I carry many moments from this year's Traverse City Film Festival. Among the treasured is Sunday at the State Theatre before, during and after "Miss Navajo."
Produced and directed by Billy Luther, it is a documentary about a Navajo beauty pageant where contestants are required to know Navajo stories, language, history, government, how to shear a sheep and even butcher one. Luther follows six young American Indian women in the 2005 pageant, focusing on a woman named Crystal.
Sponsored by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the film was a gift for me from the moment band members drummed outside the State Theatre as we stood in line. Once inside, festival founder Michael Moore talked about the importance of Native American filmmakers and the stories they had to tell in a nation "founded on genocide and built on slavery."
The documentary explains and refuses to hide the past, but it also brims with humor and sweetness. It honors and respects the rich contributions the First People make to American culture, history and heritage. It takes viewers into the big-sky, desert beauty of the American Southwest, Navajo Nation and Denny's restaurant-hotel where the contestants stayed and the pageant was held. Hopefully, it helps heal a deep and painful national wound.
I cried when an early Miss Navajo, maybe my age or younger, broke down in a film interview as she recalled the day as a little girl she was pulled from her weeping grandmother and taken far away to a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school. There, she was forced to speak English and punished if she did not. Like many Indian children in the last century, she was stripped of family, culture and spiritual belief in the name of "assimilation," a U.S. government euphemism for the near destruction of native families.
Stories are powerful. They can open minds and hearts, bring understanding and compassion, show us the generational effects of war, racism, hatred, love repression and government policies. Or they can dull, harden and desensitize via the steady stream of sex, violence, inane sitcoms and talking heads that trivialize, numb, ridicule and rob souls in the American wasteland we call TV.
Luther received a standing ovation for his work, his first, he said. The son of a former Miss Navajo, he dedicated the film to his mother and grandmother because they believed in him and the importance of the story he had to tell.
I am grateful to him for the film, to the Grand Traverse Band and film festival for showing it, Rotary Charities for giving the festival a home at the State and to the hundreds of volunteers who make the festival possible.
Reach Loraine Anderson by e-mailing landerson@record-eagle.com.
Life
Related Photos
The gift of "Miss Navajo"
'Miss Navajo' is a gift to all of us
-
-
Foodie With Family: Feeding joy
The other day, after a protracted conversation about food, my little brother observed that my purpose in life is to make people hungry. As a food writer, there is something to that, but that's not the whole story ... I also feed them.
Continued ... -
Seafood, chocolate are tastes of love
Warm and creamy, au gratin are perfect for a cold winter night. And what better way to say "I love you" than with a little indulgence of seafood and cream.
Continued ... -
Recipe of the Week: Maurice Salad
Mary Smith, of Bellaire, trades recipes with friends, several of whom like this one. The salad was served at Hudson's in downtown Detroit and Smith said she copied it from the Detroit Free Press at least 25 years ago.
Continued ... -
Cooks Corner: Sales help Leelanau Trail
L. Mawby Vineyards has created a special label to benefit the Leelanau Trail Paving Campaign. Plus, more food news from around the region.
Continued ... -
Healthy Cooking: Surf and Turf Cobbler
If you're looking for a romantic Valentine's Day gift that's truly from the heart, why not give the best gift of all — a mouth-watering, healthy meal you make yourself?
Continued ... -
On Deadline: Handmade chocolates
Attempting to make chocolate bonbons from scratch is enough to test anyone's love. I was convinced there had to be an easier way. So I started playing. The result is this ridiculously simple — yet outrageously delicious.
Continued ... -
Amish Cook: Warmth helps stove breaks
The sun is shining and it almost seems like spring with the unusual warmth we are experiencing.
Continued ... - Monday, February 6, 2012
-
Students get wired for work
Students in the TBA-ISD Career Tech Center electrical occupation program had the opportunity to put their knowledge to the test Friday when they participated in a Skills USA competition.
Continued ... -
'Guys and Dolls' center stage at TCSF
Bringing the high jinks and scheming of Nathan Detroit and Sky Masterson to the stage, St. Francis High School presents "Guys and Dolls" for six shows starting Friday.
