History Main / TheRez

* '''The [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical political]] rez''': This reservation is basically a third-world country, complete with the American-backed oppressive regime, exploitation of resources (usually uranium), and soul-crushing poverty. Since this basically describes Pine Ridge in TheSeventies (as well as now), also TruthInTelevision.

** ''House Made of Dawn'' (N. Scott Momaday) and ''Ceremony'' (Leslie Silko) portrayed the Jemez and Laguna Pueblos, respectively, as places of spiritual rebirth. Although not "magical" in the typical sense for this trope, they contrasted strongly with rootless Native communities in urban areas, and allowed those books' protagonists to come to terms with [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII what they had experienced]].

** Another episode had Brian and Stewey going back in time and messing with history, causing the Native Americans to successfully fight off the white invaders. A few scenes show how Native Americans are faring, one of which has [[JustTheIntroductionToTheOpposites two Natives driving through a political rez for white people]].

* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' offers a mild subversion based on RealLife: just because John Redcorn is a native american, doesn't mean he's just allowed to build a casino.

* '''The [[NativeAmericanCasino casino]] rez''': Any tribe that is rich on their casinos. Naturally, some traditionalists will oppose this, even if gambling ''is'' traditional. Pretty much TruthInTelevision

** They can gamble, [[EpicFail just not for money]].

* '''The [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical political]] rez''': This reservation is basically a third-world country, complete with the American-backed oppressive regime, exploitation of resources (usually uranium), and soul-crushing poverty. Since this basically describes Pine Ridge in TheSeventies (as well as now), Also TruthInTelevision.

* '''The [[MagicalNativeAmerican magical]] rez''': A forest setting, very reminiscent of [[StarWars the moon of Endor]]. Expect totem poles and cabins. Sometimes is replaced by a desert setting. Whatever the case, the message is that the locals are CloserToEarth.

[[quoteright:350:[[film/WindRiver https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wind_river.jpg]]]]

* Film/HoldTheDark'' takes place in the tiny Alaskan town of Keelut (named for a Native American creature of folklore) where the locals are predominantly poor Native Americans who are embittered at local white law enforcement.

* '''The [[NativeAmericanCasino casino]] rez''': Any tribe that is rich on their casinos. Naturally, some traditionalist will oppose this, even if gambling ''is'' traditional.

* '''The [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical political]] rez''': This reservation is basically a third-world country, complete with the American-backed oppressive regime, exploitation of resources (usually uranium), and soul-crushing poverty. Since this basically describes Pine Ridge in TheSeventies (as well as now), TruthInTelevision.

* ''Franchise/XMen'': Warpath's rez in Camp Verde, Arizona was the phlebotinum-hiding variety.

* Paran Katar found [[ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} Katar Hol's]] mother in one of these.
* Chief Man-of-Bats, the Native American answer to Franchise/{{Batman}}, patrols The Rez. On his first brief appearance in 1954, it was the magical rez as much as anything, but when the character [[ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman was revived in the 21st century]], his neighborhood had become the political rez.
* The minor Marvel hero American Eagle lives on a political rez in Navajo country. During ''ComicBook/FearItself'', he had to defend the reservation from white supremacists seeking to take advantage of the chaos unleashed by the Serpent to wipe out the natives so that they could finalize a deal to build a wind farm without having to share the profits with the natives living nearby.
* ''ComicBook/APeoplesHistoryOfTheAmericanEmpire'' has a segment that takes place on the real life Pine Ridge Reservation, covering the events led to the Second Battle of Wounded Knee. Political rez in full force.

* ''Film/{{Thunderheart}}'' is made of the political rez. Given that it's based on Pine Ridge in TheSeventies, yeah.

* ''Film/WhiteFawnsDevotion'' is an 11-minute short film from 1910 and the oldest surviving film made by Native Americans. It depicts a white man and a Sioux woman living on the Pine Ridge reservation, and what happens when the man receives word of a large inheritance.

* Film/HoldTheDark'' takes place in the tiny Alaskan town of Keelut (named for a Native American creature of folklore) where the locals are predominantly poor Native Americans who are embittered at local white law enforcement.

* Creator/ShermanAlexie likes to use the political rez, but a lot of his Indians are urban.
* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' has a magical one. Complete with huge trees.

* WP Kinsella's ''Dance Me Outside'', made into a [[Film/DanceMeOutside film]] of the same name and the television series The Rez. Subverted "political" type, in that most of the subject matter is semi-comedic.

