A People's History

Reservation Dogs.

Dark Winds.

Rutherford Falls.

Not you!

Not you.

Prey.

Killers of the Flower Moon.

It's nice to see more and more Indigenous stories popping up in Hollywood, winning awards and trying to undo the harmful stereotypes of Indigenous people of the past.

And there's a vast array of Native filmmakers out there, stories authored by them and portrayed by them, something we haven't seen in Hollywood.

But this surge of Indigenous productions owe a part of their success to a little known 1998 film called Smoke Signals This is a People's History of Native America.

With me, Tai Leclaire.

Smoke Signals is a coming of age story about two Native American teenagers, Thomas and Victor, who must leave their reservation to retrieve the ashes of Victor's late father, Arnold.

The story starts by retelling the events of the night of July 4th, 1976, where a massive fire destroyed Thomas's house, killing his parents and almost burning up Baby Thomas.

If not for the heroism of Arnold, the film jumps to the present day, where we learn that Arnold has passed away in Phoenix, Arizona, half a world away from the Coeur d'Alene reservation.

Hey, Victor.

I'm sorry about your dad. Victor and Thomas must now travel to Arizona to retrieve Arnold's ashes to his final resting place back on the Rez You're leaving the Rez and going into a whole different country, cousin.

But it's the United States.

Damn right it is.

That's as foreign as it gets.

Hope you two got your vaccinations. As Victor and Thomas venture off the reservation.

We watch how they interact with white society, confronting and subverting stereotypes and racism.

Through flashbacks, we see how Victor's father, Arnold, struggled with alcoholism, domestic abuse, and eventually abandoning his family to move to Phoenix.

This film was sold as the first feature film written, and directed by Native Americans.

And if you've seen the movie, it's pretty evident the Coeur d'Alene reservation is honestly depicted showing a low income community with little infrastructure.

But where non-Native filmmakers would see this reality and assume sadness.

Smoke Signals shows the truth with what we call Indian humor.

The Coeur dAlene people, our Reservation is beautiful this morning.

It's a good day to be Indigenous. The film showcases comedy and resilience through Rez life, like the Rez car that can only drive and reverse the local K-REZ radio, So, Lester, how's traffic out there this fine morning?

A couple of cars went by earlier. And most importantly, the never ending gossip of a small community, which all portray a deep understanding of living on a reservation.

But one of the most important commentaries of Smoke Signals comes from references to past films like The Last of the Mohicans, Dances with Wolves, and the works of John Wayne.

All that helps solidify so many of the stereotypes that Indigenous films grapple with today.

For example, as Victor and Thomas board the bus towards Phoenix.

The presence of non-Indians causes Victor to prod the happy go lucky Thomas to get stoic and act like a real Indian.

After arriving at a rest stop.

Victor and the now stoic Thomas try to regain their assigned seats from two whites, but These are our seats now and there aint a damn thing you can do about it.

So why don't you and Super Injun there, find yourself someplace else to have a pow-wow? Stuck now at the back of the bus.

Victor starts a disparaging chant about John Wayne.

A peaceful protest designed to humiliate the notorious Indian killer of the silver screen.

John Wayne's teeth.

Hey-ya, John Wayne's teeth.

Hey-ya, hey-ya, hey-ya, hey-ya, hey Even with alcoholism, a real issue that's a literal hangover from the attempted genocide of Native Americans.

It's handled with care and grace.

As the film continues, we understand that Arnold's decision to leave was not because he was drunk, but out of shame that his tendencies would rub off on Victor.

Smoke Signals was able to adopt all the nasty stereotypes thrown at Native Americans by complicating them, then humanizing and humorizing the pain.

Research shows that depictions of Native Americans and media change depending on the policy at the time.

During the removal period, we saw the bloodthirsty Indian savage, the mortal enemy of the gentle settlers.

during the simulation, we shifted towards a more sympathetic version of Native Americans called the Noble Savage.

Where the Native character is nice to the Europeans, perhaps some of their spiritual ways helped the white protagonist complete their goal.

In the end, it's clear that no matter the intention, media authored by non-Natives only reflects what non-Natives want Natives to be.

Want to validate the Trail of Tears?

Watch Far and Away.

What about justifying assimilation?

Check out Wind River.

Now, Smoke Signals is not without critique or controversy.

The author of the original short story admitted and apologized for a pattern of sexual misconduct.

Plus Smoke Signals relies on a lot of pan-Indian tropes like Frybread power shirt or asking, Who's your favorite Indian? But the important takeaway is to understand how a film that's written, directed and produced by Native Americans can look and feel so much different than a film either about Native Americans or even has Native Americans on the cast.

So what happened between 1998, when Smoke Signals premiered and 2021, when Rez Dogs came out?

Remember that concept, the Vanishing Indian from our school's episode?

Well, that's kind of what happened.

Smoke Signals mocks the film Dances with Wolves, which premiered eight years before Smoke Signals, was a box office hit and won seven Academy Awards I mean, how many times have you seen Dances with Wolves?

