Smoke Signals Movie

Smoke Signals is a movie that was filmed in several locations including the Couer d’Alene Indian Reservation in Idaho. Although the opening scene is set in 1976, the rest of the movie is fast forwarded to 1998. It is listed as a drama film / comedy, centers around life on an Indian reservation, and is rated PG. The film is put out by Miramax and was released on June 26, 1998. This movie is the first feature film written, directed, and co-produced by Native Americans. Producer and Director Chris Eyre is a descendant of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes and was “determined to eliminate humiliating stereotypical representations of Native Americans in film and television”. I appreciate the new perspective we get from this move and will

attempt to explain people, events, and social aspects of the movie with an anthropological perspective.
The synopsis of the story is that it is a movie about a trip taken by two friends (Victor and Thomas) who leave the reservation and travel to Phoenix, Arizona to retrieve the remains of Victor’s father, Arnold Joseph. Victor is an angry young man who has mixed feelings toward his dad. He was an unemployed man who had lived with the guilt over having caused the death of several people when he accidentally started a fire. These feelings are too much for him to handle and he eventually became an alcoholic and abandoned his family. Through the trip, the boys find a deeper friendship with each other and peace with the past. These main characters are played by Adam Beach, Evan Adams, and Gary Farmer, respectively. (complete cast listed in Appendix B)
The residents of the reservation all seem to have some level of genetic familiarity in that they are all a darker skin tone, have black course hair (which men and women all wear long) have brown eyes, and all appear to have a pretty basic body type of tall and skinny, with the one exception of Arnold. I would like to point out that at least two white men were also wearing a long hair pony tail, which could be more of a sign of the times, not a culture identity aspect. However, at one point, Victor does tell Thomas he must take his braids out and show his hair. He says that long hair is a part of their identity. When entering the community, the population sign says “varies” so there is no way of knowing how many people are living within the group, however, with the scarcity of homes that are in view when looking around the land, it seems that they are widely spread out, giving it the feel of a smaller population.
If this is the case, they would have a smaller gene pool, which would explain the similarity in all of their physical attributes. KREZ, the local radio station, is housed in an older mobile home. The announcer reports that a truck is coming by, then tells that now it’s gone; at the station the other announcer then adds “well folks, looks like another busy morning”. Then proceeds to announce a 4th of July Fireworks party at Matty and John-Builds-the-Fire’s house. Later the announcer also talks about the couple that drives past and appears to be fighting. These are things you could imagine would only be something you would hear in a very small community.
If the clothing of this group of individuals represents current day Indians, they seem to have come along the same fashion sense as the rest of the country their reservation lies in. The young men wear typical clothing for their age including jeans, shorts, t-shirts, and sneakers. The women also seem to be wearing what would be considered “American 20th century” styles including simple dresses, jeans, blouses, and sandals. There are some men and women who sport jewelry. There are also some differences in some of the locals who wear special additions to their outfits. For instance, Lester Fallsapart, the local radio announcer, adds a hat with feathers, and a special vest with his common jeans and shirt. These small additions are seen more in the older gentlemen. Thomas wears clothes that even his friends find “peculiar”. While sporting a suit as his everyday wear, he also keeps his long hair in two braids down the sides of his head. This could be from an Indian influence, but I am thinking it’s more from his grandmother’s. She was the one who raised him after he lost his parents in the fire.
The economy of the people appears to be at an even level amongst the members.

The area seems to have plenty of open plains for agriculture and horticulture. Although the only evidence shown of hunting was the deer meat that was served for dinner, it isn’t enough to confirm that hunting and gathering is a way of life for these citizens. Employment consists of a convenience store clerk, a radio announcer, and there is a tribal school so there are teachers and staff members to staff the school. Government employees aren’t shown except, perhaps, for Suzy Song who is a Hospital Administrator with Indian Health Services, yet she lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona, not on the reservation. Also, there is electricity, water, and Victor’s mom has a bank account so there are either these facilities within the reservation, or maybe they utilize American companies for these services. We do know that the majority of personal vehicles were older model trucks and the homes were either a one story detached home or a trailer. These observations, along with the small financial resources of Victor’s family, lends me to believe that life on the reservation is not a high economy. As a matter of fact, I heard the word “barter” referred to twice. The first time was when Thomas offered to give Victor the money for his trip. Victor wanted to know what he wanted in exchange. Surely, he said, there must be something given in return. There were also two girls willing to give the boys a ride

in their car. But, first, they had to give them something. Thomas was able to tell a story that entertained them enough to pay the fee. Later, when Victor thanks Thomas for the money for the trip, Thomas replies “It’s nothing. I mean, who needs money on the res anyways?”
According to Dictionary.com a government is “the governing body of persons in a state, community, etc.; administration that coordinates direction, control, management, and rule.” One way to see evidence of this type of system would be to look for community resources. The only time I thought I saw this was after the fire when there was a fire engine sitting in the background. However, since there were no firemen walking around, I was left wondering if it had been manned by volunteers.
Finding other evidence of a unified government was a difficult task.

One thing that stood out to me was an instance when I wondered who was in charge. When Suzy Song called to inform the family of Arnold’s passing she makes the comment that she was “making the arrangements” for the deceased, but that someone should come and retrieve his belongings. This made me wonder how a non-family member was able to make such decisions. As far as I know the authorities have to contact and release remains to a family member, so it got me to thinking if the Indians’ culture was different, in that such matters were allowed to be taken care of by a friend. If this were true, the type of government system they have set up is totally different from that of the United States. When Arlene makes Victor promise to come back after retrieving his father’s remains, he asks if he needs to sign something as a promise and she refuses, insinuating that Indians don’t like to sign papers. It all left me wondering what types of community resources the people had, or didn’t have. It also gives rise to questions as to whether there was a form of government, and if so, how basic or detailed it

was.