Native Appropriations reviews Crooked Arrows

Adrienne Keene reviews the Native lacrosse movie in Crooked Arrows: The good, the bad, and the flute music

The good

I loved that they cast tons of local Haudenosuanee and other East Coast Natives as major roles (like all the lacrosse players), and all the extras were also local, so that was fun. I kept seeing people I knew--oh hey! There's Shiala! That's Charlotte! Look, that's Jonathan drumming!

The Natives weren't painted as backwards-stuck-in-the-past. This one seems like a "duh" kinda thing, but you'd be surprised. The students were shown using smart phones, ipods, laptops, etc., posting to twitter, Gil's character is shown posting to the Haudenosaunee Facebook page, which comes into play later. Even the elders made pop-culture references. Which is how I know the Native community (we use social media at higher rates than most other ethnic groups!), but most people think of us living in tipis without wifi.

This wasn't something I really noticed, since I'm not a LAX player, but apparently the action and all of the details around the sport itself were spot-on, and they included a lot of insider references for true fans of the sport. Nice.

I liked the playful Indian humor throughout--like the whole "vagina dodge" joke (Superman mis-translates the lacrosse term "v-cut" into the tribal language).

Overall the representations of Native "culture" (I should mention that the team is from the fictional "Sinoquat" Nation, which is supposed to be part of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy) were done well, or as well as could be expected in a campy, cheesy sports movie. It was abundantly clear that the directors/producers tried very, very hard to show this was a Native film (more on that in a bit), while still appeasing majority non-Native audiences. They definitely showed a level of care and awareness that I haven't seen in a movie about Natives in a loooong time. Goes to show all the Native involvement in the film paid off.

The bad

The opening credits--I burst out laughing and grabbed Mikaela's arm. Picture flute music, and Gil Birmingham's deep Indian voice saying "A long time ago....a ball game was created...to please the creator." while a breech-clout-warpaint-wearing-old-timey-Indian runs through the forest, accompanied by, as pointed out by the 1491s, Papyrus font. Admittedly, it made me reeeeal worried for the rest of the movie. It was just so over the top.

and Oh Em Gee the flute music. Every 10 seconds the flute music. Anytime a Native character had a revelation or did something "Native," cue the flute music. (The 1491s had a similar reaction). So. much. flute. music. and correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't regional music be the rattle-and-drum variety, rather than flute music?

Also, the horribly CGI-ed eagles. They were supposed to represent Superman's (non-Native) mom watching over them, or something? But they appeared about as often as the flute music. Flying over the lacrosse field, sittin' on a pole, as scene transitions, eagle, eagle, eagle. We get it. Eagles are important.

The Casino. The point of the casino (I think) was to show how Superman had "lost his way," so it was supposed to be over-the-top and offensive. And to most Natives, I think it was. The slot machines played the Calvary Charge, the waitresses were dressed in Pocahottie outfits and dancing on the bar, they called Superman "chief," and he wore a feather headband and carried a suction-cup bow and arrow set while giving out "wish feathers" for luck. It was bad, intentionally. But the problem is, I don't think most non-Natives would realize that was "wrong"--because that type of imagery is so normalized in our society, from kids parties to halloween, they probably didn't give it a second thought. So I wonder if it did more harm than good?

The sweat lodge/spirit animals scene. This is the scene that irked me the most, and the movie could have been completely successful without it. The team goes in a "traditional" sweat lodge, and when they emerge, are asked what "vision" they saw. They each name an animal and are given that symbol on a necklace as their "spirit animal." So, from my limited knowledge and research through internet friends, sweat lodges as they were presented aren't a tradish Iroquois thing, nor are "spirit animals" (though someone said the animals were representative of the Iroquois clan systems?)--and it just felt really stereotypical and unnecessary to me.

The bottom lineCute, cheesy, campy sports movie, predictable plot line and characters, but cool to see so many Natives on screen, cool that at the minimum the audience will walk away realizing lacrosse is actually a Native sport, and cool that so much of the East Coast Native community was able to get involved. Some problematic stuff, but overall, not horrible. I enjoyed myself, and might watch it again if it ever comes out on Netflix.Comment:  Adrienne sounds more tolerant of the horrible stereotypes than I'd be. She wondered if the casino scenes did more harm than good. I wonder if the whole movie did more harm than good.

