Aminah Nieves as Teonna Rainwater in season 2 , Episode 7 of ‘1923’ streaming on Paramount+.
Very few characters in 1923 have gone through as much as Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves). She was sent to a Catholic boarding school, whose sole purpose was to get rid of her Native American culture, only to end up on the run because she killed her abuser. Then, when life finally seems to be on the up and up for her, Teonna’s father, Runs His Horse (Michael Spears) and lover, Pete Plenty Clouds (Jeremy Gauna), are murdered for protecting her. Somehow, though, through all that, Teonna survives, becoming one of the few Taylor Sheridan characters to make it out physically unscathed.
Woman’s World recently caught up with Nieves to discuss that ending and the shocking way the actress thinks the show mirrors life in America today. Scroll on for more.
Aminah Nieves talks about her character’s ‘1923’ Season 2 ending
Following the death of her family and the brutal murder of Father Renoud (Sebastian Roché) in season 2, episode 6, “The Mountain Teeth of Monsters,” Teonna once again finds herself on the run. This time, she has one end goal: finding a home and not losing sight of herself and her Native American culture. One way Nieves wants that to happen is for there to be “another season, please.”
“Not a lot of people live,” she continued. “So it’s really interesting that one of the youngest characters in the show is one the ones that did make it out.”
Now, just because Teonna lived, it doesn’t mean that she’s not with her trauma, inflected by both the boarding school and the loss of her loved ones, both of which Nieves does think will affect whatever journey she goes on next.
“She was getting used to the idea of maybe surrendering quicker than she normally would have, and she is getting used to the idea of becoming a crow woman,” the actress said. “So to not only have these two people who provided pure safety and support to her and allowed her to re-establish a trusting relationship, to not only have that being taken from her but also a piece of her own culture.”
“She was taken when she was a very young kid to the assimilation school, and now she’s 16, so she wasn’t with her culture in very pivotal moments of time where development and children are skyrocketing when they’re really kind of our sponges. So it’s a lot for Teonna to take on.”
In Yellowstone—the show after 1923—the Native American people near the Dutton Ranch are led by Chairman Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), who does share the same last name as Teonna; however, his official connection to her remains unclear. This storyline could be a topic that is continued in the next prequel, 1944, which is currently in pre-production.
Aminah Nieves shares why she thinks Teoona’s storyline is so relevant today
Teoona’s journey is nothing but an uphill battle, filled with obstacles like racism, abuse of power, sexism and more—all of which are themes Nieves believes “we’re still battling that today.”
“I think our rights are quite literally being taken, taken from us right now,” she explained. “So to go back in time and to look at it from a 2025 and the 1923 perspective, I think it only shows how little we’ve actually progressed and how far we went back.”
