Watchmans Canoe
I had posted about this a couple of years ago. It was an innocent film that examines issues such as bullying, colorism in the American Indigenous communities, etc. I don’t recall the whole post but I do remember mentioning colorism and reservation life can be daunting. Much like in many Pacific Islander regions being light skinned, eyed, haired etc is definitely a struggle but then again being mixed Black and looking as much can be a struggle too. To grow up in or around the reservation as an apparent ethnically mixed individual can have its challenges, just being accepted or seen as who you are can have its struggles being “Indian enough”, having to “prove” your Indian-ness all of that. The point of the film was the main protagonist that was actually loosely based on the childhood of a biracial Woman that looked white due to having a white Father but yet she carried the rare gift of being Indigenous, the old ways or Red Road as it’s sometimes called, inside despite the fact the community ostracized her greatly based on her appearance. Issues such as Black Lives Matter and Brown Lives Matter have really cracked open that wound of colorism in not just the American Indigenous community but all communities thus has begun to address it and ultimately heal the wounds colonialism both began and perpetuated. I do recall a quote when the young Girl ,Jett, was basically bullied into “proving” herself through a potentially dangerous feat the character of, Nick, said to her, “You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone.” Or something along those lines and honestly that’s a great way to be in life about anything. It saves a lot of needless wasteful problems and or even heartache trying to “prove” something. It’s quite a freeing way to live. When you know who you are you don’t have to “prove” anything to anyone. Never seek anyone’s approval but from God and yourself. Everything and one else is immaterial. Who cares what anyone else says or thinks? It doesn’t matter. There is a famous quote by the late Coco Chanel that goes like this “I don’t care what you think about me, I don’t think about you at all.” 🤷🏽♀️