The flute music, eagles, sweat lodge, spirit animals, and casino are all such hoary clichés. Audiences may have left the movie understanding that Indians aren't primitive people of the past...but did they learn Indians have hundreds of different cultures and religions? Not just one clichéd culture and religion that resemble a romanticized Plains painting?

Indeed, could they tell us anything accurate about a Haudenosaunee tribe other than "they invented lacrosse"? Maybe, but it doesn't sound like it.

At this point, we've seen a number of movies and TV series that present modern Native life with reasonable authenticity. Smoke Signals, Pow Wow Highway, Thunderheart, Skins, Christmas in the Clouds, Grand Avenue, Dreamkeeper, Imprint, Four Sheets to the Wind, and so forth. If a movie isn't in the same ballpark as these movies, I'm not willing to give it that much credit. Getting things half right is only half the battle.

For more on Crooked Arrows, see Clichee´s Abound in Crooked Arrows and Onondagas Support Crooked Arrows.

Clichés abound in Crooked Arrows

The Mighty Ducks on Grass, With Spirit Animals

Crooked Arrows, the plucky underdog Native American lacrosse movie I never knew I wanted.

By John SwansburgThe most famous game of lacrosse took place on June 4, 1763 at Fort Michilimackinac, in what is now Northern Michigan. British forces had recently taken command of the fort, one of the spoils of their victory in the French and Indian War. June 4 was King George III's birthday, and to mark the occasion, a group of Sauk and Ojibwa Indians offered to stage an exhibition of the game they called baggatiway. By all accounts, the British garrison was captivated by the anarchic, fast-paced play—at least until the Indians dropped their sticks, took up arms, butchered the spectators, and captured the fort. Turned out they were still partial to the French.

Crooked Arrows, the new feature film from director Steve Rash, tells the story of another group of Native American lacrosse players at odds with their white neighbors. The stakes here are a bit lower, though, and the only real violence is perpetrated against the fundamentals of good filmmaking. Working with a manifestly small budget, Rash has set out to bestow a Mighty Ducks-style sports movie on this proud and ancient game. The result is an amateurish, highly predictable film overstuffed with Native American mumbo jumbo. And yet such is the durability of the sports movie formula—and such is the good-natured pluck of this movie—that I found myself considering a fist-pump when, during the Arrows’ improbable run through the playoffs, the weakest of the team’s midfielders (his spirit animal is the meek but crafty squirrel) scored a pivotal goal. I didn’t actually pump my fist, as I was still recovering from a training montage set to Chumbawumba’s “Tubthumping.” But I felt a twinge.The so-called "mumbo jumbo":The transformation of the Crooked Arrows from a perennial doormat into a preppy-trouncing powerhouse is the silliest but also the most enjoyable stretch of the movie. No cliché of Native American life goes unexplored. The players run through the forest, practicing their dodges on trees, as their ancestors did. They sprint up a craggy mountain where they commune with a tribal elder who tells them that even crooked arrows can find their way, if they stay true to their path (whatever that means). They visit a sweat lodge, where each player has a vision of his spirit animal and receives an amulet bearing that creature’s likeness. And in my favorite turn, Coach Logan decides to translate the names of the team’s plays into Sunaquat, likening the effort to the work of the Navajo Code Talkers, who helped encrypt secret messages for the U.S. Marines during World War II. Alas for Logan, his command of Sunaquat is rusty after all those years at the casino: Attempting to describe a “V-cut,” he actually calls it a “vagina dodge,” to the adolescent glee of his players.Crooked Arrows Movie Review

By Karen Benardello‘Crooked Arrows’ is a touching tribute to the Native American culture, and the pride they take in having created lacrosse. Hiring Native Americans who actually played the sport in real life helped showcase the hard work the tribes put into playing the game. Unfortunately, the character of Joe and his reluctance to coach the team, and his gradual change in attitude and devotion to the sport, is full of cliches commonly found in many sports films. Rash made an admirable attempt to create a movie showing that everyone loves playing sports, no matter what their ethnicity, but he does little to create unique conflicts or struggles.

Technical: B
Acting: B-
Story: B-
Overall: B-Comment:  The whole "spirit animal in the sweat lodge" scene sounds horribly stereotypical. I'm not sure a bit like that has ever happened in real life.

