October 19, 2006

Deep secrets about boarding schools

County, reservation to be backdrop of 'Older Than America'Carlton County and the Fond du Lac Reservation are about to step forward into a new and important role in bringing history to life. The area will play host to the filming of the independent movie, “Older Than America,” that tells the story of how the American Indian boarding school experience of the late 1800s and 1900s has influenced subsequent generations of the Indian culture.

The movie, directed by Native American director and actor Georgina Lightning and produced by established local producer Christine Walker, is described as “a Native American thriller set in a small Minnesota town once home to a Native boarding school.”

“Deep secrets about the school and its dark past come to light when an earthquake threatens to attract undue attention to the area,” the movie overview goes on to explain.
And how does the past affect the present?Lightning said she believes that many of the issues Native Americans are struggling with today are a product of what has come out of their past.

“I believe that’s a direct result of several generations in a row having to go to Indian boarding schools,” she related. “They got out and there were no parenting skills, no relationship skills. It’s a really harsh environment to grow up in.”

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Also posted this info on my forum earlier today. I'm a bit confused, though, since the article cited says the movie is just being filmed NOW, and I found a website link to a trailer with Georgina Lightning with a movie of the same name...hmmmmm

here's the link: http://www.tribalallianceprod.com

Not a Sioux said...

Here's something related (in that it is institutional), but even worse than the bording schools:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~asylums/canton_sd/index.html

Hiawatha Insane Asylum

Rob said...

Maybe the trailer was a preliminary version of the movie. Maybe they filmed part of it but need to film the rest on location. Or maybe they revamped the premise and are starting over. (I suggest this possibility because I didn't see anything about boarding schools or an earthquake in the trailer.)

I hadn't heard of the Hiawatha Insane Asylum. It does sound bad, but it was the only institution of its kind. The boarding schools were bad because they were widespread and affected an entire generation or two.

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
And they still are doing the same. Adam Beach himself has said so, as has writerfella. It only remains a matter of time before Thomas Yeahpau will tell his tale, as well. At least, writerfella was spared that aspect only because he was too far advanced in reading, writing, math, and language skills because he had been reading science fiction from age 5.
Analogous would be military basic training where your removal from all you knew before is forceful, purposeful, planned, tested and proven, so that you come to find that there is only the military and yourself and your fellow recruits. And you and they gravitate to and embrace military culture and begin to learn its arcane histories and mysteries. You cannot speak as you once spoke, you cannot come and go without permission, and there is nothing of family or home or anything else of your former existence allowed to you. Eventually, as you become accustomed to military life, the rigors ease up or at least become more tolerable. Somewhat disturbing is the eventual realization that you were trained for a military that does not exist, except in wartime. The analogy breaks down at this point, as there was no easing up in the cultural onslaught in the Indian schools until you got out of there. Even then, however, you find that you were trained for a white world that does not exist, for you...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Not a Sioux said...

I looked up wikipedia's definition of "Genocide"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide

While the schools aren't really part of the killing and annihilation, the boarding schools policy does seem to be related to the "disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion" part of the definition (Geneva Conventions).