened to our people. And I just wanted to make something that represented that experience, to show people what the reality was.”
“There’s a lot coming,” he continued. “You can kind of expect everything. You expect heartbreak and laughter and love. It’s all coming. That’s the dish that I think ‘Rez Dogs’ serves best, everything coming at you. The dance and the poetry of going back and forth between these tones and laughter and different stories. It’s the show. I’m really proud of the season, and proud to see where things keep going. I do think that we have a world and a universe that will keep going.”
Sterlin added that the Reservation Dogs universe may expand in other ways once the show ends.
“It’s not meant to evolve into some other story. I think that’s what we would have to do to keep the show going, it would have to be something else,” he said. “There’s something about being able to imagine where these characters go instead of me forcing it on people. Being able to imagine what happens to these kids as they get older and go into life. And I’m not saying I would never revisit it. I’d love to. It’s just right now, this is the end of the show.”
He also reflected on what his team was able to accomplish over the past three seasons.
“The passion that people have for these characters and the stories are just so amazing, and so fulfilling, artistically,” he said. “The idea that I made something that people felt like they hadn’t seen before, not just Indigenous aspects of it, but just the way it’s told, that’s what we’re here to do. And I feel like I accomplished that. It was heartbreaking for me. I cried writing the last episode. Then, my producers and I read it back and finessed it some and read it together. All of us were in tears hugging each other. But we also knew that it needed to be the end.”
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