A Glendale drive-in will show 'Star Wars' in Navajo to mark Star Wars Day

Star Wars fans will have the rare opportunity to watch "Star Wars: A New Hope" translated into Navajo at the West Wind Glendale drive-in on Wednesday.

Nearly 10 years ago, the Navajo Nation Museum dubbed the classic movie into Navajo with the intent of language preservation, as well as to give families a chance to enjoy the well-loved movie in Navajo.

“That reason has evolved over eight years,” said Manny Wheeler, director of the Navajo Nation Museum. “It was done just to have something a family could gather around and enjoy and begin that discussion of our language and what we could do to save it.”

The Navajo Nation Museum partnered with Providence Pictures to bring a free special screening of the Navajo language version of the original Star Wars film, with English subtitles, to celebrate May 4, also known as "Star Wars" Day.

“This was the first time anything at this level was done with a Native language in regards to a motion picture,” said Wheeler. “So it was really new and really exciting. It took off like wildfire in all Native communities. It received a lot of attention and love.”

The museum worked for a long time with Lucasfilm on the idea and in the end, they agreed to the dubbing. Since then, the Navajo Nation Museum has dubbed two other films — “Finding Nemo” and “A Fistful of Dollars” — in Navajo.

According to Census Bureau data there are 166,826 Navajo speakers in the U.S.

“Retaining our Native language is an issue in Indian Country,” said Wheeler. “It’s a serious issue. We want to get the message out to our Native people that we need to start taking into account the seriousness of this matter, or we have the potential to lose our language which is closely and intricately tied to our culture.”

The showing will also feature the voice actors who brought the project to life. The process to find actors who were fluent in Navajo was a big undertaking and an event in itself. Auditions were held at the Navajo Nation Museum.

“There are thousands of Natives in the Phoenix area and there is an unlimited amount of space to watch this movie so I encourage people to reserve a space, if not show up,” said Wheeler. “It’s going to be fun."

Starting at 6:30 p.m., the Navajo voice actors will sign autographs, meet fans, and make themselves available for photos. A film crew from Providence Pictures will capture the celebration, and the evening will be featured in a national PBS series that seeks to elevate contemporary Indigenous voices and highlight the accomplishments of America’s Native communities.

The drive-in is located at 5650 N 55th Avenue in Glendale.

While the screening is free and open to the public, registration is requested and tickets are per vehicle and first-come-first-serve.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/star-wars-a-new-hope-translated-into-navajo-language-drive-in-screening-tickets-325135648477

Arlyssa Becenti covers Indigenous affairs for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send ideas and tips to arlyssa.becenti@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Star Wars' dubbed in Navajo will play in Glendale on May 4