Duvasana Bisoondial | Staff Writer
As Native American Heritage Month comes to an end, we turn to a comedy-drama film praised for its authenticity and representation of Native American culture.
“Smoke Signals” combines modern-day situations with Native American ideals, tackling tropes of death, alcoholism, domestic abuse and more.
Directed by Chris Eyre, the movie takes place at the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation in Idaho and follows the lives of Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams) and Victor Joseph (Adam Beach). 22 years earlier, Thomas’ parents died in a house fire on July 4, 1976 while Thomas was rescued by Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), Victor’s father.
The film then skips to 1998, where the death of Arnold—seen as a deadbeat dad by Victor and as an heroic father figure by Victor’s sometimes-sidekick Thomas—spurs the two young men to set off from the reservation on a road trip across the American West to Arnold’s Arizona home.
Prior to “Smoke Signals”, the only other Native American movie I watched was Disney’s “Pocahontas”, which has been constantly criticized for not including an accurate depiction of the Powhatan tribe and the historical events that took place. However, this was my first time watching a film directed by a Native American and starring Native Americans instead of Hollywood actors.
The acting itself was solid, keeping me hooked in every scene. I especially loved the character, Arnold, who was so flawed while dealing with his own emotional turmoil that Thomas and Victor had different interpretations of him based on their own experiences.
However, I wished we could have had more exposition on certain background characters to give us more of a thorough storyline.
For example, we don’t really know anything about Thomas’ parents, who died at the beginning of the movie in a house fire; I felt no emotional attachment to them compared to my reaction to Arnold’s death and circumstances.
I wished we could have seen more of Thomas’ relationship with Arnold. The context we get comes from Thomas’ stories, but I hoped to see scenes about their time together, even if it was just a one-sided interaction. This way, the audience could see the stark difference in how Thomas viewed Arnold compared to Victor’s experiences with him.
Through “Smoke Signals”, Eyre breaks the stigmas associated with Native Americans through comedic humor in the script. The film constantly makes fun of the stereotype about Native men looking stoic and like warriors that just killed a buffalo, a label based on how the Americans interpreted the lives of Native Americans.
During their road trip, Thomas and Victor personally develop throughout the film, and also spend a good amount of time overcoming their own internalized cultural stereotypes.
Eyre’s direction signals a shift in Native American media, especially in artistic production.
Most would assume that “Smoke Signals” is an indie film directed by a man with barely any experience or casting regular Native people to make the movie seem natural.
However, Eyre is a film school-trained director, while Sherman Alexie is a media-fluent literary star writer who wrote the screenplay.
The level of experience in “Smoke Signals”, especially found with the three main actors, exceeded the expectations set on a Native American-made movie.
Eyre and his team also proved that American Indians are capable of creating relatable and successful media for the masses without changing or adapting their culture to suit others.
“Smoke Signals” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998, where it won the Audience Award and the Filmmaker’s Trophy for Eyre. That year, the film won 12 other accolades, including Best Newcomer for Eyre and Alexie at the Florida Film Critics Circle Awards.
“Smoke Signals” set the groundwork for revolutionary films that mix modern issues with Native American culture, debunking stereotypes that constantly overshadow the identities of Native Americans.
I hope this film continues to inspire other Native American filmmakers to venture out of their comfort zone and adapt with the times.
8.5/10
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