After starring in recurring roles in sensational teen dramas like One Tree Hill and Teen Wolf, Kelsey Asbille changed tracks and took on more serious roles in Wind River and Yellowstone. It was not just the type of projects that the actress changed, she also changed her name from Kelsey Chow to Kelsey Asbille. She took on Native American roles in both the Taylor Sheridan projects, even claiming to be of Eastern Band Cherokee descent.
However, she ran into controversy when the band issued a statement sharing that she was not enrolled as a member nor did they have any documents supporting her claims. Asbille’s character’s ethnicity is a crucial part of the Yellowstone plotline, turning the Native Americans against the show.
Kelsey Asbille’s Ethnicity Became Controversial After Wind River and Yellowstone Casting
Kelsey Asbille played the Native American woman Natalie Hanson in Taylor Sheridan’s 2017 film Wind River. The film tackled the subject of atrocities committed against Indigenous women, both on and off reservations. However, the casting choice of Asbille in such a crucial role came under scrutiny when more details emerged about her ethnicity.
Asbille is the daughter of a Taiwanese American father, James C. Chow, and an American mother. When she was cast in Native American roles, Asbille shared in multiple interviews that she had Native heritage and was of Eastern Band Cherokee descent (via The New York Times). However, Asbille suddenly embracing her Native American ethnicity did not seem right to many fans.
When Native American actor, producer, and activist Sonny Skyhawk reached out to the Eastern Band Cherokee tribe to confirm her ethnicity, he found out that Asbille lacked the recorded evidence for her claims. According to the Cherokee registration website, merely having Cherokee in one’s family tree doesn’t establish one’s heritage.
Following Skyhawk’s inquiry, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians issued a statement denying Asbille’s claims. Their statement read (via Penchanga):
Kelsey Asbille (Chow) is not now nor has she ever been an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. No documentation was found in our records to support any claim that she descends from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
The letter drew a lot of criticism against Asbille for claiming Native American descent without proper proof. Her casting in Yellowstone further angered the natives, with actor Adam Beach leading a boycott movement against the Taylor Sheridan project. He shared (via NextShark):
I’m asking my Native Actors to stay away from this project. Yellowstone is telling the world that there are no Native actresses capable of leading a TV show. Unless your great-great-great grandparents are Cherokee.
Sheridan too received criticism for portraying the issues of Native American subjects. Native commentator Jason Asenap shared that it felt condescending for a non-Native writer to perpetuate the “dying Indians” trope in Wind River (via High Country News).
Yellowstone Fans Were Not Too Happy About The Truth Behind Kelsey Asbille’s Ethnicity
In Yellowstone, Kelsey Asbille played the role of Monica Dutton, a Native American and resident of the Broken Rock Indian Reservation. In the series, her marriage to Kayce Dutton, a white man belonging to the Dutton family, was a crucial plot point. However, when fans learned that Asbille was not a Native American, they were disappointed.
Fans on Reddit called out her casting, sharing that Yellowstone should’ve cast an actual Native American in the role. They shared that it didn’t seem right to cast Asbille, since the show discussed many issues pertinent to the Native American people. Some of the comments read:
Comment
byu/I_Am_Inevitable_8141 from discussion
inYellowstonePN
Comment
byu/I_Am_Inevitable_8141 from discussion
inYellowstonePN
Comment
byu/I_Am_Inevitable_8141 from discussion
inYellowstonePN
Comment
byu/I_Am_Inevitable_8141 from discussion
inYellowstonePN
Comment
byu/I_Am_Inevitable_8141 from discussion
inYellowstonePN
Asbille’s ethnicity apart, she has been a good and convincing actress in her role as Monica. She recently starred in the Netflix film Don’t Move.
Wind River and Yellowstone are now available for streaming on Paramount+.
