November 27, 2006

Another Oprah screw-up

Tim Giago:  Mainstream media lacking in accuracyIn reconstructing the infamous Long Walk of the Navajo to their incarceration at Fort Sumner, Oprah’s narrator told of how many Navajo died on that long march. But, of course, the narrative would not be as effective without actual photos. The producers of the show dug up some pictures of Indians lying dead in a field. Unfortunately the photos were actually photos of the dead Lakota men, women and children at the Massacre at Wounded Knee. I suppose the producers figured that images of any dead Indian would suffice because after all, who would know the difference.

Many of us Lakota immediately knew the difference because those photos of the dead at Wounded Knee are burned into our minds. It is an event that we commemorate annually.
Comment:  The first 2.5 minutes of this video is a trailer for Mile Post 398. It's worth seeing for its own sake but it has nothing to do with Oprah.

The shot of the dead at Wounded Knee occurs at the 3:30 mark.

It's funny to hear Oprah say she attended a powwow. More to the point, she staged a powwow for the benefit of her cameras. See Oprah Visits Navajo Nation and Demands to See a Powwow for more on the story.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Right you are. Oprah is all about the ratings. She's trying to get viewer attention by all races and ethnics.

Ignorance of the Native American culture is prevalent. Most people, as "Americans" don't know the history behind Thanksgiving...even less the mass genocide that surpasses any race.

Nice site, Rob.