Tag Archives: immigration

documentary

The Plymouth Rock of the South

The title of Rachel Nez’s 2005 documentary, The Border Crossed Us, is the phrase used in chants and on signs at immigration rallies. Given that Native Americans were here before any other group in the U.S. or Mexico, this poignant phrase was never more true. I’ve added this clip here because the phrase always reminds me of the similar African American immigration experience, as expressed by Malcolm X’s when he noted, “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock. The Rock was landed on us.”

Amid the dominant national voices surrounding the immigration debate, you may have missed that of the Native American groups affected by border policies. In the past few months, Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 has caused renewed interest and ire surrounding this issue. However, many groups, like the Tohono O’odhman of Arizona and the Sonora Desert region of Mexico, have had to endure the injustice of immigration policies for many, many years. In the 2005 documentary The Border Crossed Us, Navajo filmmaker Rachel Nez explores Tohono O’odham efforts to change laws that hinder many of the (particularly older) tribal members who do not have paperwork to travel freely between the U.S. and Mexico. In order to do so, they must prove that they are indeed U.S. citizens or, in the case of Tohono O’odham Mexicans, have documentation to visit the U.S. The Tohono O’odham have not traditionally used documentation to prove their citizenship and therefore cannot prove their status. Therefore, in many cases, relatives across the border cannot visit with each other or practice traditional rituals and customs.

The documentary is short but useful for anyone discussing immigration issues as they relate to Native peoples as well as how native religion and customs are viewed by outsiders. In one especially moving moment in the film, a young man discusses how disrespectful border agents are when going through his grandfather’s religious objects. The young man asks how we would feel if someone started rifling through the Pope’s items. Although this did not have to do with immigration per se, I thought the young man’s succinct questioning would be a great starting point for a classroom discussion on respecting other groups’ value systems and ways. This part made the film especially memorable to me.

When I first saw this film at the NMAI Native American Film Festival in New York City back in (I believe) 2007, I asked Ms. Nez about the status of the bill discussed in the film (yes, I actually did stand up for Q&A for once). She said that it was too soon to tell. A few years later, I see that the Tohono O’odham continue to fight against these policies, including recently leading a contingent against S.B. 1070 March.

documentary, Film Festivals, Film Screening, Q&A

Club Native

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Happy New Year folks! Comps. exam done and I’m back.

Only 10 months after I saw it at the 2009 Native American Film Festival at the NMAI in NYC, here is my summary of Club Native. In short: I thought it was a great film and highly recommend it!

Club Native traces the lives of four women and their relationship to their Mohawk identity. In order to obtain membership within their nation, two of the women must go before a council which uses Canada’s law regarding blood quantum as one of the factors in deciding whether they are to remain enrolled members. The transparency and fairness of the council comes into question and we hear the women’s compelling stories – why their bi-raciality does not make them any less Mohawk, except to some.

The other two women are in danger of losing membership not because of their blood quantum but due to their marriage partners – white men. The laws related to Mohawk women “marrying out” are not the same as they are for Mohawk men. Consequently, there is more pressure on women to  marry in or relinquish membership to their community. I remember that the few people who seemed to be in favor of this status quo in the film were Mohawk men and I was curious as to why there was so much emphasis on marrying Mohawk men and not the other way around. That was one aspect of the film that I needed more clarity about.

The director, Tracey Deer, does a great job throughout but these two women’s stories are even more compelling. This may have to do partly with the fact that one of the women is Deer’s sister and we get a very intimate access to her life. And when I say intimate, I mean it: we see the birth of her child! There are many points in the film when I teared up and got goosebumps or laughed – as though these were people I knew. That’s how close you got. So, I think Deer is a really great director just based on that (she doubtless has gotten confirmation of this from all over but it was nice to see one of the men during the Q&A say that she has blossomed into a great filmmaker; Deer identified the man as someone from her community so it was an extra touching moment). But when that girl had her baby on film, I loved her (the sister is very endearing for  her warm and funny ways) more for the honor of being able to see such a private moment. The other woman was an athlete who competed in the Olympics when she was younger and had even been featured on a high profile publication (Newsweek or Time). She was active politically both as a youngster and still is now. All the women were remarkable in their own way. Very poignant documentary – loved it.

For those of you interested, I found a related essay: Simpson, Audra.  “Paths Toward a Mohawk Nation: Narratives of Citizenship and Nationhood in Kahnawake.” In Political Theory and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, edited by Duncan Ivison, Paul Patton and Will Sanders, 113-136. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. It’s pretty academic but it also contains some short narratives about how issues related to blood quantum affects Mohawks.

documentary, Film Review

Sueños binacionales / Bi-National Dreams

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Español abajo.

Sueños binacionales / Bi-national Dreams, directed by Yolanda Cruz, deals with the experience of two Mexican indigenous groups in the United States. The first part of the documentary focuses on the Mixtec.  One of the largest indigenous groups in Mexico, the Mixtec and have been traveling to the Fresno area for over 30 years. Two charismatic community leaders discuss how the Mixtec have rallied around social issues and how their effective communication and organization has helped them reach out to immigrants from various Mixtec towns who have settled in the Fresno area. Community members who are featured show a strong commitment to maintaining ties to their communities in Mexico, endeavoring, it seems, to live the film title’s bi-national dream.

The second part of the documentary is less upbeat and perhaps that is why it is more gripping. It focuses on the Chatino, one of the smallest indigenous groups in Mexico. Chatino immigration to North Carolina is more recent, having occurred largely in the past 10 years.

