For Comanche actor Gil Birmingham, known for his role as Thomas Rainwater, the leader of the fictional Broken Rock tribe on Yellowstone, building alliances between Native Americans and non-Native individuals is crucial both on and off-screen. Birmingham, who has portrayed Rainwater throughout the show’s five-season run, praises series creator Taylor Sheridan for his efforts to tell Native stories, even though the show has faced criticism from some in the Native community.
Sheridan has been accused of telling Indigenous stories through a “white lens” and profiting off of them. However, Birmingham, who has worked closely with Sheridan, believes that the series creator’s approach is often misunderstood. “Taylor does whatever he can do and utilizes whatever resources he has access to in order to make things as genuine and authentic as they can be,” Birmingham explained in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment. “Mo Brings Plenty, my partner in the show, is an elder from the Lakota reservation and grew up with the culture. He knows these things, and he’s our cultural advisor.”
Birmingham acknowledges the valid concerns from Native communities, especially regarding the lack of Native writers and directors involved in the process. “The economic conditions aren’t such that we can just go and do these things by ourselves,” he said. “But my experience in my career is that it will take the alliance and collaboration of allies to help us get that foot in the door.”
As Yellowstone enters its final season, Birmingham’s character, Rainwater, has seen a turbulent relationship with Kevin Costner’s John Dutton, who is dedicated to protecting his family’s land. Despite their confrontations, the two characters have occasionally found themselves in alliances against external threats. Birmingham credits Sheridan for depicting Rainwater as an equal to Dutton, with both characters dealing with complex life challenges and pressing issues related to Native American identity.
“The challenge has always been to have people see Native people as human beings, not as the stereotypes that Hollywood has often portrayed—like the bloodthirsty warrior or the needy indigent,” Birmingham said. “Sheridan’s respectful inclusion of modern Native characters is a step forward in showing their humanity.”
What Birmingham will most remember about his character, Rainwater, is his complexity and agency. He described Rainwater as a character who embodies intelligence, leverage, and the ability to play the colonizer’s “mind game” to achieve his goals—similar to Dutton’s, but for different reasons.
Despite Kevin Costner’s departure from the series earlier this year, Birmingham believes the impact on Rainwater’s storyline is minimal. “Rainwater was written to have maybe one scene a season with [Dutton], so Costner’s absence didn’t change much for my character,” he noted.
As the series concludes, Birmingham reflected on the deep friendships and experiences he gained from working on Yellowstone. “I’ll miss the people we spent seven years with, the camaraderie, the relationships, and the memories we made,” he said. Many of those memories are tied to telling Native stories “respectfully” and sparking curiosity about Native American culture.
Birmingham also emphasized the importance of creating space for Native voices in the entertainment industry. “We need to develop more Native writers, directors, and actors to tell authentic stories,” he said. “Until then, I hope we can appreciate the power of alliances, like the one between John Dutton and Rainwater, in making Native stories more visible.
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