March 28, 2008
It occurs to me that there are those who will disregard this website and it’s according resources to the recesses of Latter-day Saint detractors. I have seen this site linked to other sites and well-known internet users who are most likely able to fit that description. However, I would like to see this site taken seriously, used, circulated, and cited in other research projects whether they are written, published, or digital; personal or professional.
The truth is that there is not much in the way of accessing anything from the “Lamanite” point-of-view, regardless of membership. In native cultures, we valued the personal testimony before “Fast and Testimony” meetings and sacrament. We understood the necessity to listen and hear one another to see each other’s perspectives, which is different than preaching. We give information through the oral tradition and hand it down to the younger people this is how they have learned for generations. Now, in this crucial time and harsh climate of critical academic thought of which no one side is safe from being analyzed we see that there is no mercy from scholars who will also try to detract from this body of work as well.
This project is one of the first of its kind to ask natives what they think and allow them to respond. To hear them speak honestly and openly with their own indigenous people and be represented by indigenous people in the research process. This is a departure from the usual abusive nature of research of academic examination of human beings not as such, but subjects to be exploited, mined and used, and ultimately, expendable at the price of fame, fortune, and misuse of information from our native cultures, language, customs, traditions, and ceremonial lives. There are many “scholars” who did this in the traumatic past of Anthropology, Archaeology, and History Studies. Some are still at it and we remain ever watchful for outsiders who may exploit us again. A hard lesson learned for native people, but it’s not lost on us and we will be more than happy to warn others as well, especially our indigenous brothers in the south where much effort is still being brought to appropriate much of what remains of their original lives. It is one of the failed avenues of the LDS Church that I have heard repeatedly in my research that Church Authorities don’t listen. So, I am doing my part trying to assist in giving voice to the voiceless and making sure there is at least somewhere for the natives to go for being heard, being listened to, and most of all, being respected as people.
There will be those who are going be critical and not be accepting of the fact that this is part of the historical record now, like it or not. I like that there is not going to be the power of the written word wielded over the heads of my elders for long. There is much information to be learned and to know about our own heritage, culture, and background through these living libraries but, all too often, outside people will disregard and dismiss their contributions unless it has something of “value’ to them and their research work.
This work is going to live and survive and it is going to be able to be out in the world to do some good. It doesn’t matter if members or non-members use it. It is there for everyone and it is necessary for others to broaden their understanding of Lamanite Identity and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will be out there and available so that questions can be answered and more questions can be formulated and followed. There is nothing wrong with having questions but the answers will not be easy to come by. That is why I am grateful for all I have been able to gather and distribute to others for assisting them in their quest to inquire of God.
March 16, 2008
I remain hopeful that many more people than I previously anticipated will be able to see this film. It is meant to promote discussion. It should evoke others to join and participate in this discussion. First and foremost, member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should think about these broaced topics and then actively work to improve these relationships, not in terms of what they have traditionally thought in their own church ways, but in the ways of coming to an understanding or middle-ground of balance between indigenous people's cultures and their own.
Second, native people should be informed and educated about what has happened and what is currently happening in the LDS Church's teachings. It is noteworthy to explore such doctrinal teachings, their changes, and the sometimes racist commentary offered by its leaders. It is part of the responsibility of native people to be vigilant and aware of such influences on their communities, especially when many are constantly reminded of the imposition of outside religious, institutional, and governmental pressures do their best to come in and bind themselves with those native communities.
Third, I am hopeful that viewers who are neither native nor Mormon can bring their own worldviews to a much wider perspective than that of their own circles. It is tough to see beyond what you know and have a place to stand or something to contribute to the conversation. Regardless, it affects us all and your input is valuable. Need I remind you that we could still be currently having a presidential candidate that is Mormon? Or, shall we disregard that the world is no longer the small place we once thought it was and have at our fingertips more resources to access than ever and become more informed than before? There are books, magazines, journals, people, and websites which have a lot of information that can help shape the ideas and thoughts of individuls who have questions. It is my hope to contribute to that compilation for sake of impacting real people's lives.
What is disappointing to me is that I personally invited so many LDS members to view my film and only a handful came and none contributed to the discussion afterward or since. To me, these members should have a huge concern with the definitive nature of what it means to be a "Lamanite" because it is a fundamental term in the text of their doctrine which is without dispute an elemental piece of the Book of Mormon, the key to their religion.
March 10, 2008
Today, I feel better about what I did with the film and the website. I think it’s because there will be a lot of people who are surprised about how much deeper the subject matter is then they think it is. Not everyone is going to agree and that’s fine. I don’t expect everyone to listen or understand. I only ask that they try their best to come to an understanding. It was all I was trying to do in this personal film journey. It was one of those things where you don’t know where it is going to end up but you just know you have to keep on.
