Shoshone Tribe member Lacey Bacon brings authentic Indigenous culture to ‘Yellowstone’ prequel ‘1883’

Local and enrolled member of the Shoshone Tribe Lacey Bacon was enlisted as a consultant on the new Paramount+ series “1883,” providing the crew with insights on presenting an accurate depiction of the Shoshone people on the show.

The series is a prequel to the hit “Yellowstone,” starring Kevin Costner. With a cast that includes Sam Elliott and real-life country music superstar husband-and-wife Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, “1883” is about the Dutton family’s journey from the Great Plains to Montana.

Bacon became involved with “1883” when a member of the crew reached out to her in October requesting Shoshone actors for a scene. She found 10 actors all from Fort Hall, Idaho. When she arrived at the set in Livingston, Montana, she was hired as the Shoshone consultant.

While on set in early November, Bacon described how they were lumping all American Indians into one group and dressing them all as members of the Sioux Nation. She pointed out that the different tribes involved in the series have their own different styles.

Along with the Shoshone and Sioux, members of the Crow Nation were involved in the scene, as well. To help make the costumes more authentic and accurate, Bacon told the series’ crew how Shoshone women wore their hair and how men and women wore red paint.

Bacon also shared other aspects of Shoshone culture. One way hair is worn by the Shoshone, Bacon said, is the pompadour where the higher the pompadour, the greater respect the individual had within the tribe.

Bacon described other ways the Shoshone tribe was different from the Sioux, including the Shoshone being a matriarchal society, their use of straight stitching rather than lazy stitching, and the tribes speaking different languages.

“When (people) watch the show, everything, … from our hair to our makeup on our face, is authentic,” Bacon said. “It’s not Hollywood.” In the Shoshone scene of the show, she said it is all Shoshone culture and people being presented in it.

“That’s what’s going to be cool about that scene is it was authentic and it was consulted by a Shoshone tribal member that knows the ways,” Bacon said. She is excited to see how “1883” depicts the other tribes, as well.

The first season of “1883” wraps up on Feb. 26.