Raymond: Marie & POW POW Highway

Reading St. Marie and watching Pow Pow Highway, made me realize how miss informed or uneducated about the genocide of American Indians. Then once I actually thought more about it, humans try and over take anything they can to be the hero or become rich. If Jews and African Americans are sought out to be eliminated or made to be slaves, then what makes Indians an acceptation? It is really ashame that all heritages who deal with genocide are not talked about more often.
Pow Pow Highway, I thought was an exellent way of way of exploring, the Indian genocide with the character of Gilbert. Gilbert made his life more authentic Indian like, one example is he used his car as his pony. We all know Indian warriors rode horses, in battle. In his eyes he really thought of himself as an American Indian just using modern items. We see this when he first purchase the car. He looks at the window and we first see and viewers horse running widely. The only thing that Gilbert says to the man, it “what about that brown one”. Next Gilbert pays the man and is outside getting in his pony (car). Red Bow one the other hand, was very angry with what was happening on his land and became more so when his long lost sister was arrested. He knew that they had only arrested her, because she was Indian. That there was no way she really had drugs on her. The police and other authorities at this time were known for stereotyping against all Indians. He is also disappointed in his friend for fleeing to Denver, to escape the harsh reality of the land takeover. Red Bow feels that his friend is abandoning his home land, and not trying to stay and stand their ground. Many of the Indians took this same approach, because they had families and wives to look after. It wasn’t worth losing their lives, to Red Bow this was everything their heritage stood for. They should stay and fight for what was theirs first. This film did end with the fugitives getting away from the police and for now being saved. Even though the fight is still there on their land, this group was ready to use their heritage to save the land.
St. Marie takes the approach of abusing young Indian children forced to attend their schools. The nuns knew they would be able to try and control the young children, because no one else would be there to protect them. Sr. Leopolda, is trying the whole story to abuse and hurt poor Marie. In the being she thinks the devil is actually inside of her. Nuns labeling the children and as being part of the devil, due to their exterior characteristics, is unbelievable and hard to understand. She was a nun and a part of God, but yet had no reservation to hurting and tormenting. This is the total opposite of what we learn as Catholics to accept all. It was very hard for me to listen and imagine Sr. Leopolda pouring hot water down Marie’s back. Marie tried very hard to please and she actually thought she wanted to be like Sr. Leopolda. Why would she want to be like a person filled with such hatred towards human life? The young girl was trying to fit in and actually made herself think she was white, like the nuns. Just like we had seen several times before in the Holocaust films, people denying their own identities just to make it or fit in.