Introduction
Since ancient times, minority groups in many parts of the world have faced some form of stereotyping. In the United States, minority groups such as Native Americans (American Indians), Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Hispanics, African Americans among other people of mixed races have faced severe stereotyping. American theater and media have exemplified the stereotyping (Thomson, 14). The film Smoke Signals was written, directed, produced and acted entirely by Native Americans. In the film, Victor Joseph (Adam Beach) is a young man living with another young man Thomas (Evan Adams) whom Victor’s father-Arnold rescued from a fire when he was an infant (Eyre). The story is rife with stereotyping of temperaments and cultural issues among Native Americans. The several instances that can be construed to mean stereotyping of Native Americans has been disapproved by modern statistics which show that those people are progressive and that the instances of alcoholism and negative attributes given to them are due to economic and racial discrimination.
The title of the film Smoke Signal is in itself a stereotypic representation of Native Americans. Old cartoons depict Native Americans clad in blankets sending “smoke signals” as a way of communication between villages in times of distress (Hawkins, 51). Thompson asserts that the mental image that many people have when Native Americans are mentioned is that of a group of seemingly cold-stricken individuals huddled together clad in blankets while huge smoke billows nearby! (23). At the beginning of the film, a huge fire generates smoke that reaches the skies and this perfectly sets the stereotypic image of Native Americans (Eyre). Victor and Thomas are about to mature into manhood and the fact that they struggle to communicate with each other is being metaphorically brought out through the common place stereotype of “smoke signals”.
Native Americans are stereotyped as alcoholics. The film portrays Arnold as an irresponsible alcoholic who abandoned his family many years ago. When he dies, in Arizona, where he had been living, Victor and Thomas go to search for his ashes (Eyre). The two young men discover that Arnold was a total drunk as earlier depicted. In many films, Pitre notes that almost all Native Americans are depicted as alcoholics (32). This stereotyping has been debunked in several studies. A study published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), in 2003 showed that white men are more likely to drink alcohol on a daily basis, drive under the influence of alcohol and start drinking at a younger age as compared to any other demographic group in the US (Thompson, 34)
The research by NIAAA showed that the alcoholism that is said to exist within the Native American culture is closely linked to the demographic group’s racial discrimination and economic disadvantages (Hawkins, 52). This stereotyping can be overcome when theater and media conducts researches and presents the actual harsh living conditions of Native Americans which probably compelled some men though not all to engage in drinking (Pitre, 38). In other words, the harsh economic conditions and racial discrimination are the overriding factor that could have compelled Native Americans to imbibe.
Native Americans are also depicted as lazy. Arnold is said to be a drunkard who never cared for his family and one who abandoned them. This depiction has a lacing of laziness on the part of Arnold. When Thomas and Victor find their late father’s friend Suzie Long (Irene Bedard) she tells them of the motivations that led Arnold to become an alcoholic, become abusive and leave the family (Eyre). Arnold was a hardworking man whose hard work was never rewarded by his masters and he and his fellow Native Americans were sidelined economically and treated badly. This led him to become reluctant to leaving a meaningful life and working hard to fend for his family.
The American standard for telling whether one is hardworking or lazy is premised on education, goals or work ethics. People who lack education such as Native Americans are likely to be branded as lazy. The stereotyping of Native Americans as lazy should be weighed against current standards and statistics. 77% of Native Americans have a high school degree. Sometimes back only 13% had a bachelor’s degree but this percentage has doubled within the last ten years (Rideway). More than 78% of those with bachelor’s degrees work in the demanding fields of engineering and science. These among many other statistics point to the fact that Native Americans are not lazy people as depicted in the film Smoke Signals.
There is the stereotype that Native Americans live on reservations. In the film Smoke Signals Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-the-Fire live on the Coeur D’Alene Indian Reservation in Idaho (Eyre). In many other films Native Americans are shown to live on reservations but this is not true in reality. As of 2010 there were 324 federally recognized reservations in the US and only 22% of Native Americans live on them (Ridgeway). Again this stereotyping can be overcome by having people and especially movie makers get their facts and assertions right before they peddle issues that have been overtaken by time (Thompson, 67). Researches through government department information, private institutions and other agencies have a lot of information on different demographic groups and this can help to greatly reduce stereotyping.