For more on Crooked Arrows, see Onondagas Support Crooked Arrows and Crooked Arrows Announces Lacrosse Team.

Onondagas support Crooked Arrows

The lacrosse movie Crooked Arrows debuts this week. Here's some background on how it got made:

Crooked Arrows: The Onondaga Nation goes Hollywood

By Sarah MosesPowless, who is the son of an Onondaga Nation chief, said he read the script and was reluctant to get involved.

“I was putting my name on the line,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that the boys I brought would be proud to be apart of this project. I wanted to make sure I would be proud to have my name on it, too.”

Powless said the original script had numerous stereotypes about Native Americans because the writers wanted the script to relate to all Native Americans and not one specific nation or tribe. Some of the changes that needed to be made included the humor towards the Native American elders.

It is a tradition for Onondaga and other Haudenosaunee youth to respect their elders, but the jokes in the original script were culturally insensitive to that tradition, Powless said.

After suggesting several script revisions, Powless agreed to work on the film and 13 local Native American lacrosse players representing the Onondaga, Mohawk and Tuscarora nations set off to make the movie in Boston.And:After filming concluded, Powless brought a raw cut of the movie to the leadership at the Onondaga nation. The Onondaga Council of Chiefs liked the changes to the film, but wanted one more change before they could back the movie.

Powless declined to say what the chiefs’ last concern was, but the producers made the change. The Onondagas because a prime financial supporter of the movie.

“A lot of the leaders on the council are former lacrosse players,” said Sid Hill, the Tadodaho “We do have a rich history of lacrosse and a lot support for lacrosse. We put our faith in Neal’s hands.”Comment:  I wonder why the Onandagas insisted on authenticity in Crooked Arrows. Don't they understand it's just a movie?

Oh, yeah...unlike some people, they know that movies shape people's perceptions. Duh.

Not only was authenticity important for aesthetic reasons, but it convinced the Onandagas to support the film financially. That's a powerful reason to make your Native films authentic.

Moral of the story: It pays not to offend Indians--literally.

For more on the subject, see Crooked Arrows Announces Lacrosse Team and Birmingham to Play Routh's Father.

Below:  "Surrounded by Crooked Arrows promotional material in his office at the Native Student House at Syracuse University Neal Powless said he was first hired as a consultant for the film but wound up being a co-producer as well." (Mike Greenlar/The Post-Standard)

2011's summer movie news

Indian Comics Irregular #207:  Cowboys, Indians, and Aliens

Crooked Arrows announces lacrosse team

Crooked Arrows Casts its Native American Team (Pictures and Video)The game of lacrosse was, of course, invented by the Six Nations tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy: the Oneida, Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. Crooked Arrows will be the first film ever to showcase the game invented by these tribes, now widely played by male and female athletes of all backgrounds all over the U.S.

Today, we’re very happy to showcase and announce the talented Native American lacrosse athletes that will be featured in Crooked Arrows as our hero team.The players that will make up the Crooked Arrows team are, as pictured (L-R). Back Row: Aaron Printup, Tuscarora; Shaye Thomas, Onondaga; Alex Cook, Mohawk; James Bissell, Tuscarora; Emmitt Printup, Tuscarora; Ty Thompson, Mohawk. Front Row: Tyler Hill, Mohawk; Derek Bennett, Onondaga; Orris Edwards, Onondaga; Miles Thompson, Onondaga; Lyle Thompson, Onondaga; Cree Cathers, Onondaga; Michael Hudson, Mohawk.

Crooked Arrows Co-Producer Ernie Stevens III of the Oneida tribe will be coordinating the movie’s Native American community marketing, publicity and philanthropy outreach programs. Here’s a video from Stevens himself who speaks about the Native Americas aspect of the film, featuring some lacrosse action from our very own Crooked Arrows team:

Plus a video of the players trying out:



Comment:  It's funny how they didn't have much trouble filling every role with a Native--except the lead role.

For more on the subject, see Birmingham to Play Routh's Father and Adam Beach as Superman?

