‘Marshals’ actor Mo brings plenty of Indigenous stories to ‘Yellowstone’ spin-off

Marshals It is the network’s first television series to expand its scope Yellowstone canon, new episodes air each week on CBS on Sunday, and air the next day Paramount Plus. The show follows Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes), who aims to start a new life by joining the US Marshals. He may be driven to enforce justice in his hometown, but the demons of his past haunt him as he moves forward on this new quest.

Grimes is one of the few faces familiar to audiences, having starred in Taylor Sheridan’s groundbreaking series. Native American actors Jill Birmingham, who plays Chief Thomas Rainwater, bridge the story world beneath the veneer of weekly crime procedurals; Mo Brings Plenty, who plays his right-hand man Mo; and Brecken Merrill, who plays Tate Dutton, Casey’s son.

Throughout the first few episodes, a detailed narrative about the residents of the Broken Rock Reservation — the polluted water on their property, and the mining company seeking access to the land — adds familiar stakes to the series. This conflict acts as a bridge to Yellowstone’s story and pushes things into high-stakes territory.

What do I mean by that? Well, instead of waxing poetic about what I think this fairy tale might represent to those living on a reservation, I got first-hand insight from someone with a strong connection to Yellowstone, the Marshals, and Native American heritage: Moe brings a lot.

Moe is part of the Oglala Lakota Nation and served as Yellowstone’s American Indian Affairs Coordinator – a role he continues today at Marshals. He joined me on Zoom to discuss the series, how it relates to the real challenges his community faces every day and why Indigenous representation is important — even when it’s a CBS procedural.

How has the relationship between Mo, Rainwater, and Kayce Dutton evolved from the beginning of Yellowstone to where we are now? Is it safe to say that they are all, whether they speak up or not, on the same page with how they see this conflict?
It brings a lot: The relationship between the Duttons and the reservation dates back to 1883. Kayce married a woman from the Broken Rock reservation. That was Monica. In this marriage, they had a child together, and now, with Monica gone due to her death from cancer, Casey feels he must step in and fill this void now for his son. And so our relationship and bond became stronger, especially with Rainwater adopting Kayce and considering him a brother.

Mo and Casey have always been seen as warriors. So they always had that brotherhood. They have an unspoken language, and they know it. Casey still runs his cows there in East Camp. And so, when it came to water, there was a scene where rainwater was on Casey’s balcony for a moment, and she was offered some water, and he said, “One day this will be worse than moonlight.” I think it was just about protecting a vital resource that all humans and life need.

Let’s talk about water. The conflict between the Broken Rock Reserve and the mining company is not going away. And all this is happening while people are getting sick and dying from chemicals in their drinking water. How does this story convey the struggles and realities of life accurately?
It brings a lot: What it means is that there are already health issues on the reservation, and our health care system is very overwhelmed. We do not have services to help us with prevention. Everything is fine. Our emergency room is always open, so it’s always after the fact. It is an environmental issue that concerns us as people.

We, as a reservation, get federal funding, but you get a lot of dollars a year, and what you do with those dollars matters, and it matters. If you have other health issues that are now affecting people, like drinking water, how are we going to get another source of water? How can another source provide safe water for people? But we didn’t have the funds to do that. That’s why the confrontation happened, and why it’s something near and dear to Cayce’s heart and mind as well.

It’s no secret that Indigenous and indigenous stories are largely unavailable on network television. Given that Marshals is a CBS show, what do you want to bring to the series to honor Yellowstone and your heritage?
What I hope to bring is the fact that we’re just like everyone else in society, you know? And we have our goods, our ups and our downs. We are cattle breeders. We are also very much part of the Western heritage. I have a farm now, and we have cows and horses. When people think of cowboys, they usually don’t think of anything outside of a Caucasian individual. But you know, we come in all different shapes, sizes and ethnicities. I grew up on a reservation, worked as a ranch hand, rode horses almost my whole life and thought I could ride and be a rodeo cowboy too. We’re still part of that.

From that perspective, what do you hope CBS audiences specifically take away from Broken Rock’s story within Marshals?
Broken Rock Reserve is an urban reserve, but we’ve incorporated a lot of culture into it. Not every tribe speaks the same language, and not every tribe does the same thing. Our celebrations are different and our processes of grief and loss are different. Even for me, I wear two braids every day of my life because it is part of my cultural identity, a way to honor the givers of life, whom we call women: our mothers, grandmothers and sisters. So you have many different tribes in this country, and we all do things differently. There are only very few things that are universal.

Like water.
That’s true, for sure. This is where it comes back to. It’s a big thing for me because we are taxpayers too. We pay taxes like everyone else, so these different (government) departments should be able to step up and do something for us as well, and help us when we need it.