Review of 4Real Pawnee

The 4Real series on youth-oriented activism aired an episode called 4Real Pawnee October 19. Here's what it was about:

4REAL PawneeIn 4REAL Pawnee, Sol Guy takes Casey Affleck to the Pawnee Nation reservation in Oklahoma to meet Native leader Crystal Echo Hawk and her NVision crew. NVision is a collective of Native men and women who use hip hop, popular culture, film and visual and performing arts to create a dialogue with Native youth about ways to realize their vision for success, leadership and well being.

Crystal, a member of the Kitkehaki Band of the Pawnee Nation, works hard to give Native youth hope and opportunity. The Pawnee Nation alone has a 40% unemployment rate and roughly 40% of the population lives below the poverty line.

“You have to show the kids that just because they grew up on a reservation or grew up poor doesn’t mean they cannot pursue their own passions,” Crystal says. “We have to make this investment in our youth now or we will lose who we are.”

Sol and Casey check out the launch of the NVision tour before it travels to Native reservations and cities with urban Native populations. The tour includes workshops, concerts and promoting the message of the importance of leadership, empowerment and cultural pride.

Sol and Casey also witness the challenges of reservation life that are often invisible to mainstream society. They are inspired not only by NVision’s passionate effort to combat despair but by the overall pride and resilience of the Pawnee community.

”The moment I was most moved was when they did that ceremony to welcome me and Sol,” Casey says. “I was just floored. It wasn’t like anything I had expected or had ever experienced before.”My comments on this episode:

Casey Affleck admitted he was ignorant about Indians, but added that his ignorance was part of the story.

For some reason Affleck and Guy flew into Atlanta and then drove 17 hours to Pawnee, Okla. Perhaps they thought the drive would give them five minutes of screen-time to introduce the episode. But here's a clue, people: You can fly into Oklahoma City or Tulsa as easily as you flew into Atlanta.

4Real Pawnee provided a few glimpses of Pawnee history and culture, but nothing too heavy. Nvision's message of attaining pride through the arts offered a much-needed sense of hope.

As with films such as Four Sheets to the Wind and When It's Gone It's Gone, it was good to see people who usually don't make it onto the screen.

It was especially good to see activists such as Crystal Echo Hawk, Jenni Monet, and Ryan Red Corn. I've heard of these people but knew little about them.

My pal Bunky Echo-Hawk was visible in several scenes, but didn't get to say anything on camera.

I thought 4Real Pawnee was a bit more enjoyable than 4Real Peru--perhaps because there was no mystical "harmony with Mother Earth" talk.

You can see more 4Real Pawnee videos on YouTube. For more on the subject in general, see Native Documentaries and News.