December 09, 2006

Boarding schools exposed

Film crew revisits Indian boarding schools A Native American film crew is wrapping up several weeks of shooting in Cloquet this weekend for an independent movie. "Older Than America" is a story set around Indian boarding schools--a period the producers consider one of the darker chapters in their recent history.

The stories of abuse are well known. Some children died in the schools. Many others were emotionally scarred for life. There's a line in the film that says, "There are two ways to conquer a nation: you kill the people, or you take away everything that defines who and what they are."

Indian people will tell you the boarding school experience is still with them, years after the schools closed. It might be a factor in rampant suicide rates on many reservations, according to Producer Christine Walker.

1 comment:

Rob said...

That's a common complaint about all Hollywood stories. Namely, that they credit movies and TV shows to the producers, directors, and actors but not the writers.