From the Article’s to Pow Wow Highway, it is clear that Native American’s were experiencing Genocide from the beginning. In the Movie, Buddy Red Bow and his friend Philbert Bono go on quest to save his sister from the police. The FBI accused her of smuggling a bag of weed across the country. They did this in order to force Buddy Red Bow out of their town in order to increase their odds of occupying the mines that their people rest on. Buddy Red Bow didn’t see it as an opportunity because for hundreds of years their people have been signing contracts and have been screwed and forced to live the way they are today. First they were forced out of their lands now they are living in what appears to be a third world country. The people are struggling to survive. Even Philbert Bono couldn’t buy a car that would come close to passing an inspection.
The interesting part of the trip is how Philbert Bono reveals how their culture is what keeps the community going. On his trip he is trying to become a warrior, and is constantly having visions. He eventually gets Buddy Red Pow to allow himself to become reconnected with his past; and realize what he fighting for. The thing they are fighting for is the one thing that separates them from their oppressors. During the Holocaust the Jewish people continued to practice their faith even though it risked their lives. In “Saint Marie,” her darkness was her culture, her past, and the nun exemplified how the people were taking them away.
The other factor that is interesting is how they continue to practice their culture after a couple hundred years of oppression. Also It is interesting how the Jewish community continues to practice their faith after dealing with thousands of years of oppression. Their culture and past is what brings the Native Americans and the Jewish community together. It creates a sense of pride, and creates unity, a unity of people that will go the extra mile to take a bullet for one another. Philbert Bono literally stopped whatever he was planning to do, and go break Buddy Red Bow’s sister out of jail.
Another factor of interest was seeing how mercenaries were affecting the Native American people. They were being forced to learn the catholic religion. The idea that the American people today are unaware of how they are suppressing the Native Americans from having the life they truly deserve.
Also a very impressive factor is how Native American continue to survive. They faced small pox, they were forced to live in areas where most people would die. They continue to adapt and become wiser.
It's interesting to note how Bono and Red Bow take such different stances in what they feel should be done to help their people.
ReplyDeleteBuddy believes that it is the discrimination of the Native Americans by restricting them to reservations and punishing them with corrupted laws are the factors which prevent them from ever achieving a higher quality of life. While Philbert believes that it is the fracturing of the Native American's cultural identity which ultimately becomes their undoing. One looks to the future and one looks to the past and the film does it part to show that both issues raised by the two men need to be addressed for any change to begin.
I think that persecution can harm a culture and a people on a variety of spiritual, psychological, and physical levels. I believe that each of these layers to a person's personality (and by extension a culture's personality) are interdependent on one another for a healthy, happy, and fulfilled existence.
ReplyDeleteThe strong sense of spirituality present in Jewish people is what enabled them to survive and recover from the atrocities of the Nazi holocaust without succumbing to fear of future religious persecution.
Native Americans as a culture share every ounce of this spiritual dedication and perseverance of their faith. Just because Native americans lack a set of scriptures and don't meet regularly in temples doesn't make them uncivilized or delusional in their beliefs. They are just as entitled to the practice and fulfillment of their beliefs.