What park is 'Spirit Rangers' based on? Creators reveals story inspired by national parks in America
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A new animated fantasy-adventure preschool series ‘Spirit Rangers’ has served its young audience perfectly well. The 'Netflix Original' series animated stories from Native American tribes, featuring the alluring landscapes of America’s National Parks. By keeping her culture alive through this moden medium, the creator of the show, Karissa Valencia, has fulfilled her desire to create a preschool native series representing her community.
‘Spirit Rangers’ is created by Santa Ynez Chumash tribal member and the very first California Native American showrunner, Karissa Valencia. The animated series star talented actors who lend their voices, such as Wacinyeya Yracheta as Kodi Skycedar, Isis Celilo Rogers as Summer Skycedar, Talon Proc Alford as Eddy Skycedar, Kimberly Guerrero as Mom Skycedar, John Timothy as Dad Skycedar, Cree Summer as Lizard Deedee, Shaun Taylor-Corbett as Coyote, Wes Studi, Devery Jacobs, and Nyla Rose.
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‘Spirit Rangers’ features National Parks
‘Spirit Rangers’ broadly covers the narrative of Native American people, their culture, and their community. Valencia marks the celebration of the success of ‘Spirit Rangers’ as a “love letter to Indigenous youth," with elements touching the tribal stories she heard in her childhood. The show uncovers stunning and unreal traditional stories of America’s national parks.
Particularly, the show follows three junior park rangers, Kodi, Summer, and Eddy, who are always ready to protect the California park they call home. Valencia creatively gave the show a fictionalized national park called Xus National Park, inspired by various parks in California. From the majestic mountains to the pristine forests, every aspect of the show is a tribute to the awe-inspiring beauty of these parks.
Why does Valencia focus on Native American culture in ‘Spirit Rangers’?
Since her childhood, Valencia wanted to watch shows like ‘Spirit Rangers.’ She is half Mexican and half Chumash, who felt a deep need for keeping her culture and traditions alive. As soon as she got her foot in the door in Hollywood, she decided to create a preschool series for her community. For her, “the show heals her inner child feelings, giving her a home to live in.” The writers of the show are all Native writers who gave multiple perspectives to the project. Every step of the way, Valencia made sure there was a Native voice and the blessings of the tribes.