Smoke Signals

I was interested on knowing how Native Americans depict themselves, so I chose Smoke Signals which was written, directed, co-produced and acted by American Indians. 

The story takes place in the desolate Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, which is a rustic place in the middle of the open land in Idaho. They live isolated from the rest of the world. There are not many opportunities to succeed within the boundaries of the reservation so they live in a very deficient way. Most people there have alcoholic problems and lack of desire to succeed. The main characters, Victor and Thomas have completely opposite personalities as well as dress style. Victor is tall, handsome, cool, and athletic, while Thomas is a skinny inoffensive nerdy bookworm and romantic story-teller. Moreover, he projects insecurity.

Thomas is an orphan who survives a fire that kills his parents when he was a few months old. The fire was unintentionally started by a drunk neighbor, Arnold Joseph, who is the one who saves Thomas' life. Arnold Joseph is an alcoholic who bits his wife and his only child Victor. He ended up abandoning his family, which caused Victor a tremendous resentment. Thomas has always been there for Victor to offer help whenever Victor needs it. Nevertheless, Thomas is mistreated and bitten by Victor since they were children. Many years later, they learn that Victor's father has died. Both guys embark on a journey in search of Victor's father's remains. During  the trip they reconciled and developed a true friendship.

Victor’s character suggests that Native Americans are supposed to be seen in a certain way in order to be respected. In fact, there is a scene where he "teaches" Thomas how to act and what he needs to do to transmit fear to others. Victor says that they got to look mean or white people will run all over them. They have to look like warriors, he declares. 

Although the film is not focused on the oppressed and exotic Indian culture, we can tell that the consequences of all the injustices that Native Americans have experienced still affect the lives of American Indians. As we know, Indians have been target of isolation, ethnicity cleaning, and even genocide.

The two characters are a clear representation of two mainstream Indian stereotypes, the warrior and the shaman. Another strong stereotype of Native Americans is the typical aggressive alcoholic who is well depicted by Arnold Joseph, Victor’s father.

Athleticism, handsome physique, and short temper make Victor a contemporary version of the historical representation of American Indians as savages. On the other hand, Thomas is a relaxed version of the shaman Indian stereotype. His tendency to transform real-life events from the past into pleasing stories and myths help him making sense of his world, like a shaman does through parables. 

The historical most popular  representations of tribals were of primitive and savages which captured white women and children. Victor’s character differs in the extent that he has no interest on white women at all. Also because he is not as brutal as the classic stereotype of aggressive indian warrior. Another popular characteristic that is missing in the film is the depiction of Indians as sex symbols often portrayed nearly naked. 

The representation of tribal life on the movie works to justify their economic and social marginalization since it propagates old racial ideologies by showing themselves as rude and mean in order to be respected. The decision of living separated from the rest of the people also helps to justify their isolation and disadvantages. 

I watched an Interview of Sherman Alexie, the writer of the film, and he states that alcoholism is not a stereotype but a pure reality among Native Americans. Hopefully somebody can answer this question: Is it alcoholism a stereotype for Native Americans, or is it for real epidemic among them?