CricketHill

I just thought I would ask who would be watching tonight's second installment of "Into the West"? I will be watching to see what else happens in this series.

WhoMe

CricketH,

I was really disappointed with the first series.

I couldn't tell the difference in clothing from the Lakotas and Mohaves! Dang does Hollywood think we all looked alike?

Also I hate it that all the Indians in the background are all "Stoic." Why doesn't Steven Spielberg let Indians be normal? Indians DO have languages and we don't Hoop and Hollar all the time in order to communicate.

The first series also had the "Drunk Indians Mentality." Remember "Maricopa?" I heard it continues throughout the other parts of the series. There are too many other positive aspects of historical culture to highlight. This only continues the the message to the American Public that "Indians = alcoholics."

I do like the idea of using real Indian talent for this production. I just wished they also used Indian talent in the writing of the scenes and historical research. It is a little too much slanted in making the Wheelers the heros of Manifest Destiny and the Indians as "sell outs." (ie. their women, their culture, their family relationships etc.)


This is certainly NOT the way I want the public to perceive my culture.

__________________
"Today, recognizing and respecting the origins of powwow aids in our Cultural Survival. If enough people break the rules because they are not satisfied...."We will have no culture."

WhoMe

injunboy

there is a talented young navajo named kansas k begay that is in the series. i bet two good sheep and one donkey that she is a future Miss Iindian World. so watch out for her.

__________________
thanks dad for showing me the way, teaching me the language, and not leaving my mother...*L*

*original XXL *

jus like McSteamie

WhoMe

injun,

Hollywood has a very familiar way of making something potentially positive... negative.

In the first series, Thunder Heart Woman (played by Tonantzin Carmelo) and all the other pretty Mohave women "give it up to da' man." (And I'm not talking about Indian men).

I hope your friend Kansas doesn't have to compromise her standards to meet Hollywood's expectations.

Yes, there is a lot of "eye candy" of Indian actors and actresses. See: http://alt.tnt.tv/itw/#

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That is not to excuse the bad treatment of the Indian extras:

TV Week: Indians cite mistreatment on 'West'
Monday, June 13, 2005

"Some of the Native Americans who worked on TNT's 12-hour miniseries "Into the West" allege they faced harsh working conditions and were frequently underpaid, and that the production violated child labor laws.

The charges emerged from numerous interviews with Native American extras and crew members. Many of the background performers drove across the country to participate in a miniseries executive produced by Steven Spielberg and dramatizing their cultural history, only to be overworked and undercompensated, sources said.

'They weren't being abused, but they were being undermined, under- paid and being taken advantage of,' said one casting department crew member and cultural liaison who quit in protest over the extras' working conditions.

In response to TelevisionWeek's questions about the allegations, TNT and DreamWorks issued a joint statement: "'Into the West' employed more than a thousand film professionals and the production treated everyone with care, respect and concern for their well-being. We take these specific complaints seriously and will look into them immediately.'"

Get the Story:
Unrest in the West (TV Week 6/13)


.... my niece was one who witnessed many incidents of mistreatment of Indian children and elders on the set of "Into the West."

When asked to come back, she said "No way! Not after the way you treat our people like dogs."

__________________
"Today, recognizing and respecting the origins of powwow aids in our Cultural Survival. If enough people break the rules because they are not satisfied...."We will have no culture."

WhoMe