Rogers: Powwow Highway and Saint Marie

This is a picture of one of the warriors at the 71-day Siege at Wounded-Knee in 1973 that Buddy Red Bow and his friend Wolf Tooth mention that they were a part of.

Buddy Red Bow, Philbert Bono and Marie all have one thing in common: staunch determination. Buddy Red Bow represents a sort of new age man-about-town type. He plays a mean game of pool, curses fluently, has a good rapport with everybody on the Cheyenne Reservation and seems to hold a lot of sway over the council in the beginning of the film where the rudiments of the plot are spelled out. An Indian representative, (Sandy Youngblood) from a big mining company, is eager to drain the ore resources on the reservation even further, promising jobs and recompense. It is in this scene that Red Bow's strong character traits are illustrated. He is shown to be both engaged in his community but also bitter and tired of fighting "the man" for the rights to the land that his ancestors have traditionally owned but who are now seen only as impediments to "progress". Economically, even though Red Bow seems to be an upstanding member of the Reservation, he cannot even afford to bail his sister out of jail and must approach the Cheyenne Chief Joseph for bail money. Also, he must rely on Philbert's ridiculous "pony" for transport to Santa Fe since he does not even own a car. Red Bow, a Wounded-Knee veteran with a "warrior" necklace to prove his valor in battle, feels betrayed by the country that is really his ancient birthright. On several occasions in the film, his anger boils over and he commits acts of violence. First in the radio store when he thinks that he is being duped by the patronizing store-manager and then again when he knocks Sandy Youngblood out at the bar in Santa Fe. Red Bow's determination to save the sister he hasn't heard from in a decade is more than admirable and though there is never any resolution regarding the mining venture on the reservation, it is pretty clear that the failed attempt to frame Bonnie Red Bow marks the mining company's failed attempt to sway the reservation council.

Philbert Bono is my favorite character in "Powwow Highway." He is the kind of person/character whose goodness shines through his otherwise imposing figure. Although he is not a warrior, he is perhaps even more connected spiritually to his Cheyenne heritage then his best friend, Buddy Red Bow. He speaks the language and knows the stories. And he is determined to win for himself the coveted label of warrior. To some viewers, some of his actions might seem trivial and somewhat silly; he leaves a Hershey chocolate bar as tribute when he climbs the sacred mountain. But the power with which he is imbued as he comes down off of the mountain is not at all silly, but very powerful. Heretofore, this hulking giant of a man had let himself be pushed around, never reacting with more then a bashful grin or sad frown. But when Red Bow lays a hand on him in anger, Philbert roars, "Nobody pushes me no more!" and shoves him away. This is a very powerful moment in which Philbert, intoxicated by his spiritual journey, takes control of himself and his destiny. Throughout the film there is a power struggle going on between Philbert and Buddy, not the usual power struggle between two men, but a struggle of the spirit. Philbert is very in touch with the spiritual aspects of his culture while Red Bow, who really is an actual warrior, does not appreciate the continuation of traditions that Philbert thinks are so important for the proliferation of the Cheyenne culture.

Marie, from Louise Edrich's "Saint Marie" is a different animal altogether, although she is fighting the same fight against different oppressors. Headstrong and willful, Marie does not want to be broken, but as we learned in this week's notes, too many Native American children were. The Catholic church, allowed and encouraged by the U.S., raided Indian reservations searching out young children to bring up the Christian way, so as to avoid what they thought was a certain hell-sentence, not to mention bringing up a cheap, ignorant, work-force. It is clear that Marie craves what she thinks will be a better life in the convent. She craves companionship, perhaps, as we are told that her infrequent trips into town are what she lives for. But the terrifying Sister Leopolda, representing the oppression of the Church, means to cleanse and scrub every last bit of the devil out of Marie, that last bit being her Indian blood which makes her prone to "darkness." She inflicts mental torture on Marie by locking her in the closet, only letting her out when she begins to scream. She also physically tortures her, getting some sort of sadistic pleasure out of pouring scalding water onto her back. But Marie is determined that she will not be cowed by the nun and fights back. Marie gets the upper-hand on Leopolda. Having inflicted stigmata-esque wounds on Marie, Sister Leopolda is then forced to pay homage to her as she would a saint.

One part of this week's film really stuck out to me as an illustration of oppression and the social genocide of the Native American people. Bonnie Red Bow's children profess ignorance even of the name of their tribe. Their mother, who looks to be a full-blooded Cheyenne, has not even brought them up with the knowledge of their own tribal name. This is truly the best example in this week's media of the genocide of the culture of the American Indian's by the U.S.