Before “Yellowstone,” Asbille starred as a young Native American woman in cocreator Taylor Sheridan’s 2017 film “Wind River,” but it was only when she got the role of Monica Dutton, the Native American daughter-in-law of John Dutton (Kevin Costner), that questions about her heritage were raised.
In 2017, the New York Times said she was “Taiwanese, British and Eastern Band Cherokee,” but added that she “did not grow up in an indigenous community.”
Asbille told the outlet that she had an “intense connection” to her Native “Wind River” character, adding: “This role, more than any other, it’s in my blood.”
However, with the news of her casting in “Yellowstone,” Native American “Suicide Squad” actor Adam Beach started a campaign to boycott the series amid questions about Asbille’s ancestry.
Another Native actor-producer, Sonny Skyhawk, made inquiries to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians tribal nation, which responded that they had no record of Asbille, nor could they find any evidence she was a lineal descendant of any members of the tribe.
Asbille has never addressed the questions about her heritage.
Representatives for Asbille did not respond to a request for comment.
