Outlander season 4, episode 4 finds the Frasers coming face to face with the Native Americans. Only time will tell if they’ll be friends or enemies.
As this week’s episode of Outlander kicks off, we open with Jamie making arrangements to acquire 10,000 acres of land from the governor of North Carolina. Land that’ll henceforth be known as Fraser’s Ridge.
Already there’s talk of tension between the new settlers in the Colonies refusing to pay their taxes to the crown— something that both Jamie and Claire know will reach a head in just a few short years when the Revolutionary War starts.
For now, however, the Frasers are choosing to shelve worries of what’s to come in favor of cultivating their new plot of land.
After loading up on provisions, and checking in on Fergus and a very pregnant Marsali, the Frasers and Young Ian set off to begin plotting their newly acquired land.
One of the things the series has been teasing since the beginning of season four is the Native Americans who have inhabited the colonies long before the English and Scottish came to settle there.
Young Ian specifically has been visibly excited with regards to the idea of meeting the Native Americans— we even saw him venture off with John Quincey Myers to trade with a few he’s done business with in the past.
Though Myers clearly has some experience dealing with Native Americans, last episode he was quick to point out that while some are friendly and curious, others are understandably weary of the new settlers coming to take over the land they’ve been on for hundreds of years.
The Fraser’s first encounter with Native Americans at Fraser’s Ridge is tense to say the least. Even so, it’s clear Jamie means to keep the peace between them. Lead by Tawodi (Will Strongheart), the Native Americans leave without a word, but their silence speaks volumes nevertheless.
The next time the Native Americans descend upon Fraser’s Ridge, it’s with a distinct warning for Jamie, Claire and Ian.
Later that night, the Frasers camp falls victim to an attack from a viscous bear. After consulting with Myers, Jamie learns that the Cherokee have also had troubles with the same bear whom they call Tskili Yona. Furthermore, they believe the bear to be a monster possessed by an evil spirit.
It sounds a bit farfetched, but it’s not far off the mark. When Jamie decides to go after the bear after Myers falls prey to a vicious attack, he learns that the monster is much more man than he is beast.
After Jamie presents the body of Tskili Yona to the Cherokee, he learns that the the man was once a great warrior who was banished from the tribe for raping a woman. Tawodi explains that the man lost his mind when he went deep into the woods and returned having taken the form of a bear.
The Cherokee visit Fraser’s Ridge again after Jamie proposes peace, this time with their chief in tow. With the promise of hoping that no more blood will be shed between them, Chief Nawohali bestows the title of Bear Killer unto Jamie which marks the beginning of an allyship between the Frasers and the Cherokee.
The newfound friendship also introduces the start of a relationship between Claire and the Cherokee healer Adawehi (Tantoo Cardinal) who dreamed of Claire before they ever even met.
Adawehi reveals that Claire’s knowledge of medicine and healing will only grow vaster with age. Before they join the rest of the group who have gathered around the fire to celebrate a newfound friendship, Adewehi also leaves Claire with a somewhat cryptic message: “You must not be troubled— death is sent from the gods. It will not be your fault.”
Outlander has been teasing a run-in with Native Americans since season four premiered earlier this month, but it’s taken a few episodes to get to the point where we actually see the Frasers interact with them.
To start, it’s important to address the matter of the actual portrayal of the Cherokee nation on Outlander — especially given Hollywood’s tarnished history of misrepresenting Native Americans on film and television.
As someone who is not descendant of Native Americans, I find it hard to comment on whether or not the depiction was both accurate and sensitive.
It should be noted however, that it sounds as though the cast and crew made it a point seek advice from cultural advisors before they even began shooting.
During the cast at the Paley Center For Media in New York City, producer Maril Davis revealed that the first thing they did was hire 100+ First Nation actors from Canada to portray the Cherokee on the series.
From there, they worked with advisors to ensure they were being respectful of the culture.
“One of our producers went and met with one of the Cherokee leaders early on in the process to talk about the story and make sure we were doing things the right way. We had many people who instructed us on both the language and the cultural aspect,” said Davis at the panel. “I hope we were sensitive in some ways and depicted that culture in a way that we did right by the people, but still told [author Diana Gabaldon]’s story.”
As for the episode itself, the thing I enjoyed most was in the way episode 4 showcased the slow build of trust between the Frasers and the Cherokee.
It’s clear from the get-go that most of the Colonies’ new settlers have an unsavory view of the natives. As with the subject of slavery however, we see Jamie interact with the Cherokee with a cautious, but open mind until they settle on living among each other in peace toward the end of the episode.
When we spoke with actor Sam Heughan earlier this month at the Outlander press junket, the actor teased that unlike others who’ve come from across the pond, Jamie has the advantage of approaching everything— including those who are different from him— with an open mind.
“[Jamie] is very humane and he sees people— even the Native Americans— he sees them as very similar to himself. There’s a lot of understanding there,” teased Heughan prior to the episode’s airdate.
Jamie isn’t the only one who sees a similarity between the Native Americans and the highlanders. There’s an exchange between Jamie and the governor when he’s acquiring ownership of the land comprised of Fraser’s Ridge where the governor likens the Native Americans to the highlanders.
The governor doesn’t go into specifics, though he does make a reference to Jamie having spent time with “both prince and pauper.”
“Savagery can exist in many forms,” says Jamie in response. “I’ve experienced it in both prince and pauper.”
I couldn’t help but think of this particular line later on in the episode when Jamie presents the slain body of Tskili Yona to the Cherokee — specifically when Tawodi explains the origin of Tskili and says “Often times, man is monster.”
The two lines aren’t straight parallels, but the commonality between the two exists in the idea that both Jamie and Tawodi are smart enough to know that just because an entity is deemed good by the many, doesn’t mean that entity is truly inherently good (or in this case civilized).
It’s nice that the conflict between the Frasers and the Cherokee ended in peace, but because this is Outlander, it’s very likely things won’t continue to stay this way.
Overall, the season’s fourth episode felt much more like a set up to something bigger. With that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see how the series continues to develop this particular story arc— especially with regards to the newfound friendship between Claire and the Cherokee’s healer, Adawehi.
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