100, 200?

Ah jeez, you have seen it that many times, haven't you?

Because Dances with Wolves was a cultural phenomenon for everyone except Native Americans.

Why?

It wasn't accurate.

The real story is based on the Comanche, not the Lakota.

It meshes multiple cultures together and depicts them as stoic and a dying race.

But this isn't new.

Let's call Doctor Joely Proudfit, a professor at California State University, San Marcos, who has been working for nearly two decades in Native of education and the media industry as a whole.

Doctor Proudfit, can you give us an overview of the history of Native Americans in the media?

It's amazing how Hollywood has built its industry on the backs of Native peoples.

And it's done that, since the beginning.

I mean, most modern cinema comes from, the idea of the Western, which comes from James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking Tales.

So, a lot of the images that we see in cinema, in media today, and a lot of the stereotypes that we see, stems from James Fenimore Cooper's work.

Can you share a little more about how it shaped our narratives now?

If someone can define how you see yourself, how others see you and limit you in the past, they don't care about the big picture items.

They don't care about clean water.

They don't care about missing and murdered Indigenous women.

They don't care about educational equity.

So our ability to see ourselves define ourselves for who we are and how we want to see ourselves is so critical.

over 200 years of storytelling done without our approval and without our focus and lens is going to take more than just a few years to replace.

So Smoke Signals didn't magically fix everything.

And there are several shady films that met huge success between then and now.

Allow me to illustrate.

2000.

The Patriot estimated a budget of 110 million.

Total box office of 215 million.

The protagonist is based on Francis Marion, the notorious murder of Native Americans who committed atrocities as bad, if not worse than the British.

2005 the New World estimated budget 30 million total box office, 40 million Live action remake of Pocahontas.

Need I say more?

Apocalypto.

Estimated budget 40 million.

Total box office 121 million.

Historically inaccurate.

Avatar.

space Pocahontas.

Estimated budget 237 million.

Total box office.

The Lone Ranger remake.

250 million box office 261 million.

A Million Ways to Die in the West.

they didn't even get a Native American for Tonto.

40 million.

The Revenant 87 million.

135 million.

Hell or High Water Estimated budget 12 million.

Box office 533 million.

2020 News of the World.

Box office 38 million.

3 billion.

Estimated budget 38 million.

Romanticism at its finest.

12 million.

Tom Hanks.

Basically, Tom Hanks saves a white girl who was adopted by the Kiowa.

The classic white people are better than Indians at being Indian.

Speaking of.

You see, Natives are never the crux of the story.

These films, and many more only depict Indigeneity through the lens or relationship of white culture.

And while these movies touch on some form of Native American culture, at least the cast has actors who are and wait for it.

Native American Being a Native actor myself, I know it's a challenging position.

I like all actors, love my craft, but I cannot accept a role that diminishes my agency and dignity as an Indigenous person.

But as you've seen, there's not a whole lot of roles that fit this category, and actors have little choice in the roles they're offered.

Studios, scripts and directors have already decided on who the character is and what they look like.

that is completely based on stereotypes like, and this is a true story.

I got less auditions once I cut my hair to this length.

So do I get to be myself or do I be your Indian?

So take Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk actor from Six Nations and probably my cousin.

You would know him as Tonto from the original The Lone Ranger.

He's also known for being outspoken and disapproving of how the character was written, notably stating Tonto is stupid.

A small slice of Silverheel's likeness is forever memorialized as a problematic sidekick.

But he's better defined by what he did after The Lone Ranger.

He founded the Indian Actors Workshop in Los Angeles to tap into the dormant creativity of the Indians.

Part of his goal was ending the practice of red face.

Or when someone non-Native plays a Native role.

So the problem is not the effort or talent of authentic Native people, because that's not the issue here.

The issue is who gets the money to tell our stories.

So when most of the money is going to non-Natives to do the work of Native people.

These mistakes will keep happening.

Mind you, red face is still a thing.

I called out Yellowstone in the beginning because they do just that.

The main Native character is not Native.

But again, the blame here goes to the writer, director, producer, or casting.

But Doctor Proudfit talk about why Indigenous representation is so crucial for our future.

authentic representation promotes cultural understanding.

It breaks down all those stereotypes and prejudices.

but overall authentic representation is a matter of respect.

It's a matter of equity and justice.

last and most important question what are your hopes for the future of Indigenous entertainment?

there needs to be an autonomy in storytelling.

Native American filmmakers asserting the right to create and tell stories that are rooted in their own cultural perspectives, their own values, their own histories, without external manipulation or pressure.

That is fundamental.

Thank you so much, Doctor Proudfit for your expertise and insights.

So in light of this new effort to break the typical Native American genre.

Here are my pitches for my new slate of films.

I know a lot of studio executives watch this show, so brace yourself and please, please, please check your inbox.

Okay, how about I'll Tai-et on the Western Front or Two Tais Two Furious Fast Tai at Ridgemont Tai Tai, Robot Tai Hard, Saving Private Tai-yn