Smoke Signals: the Importance of Oral Tradition in Native Culture

There are many scenes throughout the film that display Thomas’s need to be friends and heard by Victor. The scene in the market where Thomas offers to pay to get Victor to go to his dad in Phoenix, as long as he can come along is a great example. Both boys were raised together and both without a solid father figure. We learn that Victors father left when he was still a young boy due to alcohol and the fire being a prominent struggle in the native culture. After the scene where Victors father leaves, we see how the possible struggle between the boys began. We learn that Victor’s father had died and they traveled to get his ashes. Perhaps this a reason why Thomas is incessantly bringing up Victor’s dad and telling stories, true or not. is the

Humans have several ways of communicating with one another, whether that is written, spoken, facial expressions, or through body language. We use all of these forms all the time, it would be impossible to live a day without speaking, writing or reading, making facial expressions, or using any body language to communicate with others. While all these forms of communication are commonly known, another form, not as intuitively obvious, is silence. Like all forms of communication, silence will change with reference to different cultures. Just as different cultures speak differently or have different languages, and have different body languages, cultures also have different meanings behind silence. Native American cultures have been described as reluctant to speak or lacking in personal warmth simply because their culture views silence differently than most Americans. Apaches use silence for situations of uncertainty and unpredictability, Americans prefer that silence does not happen at all but will accept it for situations of comfort or in some cases when they want to avoid small talk with strangers. These difference in the use of silences are simply due to the cultural differences between Apaches and Americans. As Apaches’ use of silence reflects their cultural values of recognition and respect, Americans use, or lack of use, of silence reflects their cultural values of directness and urgency.

Thomas seems to have a gift in his storytelling, they may seem like crazy stories he tells over and over but his stories may carry some kind of meaning. “We are all given one thing by which our lives are measured, one determination. Mine are the stories which can change or not change the world.” (Alexie P. 518) His stories about Victor’s father are why he went out of his way to help Victor. It took Victor a trip to Phoenix to see that Thomas was there for a reason, to help him because they were cousins.

However, school was extremely difficult to Victor. In fact, school was a different world from his rancho, where his family loved him. He knew no

Thomas approaches Victor and offers his condolences. He tells Victor that he has money to lend him so he can make it to Phoenix. The only condition is that Victor must take Thomas with him. Victor tells Thomas that he can't accept his money and that they aren't even friends. Thomas replies “I didn't say we were friends. I said you had to take me with you.” (249). Victor says he'll think about it and goes home. When he arrives home, he is flooded with memories. After heavy consideration, Victor knows the only way he'll be able to claim his father's remains is to borrow the money from Thomas. He agrees to take Thomas along for the trip and the two men catch a plane to Phoenix, Arizona.

Native American storytelling has very many important reasons behind it, like teaching lessons that can help the children later on in life. The elders tell the children stories that teach them moral lessons they can

Victor thought that Thomas might be able to help him because “Victor felt a sudden need for tradition” (78). This quote means that after Victor’s fathers died he wanted to feel like he belongs to the tribal community and traditions. Thomas offers to lend Victor the money on the condition that he accompany Victor to Phoenix, Arizona.

Victor Joseph’s portrayal of the classic Native American man is exemplified by Alexie’s use of dialogue, costumes, and flashbacks. For example, when Victor sees Thomas smiling as they ride their way to Arizona he says, “Indians ain’t supposed to smile like that. Get stoic” (Smoke Signals). This example of dialogue reveals how Victor believes a Native American man should present himself traditionally, which strongly contrasts with Thomas’s demeanor and appearance. Victor continues on, saying, “Look at your hair, it’s all braided up and stuff. You gotta free it. An Indian man ain’t nothing without his hair.” (Smoke Signals). Hair design is used to symbolize Victor’s close ties with his ancestral past as a Native American. Additionally, Victor’s comment on hair foreshadows when Victor himself cuts his hair, symbolizing a moment in which Victor embraces his traumatic past by accepting who he is as a person. In a more literal sense, flashbacks are also used to symbolize the trauma that Victor experienced in his direct past - living with an alcoholic father, Arnold Joseph, who abandoned him. However, by the end of the movie, Victor embraces this past through the spreading of his father’s ashes.

     Sherman Alexie based on some short stories included in his book, 'The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,' wrote the screenplay for the movie 'Smoke Signals.' Both the movie and the book portray problems that Indians had to deal with, and how they dealt with it. The book is far more complex than the movie, showing a wider variation of characters facing different situations.

Thomas helps Victor by giving him his savings so that victor can go to Phoenix to claim his dead dad’s savings. “ He said I had to watch over you in return of him not telling anyone.” Thomas told Victor that once they were on their way to claim the money in the bank. Victor’s dad told Thomas to watch over victor

In “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” Thomas Builds-the-Fire offers to lend Victor the money but he had one condition, and it was that he would tag along with Victor for his trip to Phoenix. Victor really does not really want to go because he knows that

Smoke Signals was the first feature film to be written, directed and co-produced by American Indians. This film is based on the literal and figurative journey of two Native Americans. Alexie uses humor, storytelling, and tradition throughout Smoke Signals to represent a coming-of-age story for two young Native American men at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Much of the film’s power has to do with its honesty, both in the way the characters are depicted as well as stories shared.

22. How does Victor feel when his father offers the idea that perhaps an immediate marriage to

For most of my life, the word “Native American” had immediately made me think of feathers, powwows, and a society uncorrupted by civilization. However, in watching the movie Smoke Signals, a movie that depicts the modern Native American culture, I learned many other things. For one, I learned that many of the customs that modern Native Americans have are very similar to my own. I also saw that the family life of the Native Americans in the film had many of the same problems that my family had undergone in the past years. This film was unlike any that I have ever seen; therefore, it reached me on a very personal level.

Like a coin dropped between the cushions of a couch, traditional oral storytelling is a custom fading away in current American culture. For Native Americans, however, the practice of oral storytelling is still a tradition that carries culture and rich history over the course of generations. Three examples of traditional oral stories, “How Men and Women Got Together”, “Coyote’s Rabbit Chase”, and “Corn Mother”, demonstrate key differences in perspectives and values among diverse native tribes in America.