This movie depicts the life of modern day Native Americans living in reservations. Their lifestyle wasn't what I expected at all. It would seem as if the Indians were still trapped on this reservation with no luck of getting out and assimilating into the world. The way people stared at them whenever they were out of the reservation were looks of confusion and judgement. They experienced racism on the bus but the bus scene also included more than that. A point that I found intriguing was when Thomas and Victor were speaking to the Olympic gymnast, it was as if that was their chance to assimilate into America. Thomas was showing a different side to the Indian stereotype but Victor was living up to it by being blunt, stoic, and mean.
Another thing I found interesting about the movie was their easy-going joking about being an Indian. It's as if they were laughing at the imminent doom of being a Native American, drinking alcohol and addiction was a common theme throughout the movie. Other things that were joked about was the modern use of oral tradition and surprisingly the joke about "vaccinations" which everyone knows has a morbid backstory to it.
This movie truly made me question what I am celebrating on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving to Native Americans is, The Day of Mourning, am I too celebrating the "white peoples Independence Day"? How many things am I blindly celebrating or blindly believing in without questioning them or the past. Without understanding both sides of the situations. This same thought was provoked when we watched the Cats of Mirkitani movie because people were celebrating the end of WWII, but the Japanese-Americans were mourning the deaths and destruction of their homeland. Smoke Signals helped me realize that I need to understand two sides of a celebration in the end.
Information on Indian Reservations
Through research I found that there are still about 300 hundred Indian reservations active today. There are over 500 recognized Indian tribes so many live without reservations and some tribes have more than one reservation. The laws within reservations are changed and many of them allow casinos within their area which attracts tourists. This can cause a big problem for Indian reservations because casinos deal with gambling and gambling deals with addiction and alcohol problems. This change of laws can be one of the few reasons for the problems that Indians living on reservations are experiencing.
Listed here is a website I used to research Indian Reservations
http://www.nps.gov/nagpra/documents/ResMAP.HTM
Another thing I found interesting about the movie was their easy-going joking about being an Indian. It's as if they were laughing at the imminent doom of being a Native American, drinking alcohol and addiction was a common theme throughout the movie. Other things that were joked about was the modern use of oral tradition and surprisingly the joke about "vaccinations" which everyone knows has a morbid backstory to it.
This movie truly made me question what I am celebrating on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving to Native Americans is, The Day of Mourning, am I too celebrating the "white peoples Independence Day"? How many things am I blindly celebrating or blindly believing in without questioning them or the past. Without understanding both sides of the situations. This same thought was provoked when we watched the Cats of Mirkitani movie because people were celebrating the end of WWII, but the Japanese-Americans were mourning the deaths and destruction of their homeland. Smoke Signals helped me realize that I need to understand two sides of a celebration in the end.
Information on Indian Reservations
Through research I found that there are still about 300 hundred Indian reservations active today. There are over 500 recognized Indian tribes so many live without reservations and some tribes have more than one reservation. The laws within reservations are changed and many of them allow casinos within their area which attracts tourists. This can cause a big problem for Indian reservations because casinos deal with gambling and gambling deals with addiction and alcohol problems. This change of laws can be one of the few reasons for the problems that Indians living on reservations are experiencing.
Listed here is a website I used to research Indian Reservations
http://www.nps.gov/nagpra/documents/ResMAP.HTM
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