Navajo Translation Of 'Star Wars' Set To Premiere July 3

The news is filled with speculation regarding the newest installment of the "Star Wars" franchise, "Episode VII," but on July 3 the Navajo will be able to enjoy the 1977 classic "Star Wars" film.

A Navajo translation of the "Star Wars" film will be unveiled on the Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona, NPR reports.

Manuelito Wheeler, director of the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona, said he wanted the film translated into the Navajo language because "we needed a way to preserve our culture."

"Language is at the core of a culture. And I felt we needed a more contemporary way to reach not just young people but the population in general. And so, that's when the idea of translating a major movie into the Navajo language came up," Wheeler said.

He also said another benefit of choosing such a well-known film to translate was that it would help some Navajo learn phrases that they didn't know before.

"I'm not fluent in Navajo," Wheeler explained. "I grew up on the Navajo Nation, around the Navajo language; both my parents speak Navajo, yet I don't. And there are thousands and thousands of us out there that are in that same situation. So, when you watch a movie like Star Wars where you pretty much already know many of the famous phrases from it and then you hear it in Navajo, that's the connection right there."

According to AZCentral.com, some 115 Navajos attended the casting for the film, which took place May 3 and 4. In total, 20 actors were chosen to lend their voices to the production, says Dan Bloom of TheWrap.com.

Wheeler told The Navajo Times that he was happy with the cast. "All the people that were cast fit the voice perfectly and they gave awesome performances," he said.

The cast also expressed personal connections to the characters they were voicing, TheIndianCountryTodayMediaNetwork.com reports. Anderson Kee, who will play Obi-Wan Kenobi, compared the old Jedi master to a Navajo medicine man. Clarissa Yazzi, who plays Princess Leia, said she felt that her own personality was similar to Carrie Fisher's character. Marvin Yellowhair, who voices Darth Vader, is a coach at Rock Point High, and said that he identified with Vader's leadership skills.

The film will premiere at the Fourth of July and Navajo Nation Fair on July 3.