April 08, 2009

We Shall Remain's logo

The We Shall Remain logo below is worth mentioning. Although it would be easy to create a sepia-toned imitation, it looks like it comes from an old Edward Curtis photograph or the equivalent.

I don't know if the tipi was in the process of being raised or taken down. Perhaps it was abandoned and collapsing. But looking at it, I instantly thought of the famous photo at Iwo Jima.

The message I take from this logo is Indians have raised the American flag because they're a fundamental part of America. Maybe the tipi is collapsing, but the flag still stands. In other words, "We have suffered through much of America's history, but we shall remain."

For more on the subject, see TV Shows Featuring Indians.


4 comments:

dmarks said...

Having the flag in the same position drives the point completely home, and in the actual famous Iwo Jima photo (as opposed to the version you chose), the flag is the same as in the "We Shall Remain" logo.

Rob said...

I was wondering about that. The drooping flag didn't look quite right to me.

When I posted this item, I used my saved IwoJima.jpg file without thinking about it. I should've remembered the original photo wasn't in color. I believe my image comes from Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Father or Letters from Iwo Jima.

I'll replace the recreated version of the photo with the actual photo. Thanks for noticing.

Rob said...

P.S. Too bad Russell Bates isn't here to tell us that movie and TV logos have no message, symbolism, or significance. He'd probably waste hours of our time claiming there was no connection between this logo and the Iwo Jima photo.

Anonymous said...

you don't have a clue do you....this logo smacks of colonialism and forced oppression through military domination. Here's a little lesson for you. A. We didn't all live in plains style teepee. B. The Iwo Jima comparison you made is spot on, but not some reverential nod to patriotic notions of valor and survival, it's a direct insult suggesting conquest and subservience over Native peoples by the dominant white anglo invaders.