The film also depicts the characters that are stereotypes of the transformation of Native Americans. Victor is a refined, handsome, tall, athletic and athletic unlike his adopted brother Thomas who is a skinny bookworm who wore horn-rimmed glasses and is always pestering those around him (Eyre). This portrayal of Thomas is stereotypical of Native Indians who are portrayed as ignorant and uncivilized (Doll). The interaction between Thomas and Victor brings out subtle stereotypes such as music choice among Native Americans. In one instance Victor cynically asks the naïve Thomas about how many times he has seen Dance with the Wolves (1990). The characters also make use of a popular line from Little Big Man (1970): “It’s a good day to die” (Eyre). In one instance when Victor comes from the gym he states, “Sometimes it is a good day to die; sometimes it’s a good day to play basketball”. In yet another instance, Arlene jokes “sometimes it’s a good day to have breakfast” while a disc jockey says, “it’s a good day to be indigenous” as such there is the stereotypic tussle between “civilized” Americans and the Native Americans. This kind of stereotyping can be overcome by increased multiculturalism brought about by cross-cultural marriages, migrations and globalization which causes people to be less attached to their indigenous culture. The more people embrace other cultures, the more this kind of stereotyping is decimated.
The film also stereotypes Native Americans as having special attachment to certain cultural aspects in music and leisure. This is perfectly brought out in through Thomas who loved storytelling (Eyre). His contradiction with Victor brings out the stereotypic presentation of Native Americans as warriors and shamans-(people who act as mediums between the spirit and the visible world). Victor is presented as the warrior- through his athleticism, handsome physique and short temperedness. Thomas is the shaman through his ability to transform real-life events from the past into pleasant stories and myths. Thomas does this with as much ease as Shamans are made to achieve through parables. The warrior and shaman stereotyping is however in sharp contrast with the current culture of the two young men. They live and practice popular American culture where they play basketball, reference to pop culture and eat fast foods among other contemporary culture issues. The more people live and practice modern contemporary cultures, the more the stereotyping of Native Americans and other minority groups will decline (Hawkins, 53).
The film Smoke Signal also plays into the stereotypic presentation of Native Americans as people who love to be natural and are ethnocentric. When the bus in which they were travelling stops, Victor made Thomas change his hair style from the two neatly twisted braids to the more “natural” long flowing unbraided hair. Victor also coerces Thomas to change from a suit into a t-shirt seemingly because the t-shirt looked more natural. Earlier Victor had noted that Thomas smiled too much and that he should look more Indian. He urges Thomas to “keep stoiclook mean, like you have just got back from killing a buffalo” (Eyre). These instances present the perfect stereotypic depiction of Native Indians as people as mean, aggressive people who were very much in touch with nature.
In general Native Americans are associated with wisdom and spirituality that helps them to live happily. This depiction is perfectly brought out in the film by Thomas who is a jovial, talkative fellow who loved storytelling. He also loved to read and is shown to be generally wise in terms of his decisions and interactions with Victor. He for instance had saved himself some money and blackmailed Victor into going along with him although Victor was against the idea (Eyre). This is stereotyping because not all Native Americans are wise as is the case with Arnold who instead of sticking to his family chose to run away and leave the young boys behind.
Conclusion
In all it is clear that the film Smoke Signal is laden with stereotyping of Native Americans. While some are positive attributes such as happiness, wisdom and harmonious living, other depictions are negative such as alcoholism and family negligence. All these stereotypes can either be explained by the socio-economic and racial discrimination of the Native Americana in ancient times. All these stereotypes can be overcome if filmmakers and the entire media based their presentations on updated information about demographic groups. Moreover, increased multiculturalism and globalization will gradually reduce the stereotypes and enhance harmonious interactions in the society.
Works Cited
Doll, Susan. "Smoke Signals." Turner Classic Movies. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/296716%7C296738/Smoke-Signals.html>.
Hawkins, Jeffrey. "Smoke Signals, Sitting Bulls, And Slot Machines: A New Stereotype Of Native Americans?."Multicultural Perspectives 7.3 (2005): 51-54. Print.
Pitre, Albertaeve Songbird Santiago. An evaluation of the depiction of Native Americans in children's literature published in the 1950s. NY: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2005. Print.
Signal smoke. Dir. Chris Eyre. Perf. Adam Beach, Evan Adams. Stivers Publishing, 2006. DVD.
Thompson, William Norman. Native American issues: a reference handbook. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Print.
Ridgeway, Shannon. "Common Native American Stereotypes Debunked."Everyday Feminism. N.p., 21 June 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://everydayfeminism.com/2013/06/common-native-american-stereotypes-debunked/>.
