Film still from “Red Power: Standing Rock, Part II.” Photo by Christopher Yapp.
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute and the Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Program looked with sadness and dismay at yesterday’s White House ceremony meant to commemorate the unprecedented contributions of America’s Navajo Code Talkers. The event unfolded in a disrespectful tone that bears attention.
The hundreds of Native American Code Talkers who served in World War I and II deserve our undying gratitude and respect, and today we offer that to them and all veterans from the far reaches of America, including Indian Country, where Native people have served this country in every war in its history.
The art of storytelling in the Native community is a treasure with deep roots on our land. Far too often, the rich and thought provoking perspectives inherent in our peoples’ stories go untold. They are stories with the power to enrich the cultural soul of the nation in ways not found anywhere else. This is precisely why misusing the important platform of a White House honor is so unfortunate.
To set this particular podium, on this particular day, for this particular ceremony in front of a portrait of Andrew Jackson was an egregious and thoughtless act. Jackson — known as “Indian Killer” — signed the 1830 Indian Removal Act forcibly removing 46,000 Native people from their homelands to territories west of the Mississippi. Thousands died along what became known as the “Trail of Tears.” Similarly, President Trump’s use of the name of Pocahontas in a derogatory manner in relation to a political rival further drained any dignity left to this purported national honor.
All of us can learn a lot from the legacy of Pocahontas. As the National Congress of American Indians noted, “…We honor the contributions of Pocahontas, a hero to her people, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe in Virginia, who reached across uncertain boundaries and brought people together.”
In the spirit of bringing people together through Native storytelling, we encourage you to watch Indigenous filmmaker Michelle Latimer’s (Metis/Algonquin) Red Power: Standing Rock, Part II, an official selection from the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
