Smoke Signals begins with two young men catching a commercial bus from the Coeur d' Alene Indian Reservation in Idaho to Phoenix Arizona. They are walking along a road on the reservation when a car with two Indian girls is approaching them going in reverse. The girls know the protagonists,Thomas and Victor, so they stop and pick up the two and drive them to the main road where they can catch their bus. The girls are laughing as they drive backwards up the road. The girl driving the Chevy backwards has turned sideways in the front seat looking out the rear window with one hand on the steering wheel steering the car.
White people watching this movie probably think this is just a bizzare twist in a comedic movie. On the other hand, every Native American living on The Res watching knows this Indian car can only be driven backwards because it is locked up in reverse gear. The car can't be driven in a forward direction. The car in some way is a symbol of reservation life.
That is what it means to be poor. As a friend of mine from The Pine Ridge Reservation once remarked, "It's hard to be an Indian."
That is what this movie is about but the story is told in a humerous way.
It is for some aficionados a cult classic. For myself the Coeur d' Alene Indian Thomas is an unforgetable character. Adam Beach (Windtalkers) probably got his professional start in this film. He is quite a bit younger as the main character Victor.
Smoke Signals begins with two young men catching a commercial bus from the Coeur d' Alene Indian Reservation in Idaho to Phoenix Arizona. They are walking along a road on the reservation when a car with two Indian girls is approaching them going in reverse. The girls know the protagonists,Thomas and Victor, so they stop and pick up the two and drive them to the main road where they can catch their bus. The girls are laughing as they drive backwards up the road. The girl driving the Chevy backwards has turned sideways in the front seat looking out the rear window with one hand on the steering wheel steering the car.
White people watching this movie probably think this is just a bizzare twist in a comedic movie. On the other hand, every Native American living on The Res watching knows this Indian car can only be driven backwards because it is locked up in reverse gear. The car can't be driven in a forward direction. The car in some way is a symbol of reservation life.
That is what it means to be poor. As a friend of mine from The Pine Ridge Reservation once remarked, "It's hard to be an Indian."
That is what this movie is about but the story is told in a humerous way.
It is for some aficionados a cult classic. For myself the Coeur d' Alene Indian Thomas is an unforgetable character. Adam Beach (Windtalkers) probably got his professional start in this film. He is quite a bit younger as the main character Victor.