While the Mixtec portion of the video was in Spanish, large parts of the second version is spoken in Chatino which I liked because you do not always get to hear native languages spoken. Although westerners tend to focus on the practicality of acquiring or knowing a language, there is something to the idea that a language’s sound transmits not only communication but also energy. I am reminded of the Mapuche speaker on the indigenous panel in March who began his talk by playing a music instrument and saying how it was important to allow the audience to feel that vibration. An Otavalo friend (noticing that I would use my elementary Kichwa) once commented on the importance of hearing a language’s sounds.

The Chatino story was not as sanguine as the Mixtec one. About half the population of the town (I rewound the tape but don’t remember seeing it noted in the film) where the Chatino were concentrated had migrated, giving the impression that those migrants will not return, at least not on a permanent basis. One hotel worker in North Carolina says as much. Another community member in Mexico, who speaks Chatino with pride, noted that not everyone is carrying on the Chatino language. Also, one of the community members in Mexico notes how the money earned while Chatinos travel to the United States could be better spent. Although his tone is pretty somber (since no one seems to be taking him up on the idea), he offers a very good plan of action for how the community could become more self sufficient. I wonder if the video circulated among community members and anyone listened?

I thought this film was great the first time I saw it. I still think it is a great example of the heterogeneity of Latino immigration to the United States and of indigenous groups even within a single nation. It could be used for classes on immigration, identity and community organization.

My only small gripe is that I wish the video had more background information on the indigenous groups both in Mexico and those who traveled to the United States. My second viewing of the video was related to an exhibit I am working on about the changing patterns of Latin American and Caribbean immigration to the United States. I am specifically writing a section on Latin American indigenous immigrants. It would be nice to have had more figures or statistics on the communities. It would have also been interesting to see the dynamics between Chatino, Mixtec and mestizo Mexican immigrants and even between them and Americans. That would probably have been another film but I mention it because I am curious about those dyanmics as well. But this aside, it’s a very interesting film and I look forward to seeing Cruz’s other films. For more information on her work, including acquiring a copy of  Sueños binacionales / Bi-natinoal Dreams, visit Petate Productions.

Sueños binacionales / Bi-national Dreams, un video por la videoasta Yolanda Cruz, se enfoca en las experiencias de dos grupos indígenas mexicanos que han inmigrado a los EEUU. La primera parte del documental se enfoca en la comunidad mixteca. Son uno de los grupos indígenas mas grandes de Mexico y han inmigrado a la region de California conocida como Fresno por mas de 30 años. Dos miembros de la comunicad hablan acerca de cómo la comunidad mixteca se ha organizado al rededor de temas sociales y cómo sus redes de comunicación intercomunitarias les ha permitido comunicar con miembros de otros pueblos mixtecas en la área de Fresno y en Mexico. Los líderes que son entrevistados demuestran un fuerto compromiso con sus comunidades en los EEUU y en Mexico y parece que están logrando el sueño binacional del título del video.

La seguna parte del documental no es tan optímista pero tal vez por ese motivo, fue hasta mas interesante para mi. Se trata de la comunidad chatino, uno de los grupos indígenas mas pequeños de Mexico. Empezaron a inmigrar al estado estadounidense de North Carolina en los últimos diez años.

Aunque esta parte del documental esta en español, una gran parte de esta sección está en el idioma chatino. Me gusto este detallo porque no siempre se tiene la oportunidad de oir idiomas indígenas ya que se privilegia el español o inglés (me doy cuenta de la ironía ya que está sección en español esta debajo de la sección en inglés. En mi caso no es por etnocentricidad ? norteamericana sino porque hablo mejor en inglés que español). Aunque la gente blanca o mestiza suele enfatizar el aspecto práctico de la adquisición de un idioma, creo que es verdad que  el sónido de un idioma trasnmite energía. Me acuerdo del señor mapuche que hablo durante el panel en marzo que empezó su charla tocando un instrumento diciendo que es importante que el público oiga esa vibración. Un amigo otavalo (notando que a veces utilizo el kichwa básico que conozco) una vez hizo el comentario que los sónidos y tal vez las vibraciones del idioma son importantes oir tambien.

La parte chatino no fue tan optimista como la seccion mixteca. Mitad del pueblo chatino (retrocedí el DVD pero no pude encontrar el nombre del pueblo) han inmigrado a los EEUU. Esto da la impresión que los inmigrantes no van a regresar a Mexico, al menos no permanentemente. Una trabajadora de hotel dice que le sería difícil regresar a México. Otro miembro de la comunidad que vive en México que conversa orgullosamente en chatino hace el comentario que no todos están manteniendo el idioma chatino.

No he traducido la siguente parte todavía…

Also, one of the community members in Mexico notes how the money earned while Chatinos travel to the United States could be better spent. Although his tone is pretty somber (since no one seems to be taking him up on the idea), he offers a very good plan of action for how the community could become more self sufficient. I wonder if the video circulated among community members and anyone listened?

I thought this film was great the first time I saw it. I still think it is a great example of the heterogeneity of Latino immigration to the United States and of indigenous groups even within a single nation. It could be used for classes on immigration, identity and community organization.

My only small gripe is that I wish the video had more background information on the indigenous groups both in Mexico and those who traveled to the United States. My second viewing of the video was related to an exhibit I am working on about the changing patterns of Latin American and Caribbean immigration to the United States. I am specifically writing a section on Latin American indigenous immigrants. It would be nice to have had more figures or statistics on the communities. It would have also been interesting to see the dynamics between Chatino, Mixtec and mestizo Mexican immigrants and even between them and Americans. That would probably have been another film but I mention it because I am curious about those dyanmics as well. But this aside, it’s a very interesting film and I look forward to seeing Cruz’s other films. For more information on her work, including acquiring a copy of  Sueños binacionales / Bi-natinoal Dreams, visit Petate Productions.