* The Canadian series ''The Rez'', fairly obviously.
* The Hekawi reservation on ''Series/FTroop'' was a variation of the casino type, in that the Indians are always conniving to turn a profit through the sale of souvenirs and participation in Sergeant O'Rourke's illegal schemes. Subverted in that the scripts tended to {{Lampshade}} and deconstruct many of the stereotypes of Native Americans at the time.
* The ''Series/OurAmericaWithLisaLing'' episode 'Life On The Rez' shows up at Pine Ridge, so we're pretty safe calling this one political.
* On ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', it's stated that [[{{Streetwalker}} Patty the Daytime Hooker]] spent her childhood here with her father "Chasing Squirrel" after her parents divorced.
* ''{{Series/Longmire}}'' takes place right next to a Cheyenne reservation, and a big chunk of the series involves exploring the political version. The fact that a casino is built partway through the series, as well as a few forays into native spirituality, introduce elements of both the casino and magical variants.

* ''Series/TheFBI'': "A Mouthful of Dust" is set an Apache reservation in New Mexico. When the suspect goes on the run, Erskine and the local enforcement have to chase him across the ThirstyDesert.
* ''Series/{{Backstrom}}'' has the titular detective clash with tribal police, with the JurisdictionFriction becoming so tense the two sides draw weapons on each other.

* The Canadian mix-tape 'Brocket 99' is a mock radio station satirizing many common Aboriginal Canadian stereotypes.

* The village of [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Soo]] in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' is the magical variety.

* ''VideoGame/ChoroQ HG 3'' has the Native American reservations in the M and L courses of Sunset Volcano.

* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Red Man's Greed" is the casino variety.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' have used casino reservations. One of them was also a magical rez, with the casino manager giving Homer a vision of the future in his office.

* If there is a rez on ''WesternAnimation/{{Captain Planet|and the Planeteers}}'', it will be magical.
* ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' has the indigenous Martians living on a reservation ''inside'' the planet after the surface was purchased by an ancestor of the Wongs. It's kinda political (the Martians want their "sacred land" back because their ancestors traded it for one bead) and kinda mystical (the Martians can summon sandstorms and fly "buggalo"). Turns out in the end to be a kind of inadvertent phlebotinum-hiding type: the "bead" is actually a gigantic diamond; the Martians just ''assumed'' it was worthless and that their ancestors were cheated. They decide that since Mars is kind of a dump anyway, they'll buy some ''other'' planet and ''pretend'' it's holy.
--> '''Chief Singing Wind''': With cash like this, who's gonna argue? ''Nobody.''

* The fictional Keewazi tribe of the MarvelUniverse are a phlebotinum-hiding rez.
* The [[ComicBook/XMen X-Man]] Warpath's rez in Camp Verde, Arizona was the phlebotinum-hiding variety.

* The first story arc of ''ComicBook/ShamansTEars'' involves a case taking Joshua back to the Sioux reservation where he was born and raised, and eventually ran away from. He does not have fond memories of the place. Political rez, although Joshua experiences actual magic while there when he learns he is TheChosenOne.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' have used casino reservations.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'' also had at least one Magical Rez planet. The most prominent was inhabited by apparently transplanted Salishan peoples (the whole gimmick of the series being that most "aliens" are actually {{Transplanted Human}}s), conveniently fitting with the Pacific Northwest filming location (the series was [[VancouverDoubling shot in and around Vancouver]]). This particular planet fit into both the "magical" and "phlebotinum" subtypes; "magical" because the spirits they worshiped turned out to be real (real aliens, that is--and not the same evil ones the rest of the transplanted people were stuck worshiping), "phlebotinum" because their planet was the first one where the modern Earth humans found the metal trinium (which is like titanium on steroids).

** ''Series/StargateSG1'' also had at least one Magical Rez planet.

* Creator/TonyHillerman's mystery novels are set in a combination political/magical rez on the Arizona New Mexico border featuring Navajo Tribal Police.

* ''ComicBook/APeoplesHistoryOfTheAmericanEmpire'' Has a segment that takes place on the real life Pine Ridge Reservation, covering the events led to the Second Battle of Wounded Knee. Political rez in full force.

[[ComicBook/APeoplesHistoryOfTheAmericanEmpire]] Has a segment that takes place on the real life Pine Ridge Reservation, covering the events led to the Second Battle of Wounded Knee. Political rez in full force.

* '''The [[NativeAmericanCasino casino]] rez''': Any tribe that is rich on their casinos. Naturally, some traditionalist will oppose this, even if gambling is traditional.

TheRez comes in four varieties:

* The [[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} X-Man]] Warpath's rez in Camp Verde, Arizona was the phlebotinum-hiding variety.