Birmingham to play Routh's father

Twilight’s Gil Birmingham Joins Crooked Arrows CastGil Birmingham, known for his role as Billy Black in the Twilight Saga films, will join Superman Returns Brandon Routh in the film Crooked Arrows, a story about a Native American high School Lacrosse team forced to compete against a better equipped and trained local prep school team. Birmingham will play the tribal chairman and father of the entrepreneurial son played by Routh.

The film centers on Joe Logan (Routh), a 30-year-old mixed-blood Native American, who wants to modernize the reservation but must first prove himself to his father (Birmingham), a traditionalist tribal chairman, by rediscovering his spirit. Joe postpones his casino-building dreams to coach the fledging Native American lacrosse team against the prep school in which he used to star. As a result, Joe inspires the Native American youth and teaches them the true meaning of tribal pride. The sport of Lacrosse dates back to the northeastern Native American tribes in the 1100s.

“The intense relationship between the father and son and the conflict between modern ways and tradition is what appealed to me most in Crooked Arrows,” said Birmingham, who is part Comanche. “Wrapped in a movie about a sports competition is the human element of a man and his son trying to find their way in a sometimes confusing world.”Comment:  How old is Birmingham...his mid-40s? And Routh is 32? The math on that doesn't quite add up.

Since Routh's character is "mixed blood," I wonder who will play his white mother.

Is Birmingham going to cut his long locks for the role? Most tribal chairmen have short hair just like politicians and business executives everywhere. Voters want practicality, not flamboyance, and short hair signals that.

For more on the subject, see Crooked Arrows Seeks "Authenticity" and "Superman" Star to Play Native Coach.

Crooked Arrows seeks "authenticity"

'Crooked Arrows' team casting lacrosse players in tri-state area

By Anthony Sulla-HeffingerThe film, titled "Crooked Arrows," will tell the fictional tale of a Native American prep school team and its unlikely rise to the league’s championship game.

Casting for the film has been a success so far--Ellis and the film’s team recently visited Baltimore--and they will be coming to the tri-state area this weekend to pick the best of the best in terms of lacrosse athletes.These people really seem concerned about authenticity:“When you need to turn an actor into an athlete, it is a little more difficult but the more athletic they are the easier it is. In both cases, our goal is to make the product look credible and authentic,” Ellis says.

Ellis and the team behind "Crooked Arrows" will face their biggest challenge in finding Native American lacrosse players to fill the roles on the “hero team.”

“The hero team is all in itself will be a difficult task both act and play lacrosse. We had a similar issue with 'Miracle.' We asked ourselves, do we find skaters and teach them how to act or vice versa. Here we want the Native American team to be able to do both,” Ellis says.

In addition to casting, authenticity is a must, especially when you are going to be the pioneer, as "Crooked Arrows" will be.Comment:  We can tell how concerned about authenticity they are by their hiring of Brandon Routh to play a tribal chairman's son. Similarly, all the Native lacrosse players must have at least one Cherokee princess in their background. A good tan is also acceptable.

For more on casting decisions, see Wannabes Audition for Native Roles and Routh Is a Native?!

"Superman" star to play Native coach

Another day, another travesty of a casting decision:

Routh takes aim at 'Crooked Arrows'

'Superman Returns' star set for sports pic

By Jeff Sneider"Superman Returns" star Brandon Routh is set to topline "Crooked Arrows," an underdog sports pic set in the world of lacrosse.

Steve Rash ("Can't Buy Me Love") is directing from a script by Todd Baird.

Story follows a rag-tag Native American high school lacrosse team that is forced to join the local prep school league, which is comprised of better trained and equipped rivals.

Routh will play the tribal chairman's part-Native American entrepreneurial son who is tasked with coaching the reservation's motley lacrosse team in the hopes that he'll reconnect with his fellow tribe members. An unlikely and uplifting journey to the prep league's championship game ensues.

J. Todd Harris and Mitchell Peck are producing, while Sports Studio ("Miracle") will co-produce with a focus on authentic athletic casting, outfitting and choreography. Reebok is the film's first athletic corporate sponsor. Production is scheduled to start this July in the Boston area.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Routh attended the NCAA Lacrosse Final Four in Baltimore, where "Crooked Arrows" held an open casting call. "I was moved by the script," said Routh, whose ancestors hail from the Kickapoo Tribe. "While it has all the ingredients of a classic underdog sports movie, it actually appealed to me on a deeper level. I think the father-son and brother-sister dynamics of the story are compelling, as is [the] more spiritual Native American aspect."

