History is often told by the “victors” — even if their path was wrong.

For example, it’s a conveniently heroic narrative to tell the story of a country founded by free people who rebelled against an oppressive monarchic regime. It’s less convenient to tell it from the perspective of everyone they stepped on to gain freedom (and sometimes borderline impossible thanks to systemic erasure). U.S. history is filled with the lost stories of Indigenous people, but Jason Momoa and Thomas Pa’a Sibbett’s “Chief of War” wants to change that.

The upcoming Apple TV+ drama is a passion project for both Sibbett and Momoa, who also serves as star and writer and directed the season finale. He plays Ka’iana, a warrior who tries to unite the people of Hawai’i against European settlers in the late-18th century. The English navigator John Meares described his “Herculean appearance” as “replete with dignity,...