Leif McLellan

Period 3 Benolkin

6/1/10

Smoke Signals Analysis

Native Americans have always been a repressed minority in American society.

Not until the last half of the twentieth century have they made modest attempts to regain

their land and revive their culture. Smoke Signals is an excellent example of how Native

Americans feel about their lives, as well as the way the writer (Sherman Alexie) and

director (Chris Eyre) feel that the Native American cultures should be headed. In the film,

the ideas that Indian values are important and Native Americans should remember their

past are presented. Also, Smoke Signals give a clear picture of the many hardships Native

Americans face presently.

One theme of Smoke Signals is that the Native American cultural values can and

should be preserved, even if that means integrating with white society. The main symbol

of this preservation of culture is portrayed by the character Thomas. Thomas had a

special talent for listening. This listening helped him pass on his culture. Throughout the

film, he showed examples of this, such as when he used oral tradition to barter for a car

ride, even though his stories were not about something as nontraditional as a breakfast at

Denny's. He was pressured by his friend Victor to "lose the suit" and "look like a

warrior." In other words, cast off the white mans' ways. Doing those things, however, did

not help him. He was unable to use his "warrior face" to move two white men that had

taken their bus seats, nor was he able to become friends with a gymnast he met on the
bus. Thomas was able, however, to use oral tradition and his listening skills to show

Victor who he really was as a person and a Native American.

Another theme of Smoke Signals is that the past is important to remember. Chris

Eyre most likely chose to direct this film because he himself set out to learn about his

Native American heritage as a young man. In the film, we see the emphasis Native

Americans have of the past through the amount of flashbacks the main character, Victor,

has and his struggle with his own past. He was told by his abusive father that people

could not be trusted, just as Native Americans in history learned not to trust the white

men. This is satirically referenced when Victor's mom said, "you know how Indians feel

about signing papers." In the end, Victor had to come to grips with his past and he had to

accept the fact that his father really did love him. The film ends with the provocative

question: "do we forgive our fathers for their excesses of rage" and "if we forgive our

fathers, what is left?" Here the writer shows how modern Native Americans are at a

crossroads. They must figure out how to look back on the past and forgive the wrongs

that have been done to them and at the same time, move forward as a people.

One thing that the director and writer were good at illustrating in Smoke Signals

was the hardships that Native Americans face. Sherman Alexie, being a Coeur d'Alene

Indian himself, can tell from experience the adversity they faced. Alcoholism was one

clear problem in the film, considering how alcohol made Victor's father an abusive

parent. From that stemmed a major conflict in the film. Poverty, which is often a major

cause of alcoholism, and is what Alexie tried to escape, can also be seen on the

reservation by the houses they lived in and by the fact that Victor's mom only had forty

dollars to her name. The prejudice Native Americans face was also illustrated in Smoke
Signals. A police man used the derogatory term "injun" when questioning Victor and

Thomas and he clearly wanted to arrest them, but had no hard evidence to do so. Victor

and Thomas also faced prejudice when two white men stole their bus seat and refused to

give it up because they were Native American. They were told to "go have a powwow

somewhere else."

Smoke signals makes three important statements about the Native American life.

It shows how Indian culture is worth preserving, they should move ahead but also

remember the past, and how Native Americans face poverty and discrimination. This

film reflects where the native peoples of America have been, and where they are headed.