It hasn't been quite a full year yet, but for
getting close to a year now I have been concentrating on writing enough that it
has seriously slowed my reading.
After last year I had picked out the books that I
wanted to read for this year, but I wasn't sure when I was going to get to
them. In addition, I kept finding all of this video material that I wanted to
examine, and there was definitely no time for that. So, the plan was adjusted.
My Native American Heritage focus has always been more multi-media than some of
my other pursuits.
I hope that in November or so, I will be able to get
back to those four books for 2015. (Bumping them for a year does not seem as
dire when running this far behind.) For the 2014 learning period, it focused on
these three web pages:
For the Cherokee Freedmen documentary, the article
was not lengthy. It had just gotten put with the others because I was hoping
that there might be an opportunity to actually watch the documentary, By
Blood. I still hope for that, but the article itself is pretty informative
and the trailer gives you a sense of the feeling.
Silent No More does something very important in encouraging young native women to speak
and to document their lives. I think the article itself hit a couple of wrong
notes, but there is still something valuable going on there. I found it very
moving and very sad, even though it is also hopeful. It is interesting seeing
the similarities and differences for Canada.
Of course the big thing was the page with 10
Fascinating Documentaries. Some were more fascinating than others. I kind of
hated one, but we'll get to that. I am just going to review them in the same
order in which they are listed on the page.
Totem Culture (2012) 17:42 minutes
A Canadian school in Hong Kong brings a Tsimshian artist from BC
to carve two totem poles.
This focuses on the people, and there is a lot of
fondness among them, with teachers for the artist and everyone for the former
principal who had the original idea. That makes it not particularly deep, but
it is sweet, and interesting to hear them discuss the incorporation of the two
traditions, like deciding the placement of the poles by feng shui.
Dakota 38 (2012) 1:18:12
This was the most emotionally moving for me. One
man's dream (literally) leads to a ride to the site of a hanging of 38 Sioux
elders, arriving on the anniversary. Initially starting with a feeling that
this is about connecting with the past, as they go they speak in their stopping
places, and connect with Natives and non-Natives alike, it is clearly also for
the present and future. It becomes very emotional, and hopeful. The hardest
part then is seeing over the credits memorials for three of the original riders
who have since died, including one who was too young.
Wacipi Powwow (1995) 57:03
This is a look at Powwow culture, showing many of
the dances and talking with the dancers. It's a good look at how it builds
community and preserves ties.
Trudell (2005) 1:18:23
This is a documentary about Native American poet and
activist John Trudell. I was not previously familiar with him. I have read
about some of the actions that he participated in, but did not remember his
name from them. Initially there are a lot of famous white people talking about
how much he moved them, which made me a little leery. Frankly, the documentary
would have been fine without them, but it probably works as a way of making
people feel they should pay attention.
There was this foreshadowing at one point that
something terrible was going to happen, but I wasn't expecting what it was, with
his wife and children (along with his mother-in-law) dying in a house fire that
was arson, though it was never resolved who set it. That he had to survive that
is hard, but he says it came through words that his wife gave to him. He was
already an activist, but that may have been his true birth as a poet. I do want
to read more by him.
American Red and Black: Stories of
Afro-Native Identity (2006) 37:13
This talks to many natives with African blood, going
over the identity issues. I was already somewhat familiar due to Black
Indian: An American Story, which was actually from my 2014 Black History
reading, but that's okay - sometimes there is overlap, and this is an important
story. This film has some great footage.
Allan Houser: Apache Legacy (2014) 12:15
This was a nice surprise, because once they started
talking about Houser and showing his work, I realized I had seen an exhibit of
his sculptures at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian when I was in
DC. I remembered the work, but not the name, so this was nice to see and to
learn a little more about him.
Russell Means: Welcome to the
Reservation (2011) 1:35:59
I watched this last, procrastinating not just because
it was the longest, but also because Means is not always wrong, but he is wrong
often enough.
I still have some affection for him so this made me
sad because he comes off as the grumpy old man rambling on about the government
and yelling at the kids on his lawn. At the same time, I was thinking how some
on the right could really welcome him. Therefore, seeing that this is associated
with Alex Jones wasn't too surprising. I don't think the questions they asked
or the way they strung them together did Means any favors. I don't think they
misrepresented him, either, but they didn't do him any favors. It's just sad.
It's not that he never says anything meaningful either, but you have to wade
through a lot.
Indian Warriors: The Untold Story of the
Civil War (2006) 44:38
This is probably the best historically, based on
covering interesting information well, and being really well made. There were
people I had never heard of, but there were also some familiar stories given
new context. Highly recommended.
Code of Honor: Comanche Code Talkers of
World War II (2013) 28:30
This combined two components, both of which were
valuable, but perhaps did not blend as well as they could. One part is reading
excerpts from the diaries of the Code Talkers. These passages do not mention
their mission, which they would not have been able to record based on its
highly confidential nature. You get a feeling from that, but it would be
similar to other soldiers.
There is also dialog for the actual battle
exchanges, with translations, showing you the kind of information that would be
exchanged, which then makes it clear how important not being understood by the
enemy is. There was probably room for two good documentaries here.
Montana Mosaic: Indian Boarding Schools (2006) 15:10
It is good that this one was short, because the
stories of the boarding schools are always so terrible that it can be
overpowering to spend a lot of time on it. I guess in that way it was not so
much new information, but there was one thing that had never connected for me
before. Cutting hair was something that was done for mourning, and the closer
the relative the more hair you cut. So when children who did not speak English
were taken away from their family and had their braids cut off, without being able
to understand yet, their conclusions would have to have been terrible. I mean,
they were trying to destroy the identities anyway, so maybe if the people in
charge had understood that would have only reinforced their behavior, but it's
a lot of cruelty.
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