Smoke Signals

Media has the power to define a human being by forming strong opinions. People learn from the shows, movies, and books that are presented to them; being exposed to media that always follows the 'good white guy, bad Indian' stereotype will form an astigma in the viewer's subconscious. The way Native Nations have been portrayed through media has affected every aspect of life on and of the reservations. This can affect the way Native people are treated. When Thomas and Victor were involved in a crash the drunk driver tried to blame them, and since the driver was white the officer was going to blindly went along with it. The only reason the officer let them go is because a white woman stood up for them, "Mr. Johnson's wife Holly says he's, and I quote, "a complete asshole". So, you two are free to go" (Smoke Signals). Media has burned the idea that the white guy is always right into the minds of every human exposed to it. Even the Native people have a slight prejudice against themselves. They have grown up being ashamed of their culture, especially how they are depicted in film, "Thomas, don't you even know how to be a real Indian? How many times have you seen Dances with Wolves? 100...200 times?" (Smoke Signals) Victor falls under the stereotype of 'savage indians'; he puts up a front that makes him look tough and mad. He asks Thomas if he even knows how to be a real indian. He explains that you need to look tough and regal like you just killed a bear, but Thomas points out that the Coeur d'Alene did not hunt they were fisherman. "You want to look like you just came back from catching a fish? This ain't Dances with Salmon, you know" (Smoke Signals). Victor has been taught through movies like John Wayne that every Indian is the same and that the white guy is always the winner. He tries to accept this by playing into the mean, scary indian he saw on tv. Media creates an opinion on everyone involved.

Healing happens at different rates for different wounds and different victims, but once the ceremony is over the victim can see the situation in a different light. Storytelling helps to clear the situation of any misinterpretation. While traveling to Victor's fathers house Thomas narrates "I told Victor I thought we were all traveling heavy with illusions"(Smoke Signals) Every person creates reasons and explanations to everything that happens to them; when something bad happens without explanation a story is created as a way to cope with the pain. Victor grew up writing his father off as a bad person because he treated him and his mother poorly an abandoned them when he left. Through the trip, Victor realised that his father had so much more going on than he knew about; he suffered from pts which he self medicated with alcohol. Once Victor understood that his father did not mean for everything to happen as it did he began to heal. When Thomas asks Victor one last time why his father left he replies, "He didn't mean to Thomas" (Smoke Signals). The trip was a ceremony that Thomas needed in order to heal, through the stories he heard and the things he saw he began to understand the real story about his father. Thomas developed a new attitude about his father and he was able to forgive him. Thomas states he will take the ashes and spread them in the river for a spiritual ceremony and Victor replies "It would be just like cleaning out the attic, like throwing things away when they have no  more use" (Smoke Signals). This shows that Victor's ceremony is over, he is healed and no longer needs something from the ashes. Victors healing process took a little bit longer than Thomas' did, but after the ceremony was complete both people were benefitted.