What is Avatar: The Last Airbender actress Kiawentiios ethnicity?

Netflixs Avatar: The Last Airbender was supposed to be the universally adored live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon animation that the 2010 movie definitely wasnt, but tragically it hasnt quite managed it. While some are loving it, for sure, its 63% Rotten Tomatoes critics score proves how it is splitting viewers right down the middle. One

Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender was supposed to be the universally adored live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon animation that the 2010 movie definitely wasn’t, but tragically it hasn’t quite managed it. While some are loving it, for sure, its 63% Rotten Tomatoes critics score proves how it is splitting viewers right down the middle. One way we can all agree that it improves on that M. Night Shyamalan sham, however, is in its commitment to assembling a wonderfully diverse cast.

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Among the best parts of the original animated series is the world-building, with the various peoples of the World of Avatar — the Air Nomads, the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, and the Water Tribes — reflecting the different ethnicities of our own world. The Water Tribes, specifically, are clearly modeled on Inuit culture. For whatever reason — perhaps simply because there are not many Inuit actors working in Hollywood — this has been changed for the Netflix show. To explain what I mean, let’s clear up something you might be wondering about: what is Katara actress Kiawentiio‘s ethnicity?

Katara actress Kiawentiio’s ethnicity, explained

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a huge deal for Kiawentiio as it marks the 17-year-old star’s first regular TV role. You may have previously seen her in recurring roles on the likes of Anne with An E and Rutherford Falls, or heard her voice in an episode of Marvel’s What If…?, but playing the part of Katara, the show’s female lead, is easily her most notable acting gig to date.

Full name Kiawenti:io Tarbell, the actress is of Mohawk descent. She grew up in a First Nations reserve in Akwasasne, Ontario. Kiawentiio’s first name actually means “nice morning” in the Kanienʼkéha language. In keeping with the show’s depiction of the Water Tribes as Native Americans, only Indigenous Canadians were viewed for the part of Katara, with Kiawentiio managing to beat out over 200 young actresses to land the career-changing job.

“Growing up as a little native girl on my reservation, I never thought that this was something I’d even be able to do,” Kiawentiio, who has dual Canadian and American citizenship, gushed to TODAY.com. “It was completely out of reach in my mind. So when I got the role, when we were filming and even now, it’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that it’s all real.”

You can prove that Kiawentiio’s much-deserved big break is indeed real by streaming Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix.

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