"We couldn't be happier," boasted Harris. "Brandon is a highly recognizable and well-liked actor around the world, and he brings authenticity to the athletic and Native aspects of the film."Wikipedia confirms that Routh is mostly non-Native:

Brandon RouthRouth, the third of four children, was born in Norwalk, Iowa, on October 9, 1979, the son of Catherine (née Lear), a teacher, and Ronald Ray Routh, a carpenter. Routh's family, which is Methodist, has German, French, English, and Native American ancestry.Comment:  How bad is this casting choice? Routh doesn't look much like a Native. He has no known connection to Kickapoo Indians other than a few drops of blood. Neither Iowa nor the Kickapoo Tribe is near the center of Native lacrosse.

Moreover, Routh's main claim to fame is starring in Superman Returns, which is widely considered a disappointment or a failure. So how does a little-known "star" with one flop to his name get a major Native role? It certainly can't be because of his box-office potentially, which is effectively nil.

What's going on here is sadly obvious. Hollywood's cowardly executives have cast someone with a hint of Native ancestry (see Johnny Depp and Taylor Lautner) so they can claim "authenticity." They think a white actor without significant accomplishments is more marketable than a talented Native actor. They've made the character "part Native" in a feeble attempt to inoculate themselves from criticism.

Of course, a tribal chairman's son is likely to be a member of the tribe regardless of his "blood." He's likely to live with the tribe and participate in its culture. All of which leaves the non-Native Routh out. The guy has zero "authenticity" as a Native except in a racist's mind.

Haynes gets criticized

I believe Rene Haynes is the movie's casting director. She's done good things in the past. I think she hired Native actors for New Moon after the Twilight fiasco. But she may have been responsible for hiring Julia Jones, Boo Boo Stewart, and Tinsel Korey also.

I gather she's taking some heat for this casting decision. If so, good. Anyone who thinks Routh is "authentic" shouldn't be involved in casting.

For more on the movie, see Financing Crooked Arrows. For more on casting decisions, see Tavare on Hollywood Indians and Depp's "Dilemma" Over Playing Mexican.

Financing Crooked Arrows

Lacrosse Movies:  “Crooked Arrows”

Lacrosse Movie To Be Released In 2011 As It Lines Up Financing And Endorsements That Include Reebok, US Lacrosse And Major League LacrosseWith increased frequency, brands have been called on to help curb production costs, share the marketing responsibilities and even tell the stories of some of the biggest studio movies of recent years, including the “Transformers” franchise, “G.I. Joe” and “Up in the Air.” But for independent films, it’s a much more difficult task to attract name brands without the ability to pair them with A-list talent or a top-tier studio.

“Crooked Arrows,” a sports film set in the world of lacrosse that goes into production this spring, will try to help change that. The independent movie, produced by J. Todd Harris (“Jeepers Creepers”), Mitchell Peck (the upcoming “Priest”) and Adam Leff (“Valentino: The Last Emperor”), will be exclusively sponsored by Reebok, which will use the film to promote its 9K product line of lacrosse equipment and apparel, along with its 10K lacrosse sticks. The marketer’s early involvement has helped the film’s producers secure a bulk of their financing, and also guarantees distribution for a nationwide release of at least 250 theaters in 2011.And:“Crooked Arrows” will also focus on Native-American culture, as lacrosse is rooted in the indigenous game. Adding to that appeal is casting director Rene Haynes, who most recently cast the Native-American werewolves in “Twilight” films “New Moon” and “Eclipse.”

“We want this movie to appeal to more than just athletes, but at the same time with the lacrosse players we want to make sure the action is authentic and a cultural story to go with it,” Mr. Vroom said.Comment:  Interesting way to fund a movie. Independent filmmakers need to think outside the box and try methods like getting a corporate sponsor.

I'm not sure about the title "Crooked Arrows." What do arrows have to do with lacrosse?

Is "crooked arrow" a nickname for a troubled Native youth? As opposed to an untroubled "straight arrow"? Will these crooked arrows gain pride and self-confidence by playing lacrosse, bonding with teammates, and winning the big game? Is the pope a pedophile enabler?

For more on the subject, see Iroquois Team Takes Bronze and The Best Indian Movies.