2008 Woodie Awards
Native American club discusses controversial film
Amanda Pressley
Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: Features
In 2005, 10 boys on the Cheyenne River reservation in South Dakota made a suicide pact, hanging themselves in the order of numbers drawn at random. This story was covered locally, but ignored by national media. "The Canary Effect" begged the question, "What if they had been white?"
Similarly, in 2005, a 17-year-old killed 10 people on the Red Lake reservation in Minnesota. There was minimal media coverage and President Bush didn't comment on the shooting for almost a week.
Following the film, panelists discussed their experiences of being indigenous and overlooked or exploited by the American government.
"I was like a tree without roots - I had my identity ascribed by an outside group," said Guilford alumus Vivette Jeffries-Logan.
First-year Andrew Slater discussed not only having his identity ascribed but also dictated by the government's termination of his tribe.
"I, by law, do not exist," said Slater, a member of the "extinct" Yamasee tribe. While Native American populations have greatly decreased, they still have a strong presence within the nation.
"One of the biggest successes is that we are still here," Jeffries-Logan said. "We have never gone extinct. We have survived one of the most vile atrocities of all time. I have been given the responsibility of a fire carrier of our culture; I carry on the stories and the traditions of our people."
Like Jeffries-Logan, "The Canary Effect" serves as a torch for the public - illuminating ideas, showing the forgotten stories, and reminding us of the truth.
Similarly, in 2005, a 17-year-old killed 10 people on the Red Lake reservation in Minnesota. There was minimal media coverage and President Bush didn't comment on the shooting for almost a week.
Following the film, panelists discussed their experiences of being indigenous and overlooked or exploited by the American government.
"I was like a tree without roots - I had my identity ascribed by an outside group," said Guilford alumus Vivette Jeffries-Logan.
First-year Andrew Slater discussed not only having his identity ascribed but also dictated by the government's termination of his tribe.
"I, by law, do not exist," said Slater, a member of the "extinct" Yamasee tribe. While Native American populations have greatly decreased, they still have a strong presence within the nation.
"One of the biggest successes is that we are still here," Jeffries-Logan said. "We have never gone extinct. We have survived one of the most vile atrocities of all time. I have been given the responsibility of a fire carrier of our culture; I carry on the stories and the traditions of our people."
Like Jeffries-Logan, "The Canary Effect" serves as a torch for the public - illuminating ideas, showing the forgotten stories, and reminding us of the truth.
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