Continued ... -
Garret Leiva: This could change your life
We live in a world where schemers, dreamers and spammers stuff our email inbox with can’t-miss deals and Nigerian bank windfalls. I, for one, can earn $50,000 in the next 90 days or enter to win a free iPad2. The best part is these wishful dreams can come true without any effort.
Continued ... -
News from 100 Years Ago: 02/06/2012
-
Historical Photo: 02/06/2012
Who are these two guys, and do you know why they are wearing aprons?
Continued ... -
Community in Brief: 02/06/2012
Benefit for winter events in Frankfort; MS support group hosts guest speaker; Tips to attract birds to winter feeders; and more
Continued ... -
I'll use my words to explore
It is a funny thing, being a creative writer. I wanted to show my talent and illustrate exactly my love for the art of words in my essay. Alas, it was too long; clever, but long.
Continued ... -
Required reading changes relationships
First off, I am an avid reader. It is unusual that a book like "The Hunger Games" slipped under my radar for so long; I only had the opportunity to read it in my Science Fiction class as a required book.
Continued ... -
Despite backgrounds, I feel a connection
I stayed up almost past 1 a.m. in my room all alone, on a school night, flipping as fast as I could through the pages of "The Hunger Games," because I couldn't stand falling asleep without knowing how Katniss and Peeta escape the trap the Capitol set up for them.
Continued ... -
Genre crosses cultural lines
I have never been into science fiction; in fact, I have never read a book, nor watched a movie within this genre. I have never really figured out why people would want to make up things way out of our reality, and enjoy it.
Continued ... -
Looking for writers, photographers
Generation Why is looking for writing and photography from high school students in the five-county Record-Eagle coverage area.
Continued ... - Sunday, February 5, 2012
-
New cultural center plans to teach, celebrate
The Northern Michigan Cultural Center launched in November and kicked off its programming Jan. 28 with a Chinese New Year open house. It will sponsor a Chinese New Year Lantern Festival from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6, at the Open Space.
Continued ... -
Northern People: Learn about fish playing
Do you know a walleye from a sunfish? A salmon from a trout? By the time you play "Fishing Camp," you'll have a better idea.
Continued ... -
Northern People: Hay in Texas in nick of time
Hay donated by Dick Olds of Olds' Paradise Farms in Kingsley arrived at Rick Petersen's farm in the northeast Texas town of Wills Point in the nick of time.
Continued ... -
On Poetry: Knitting, like love, has a fringe
Even if this winter's been mild, we've had plenty of chances to appreciate our knitted scarves, shawls, and sweaters. I think the hand-knitted ones are the warmest, holding all that personal care and attention in their fibers.
Continued ... -
Reflections: Images on the pond
With the cat asleep on my lap, I stared at the flames dancing in the fireplace and my mind drifted back to a long-ago summer afternoon spent with my father.
Continued ... -
Books/Travel in Brief: 02/05/2012
TC native wins six Hopwood Awards; Fleda Brown giving talk in Central Lake; Workshops, party at Kingsley library; Champagne and chocolate for library; Dunes Review winter edition out.
Continued ... -
Marriages: 02/05/2012
Marriage applications filed with the county clerk.
Continued ...
-
Osama Bin Laden Zombie Movie: "Osombie" Teaser Released
Thomas' moratorium: 'I'm out, peace'
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
NASCAR Drive for Diversity
VS Model Quits Over Religion
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week 2012
Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman
Khloe Kardashian Responds to O.J. Rumors
SportsTalk Live: Most hated athletes - 2/8
Louis Vuitton Condoms?!
Tiger Woods 13: Legacy mode
Michelle Obama vs. Jimmy Fallon
Buffalo Barges Into Car
Video of Ga. Man Who Killed Girl Released
Has Iceland’s Nessie shown itself?
Brady-ing is Latest Internet Meme
Beyonce Is Sexy in Sequins
Mo. Teen Gets Life Sentence for Killing Girl, 9
Zip-Lining Man Slams Into Tree
