A. Martinez: 'Longmire' helped pave way for Native representation in entertainment

NEW YORK, July 26 (UPI) -- A. Martinez says he believes his popular contemporary western, Longmire , helped pave the way for the current wave of TV shows and movies that prominently feature Indigenous characters, customs and stories.

"It gave a lot of Indigenous actors a lot of work playing really interesting, fully realized human beings. It was revolutionary in that regard," Martinez told UPI about the Longmire 's Native representation during a recent sit-down interview in Buffalo, Wyo., where the fan festival, Longmire Days , is held each year.

"There were so many great parts and they were executed so beautifully by so many people," he added.

Martinez -- who starred alongside the John Wayne movie, The Cowboys , in 1972 -- played Jacob Nighthorse on Longmire for six seasons from 2017 through 2017. The show remains highly popular on Netflix.

Based on Craig Johnson's best-selling Walt Longmire mystery novels, the series follows Sheriff Walt Longmire -- whose mantra is "honesty and integrity" -- and his best friend, Native American saloon owner Henry Standing Bear ( Lou Diamond Phillips ).

They alternately clash and collaborate with casino owner Jacob Nighthorse (Martinez) and Tribal Police Chief Mathias (Zahn McClarnon) to solve various crimes.

"I remember years ago, when they first started talking about streaming and how it was going to change [television and film]," Martinez said.

"My thought was, 'Oh, so you mean, you could actually have a job or have a program chasing a more narrow audience? You could be successful without being massive.'

"My thought was, 'Well, that sounds like a person like me might be able to get more work than I'm used to getting.' And it has come to pass and it is so good."

Last week saw the unprecedented representation of Native American artists when Emmy Awards nominations were announced.

Reservation Dogs , which co-stars McClarnon, was nominated for Best Comedy, and its lead, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai made the Best Actor in a Comedy shortlist, while True Detective: Night Country earned nods for Best Limited or Anthology Series and Best Actress for Kali Reis.

Elsewhere, Lily Gladstone scored a Best Supporting Actress mention for Under the Bridge .

Other recent shows that spotlight Native American issues or star Indigenous people include Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, The English and Rutherford Falls .

Martinez is a soap opera legend who has appeared in Santa Barbara, General Hospital, One Life to Live, The Bold and the Beautiful and Days of Our Lives. He also can be seen in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dark Winds and Blue Ridge.