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

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

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