 Ray Mala offered the role of Iva to Sadie Brower, a 17-year-old half-Inupiat girl.But after Brower's father refused to let her appear in movies, Lotus Long, an actress of mixed Japanese and Hawaiian ancestry (who could not speak any Eskimo), was cast in the role instead.According to Brower, Long's Eskimo was bad enough as to be unintelligible.