I tried to make the best film I could with what I had. I had a lot of stuff. The best of it was shown but there is so much more. I think out of all my material. I was so unsatisfied with what I was going to show in the end. That’s why I have faith in the website to help other people. I think it’s one of those films that if it ever got really popular, it would be definitely only manifested in the homes of people because no one, especially Mormon followers, would ever admit to wanting to see or the reasons for wanting to see it.
In one sense, that is good because then people can see it when they want and how they want to. It is not for everyone to see once and be completely involved in the story or the investigative nature of the film. I realize that it might take more than one showing to understand to those who don’t know anything about Mormons or Indians. Or, it might take more than one showing to grasp the other sides of the story if you are not familiar with them or that is not what you have been taught in Sunday school. In another sense, those without any formal training in religion have a step up on the others because they are not conditioned to think, believe, or behave in any one way and allow the flexibility of seeing other points of view in their minds without much judgment and condemnation.
The slow upheavals of numerous years of teachings are what we are talking about here. It is the simple and most difficult concept to see that the world is larger than what we once viewed of it. I know that as a member in the church, I saw the congregation enamored with their own lives and although their hearts were in the right place they saw little to be involved and participate in the process of social change and acknowledgement except for what they were taught or told to do. The church does a lot of good for many people but my film challenges a lot of fundamental beliefs simply for the fact that these are basic questions I ask about native history and culture but no one else seems to answer them.
As a young man, I felt like there was little there for me to hold on to although I tried with all my heart and soul to do the best as I could as a member and as a supposed “Lamanite.” I did so much and had so much faith that I tried to overshadow my own questions with the beliefs set forth in front of me. I know there were good things there like the virtues and the morals of the church that most did their best to follow and so did I. However, what descended upon me ever so slowly like a thickening fog was the realization that my own existence was in direct opposition of the definition of Lamanite, or at least what I knew of it. Then, when I ask more about it I was told to have faith and pray about it. That I must serve and fast and collect tithing, the functions of a member in good standing is what they thought would set me right. I did not like the fact that I was a walking contradiction and my mere existence was a living juxtaposition. The slow descending fog was a kind of mild violence, an ever-so-gentle erasure of my own vibrant culture, language, and traditions. It was rare to catch a member to admit such Lamanite doings were not good but it was always there in the attitudes, the latent layer just under the surface of the LDS skin.
What really makes me happy more than I could ever have anticipated is that children grasp it so readily. I was talking to a young native who watched my film and she asked a Mormon high school classmate about the definition of Lamanite and gave him the definition in the Book of Mormon verbatim. Then, she asked if he thought that Native Americans were Lamanites. He was so surprised that he didn’t know how to respond. He only stammered a bit and felt threatened by the directness of the question, I assume. He then asked about what she thought of it only to have her respond again with reiterating the exact definition and that she wanted to know what he thought of it. Her reasoning was that this boy went to Seminary (much like Sunday school only early in the morning before they go to regular school) and should be able to answer easily. This is a completely exclusive event; mind you, that happened without my knowledge or influence at that particular space and time. What gives me great joy is that she not only understood but asked this individual interpersonally with a critical and intelligent focus and although it was a simple question to answer it is never simply answered by Mormons. It was not easy for them to answer yesterday nor is it easy for them to proclaim even today. But, the fact is that young Native people can understand the complexity of it and face the subtle conceptual intricacies of this ideological mess with my help. It is the least I could have ever hoped for.
March 8, 2008
This project has been a very important and involved part of my life. I tried really hard to do a good job in order to give a good overall picture of what is happening concerning the Lamanite identity. I think it’s a simple stepping stone to get people acquainted and then to have them go deeper when and if they are ready to learn more. I understand it must be a hard process to have beliefs challenged and doctrine questioned but it is not an isolated process as many people have and do go through such things all the time these days. I think its something that most people would rather not consider because it is hard to know that there are certain things that do not have to adhere to the usual ways of thinking of the world. The terms of which have defined the boundaries of our lives will continually be challenged and we should not shy away from it. It is like many other tough subject matter in that we will have to deal with it ourselves in our own ways and in our own time.
This was why it was so important to have the native voice represented well in my film. I ask the question, the most basic question: what is a lamanite? And, depending on the person we each get a different answer. This is the whole point. To ask native people themselves what they think. Much like derogatory terms of yesterday which many minority groups today have appropriated for themselves, we see that some of those who have embraced such a term as Lamanite have redefined it for themselves in their own ways and made it their own.
What I am curious about and have been for some time is the non-native response to Lamanite. I mean, besides that traditional party line thought of what makes a Lamanite in the Book of Mormon, do we still understand that there are those who were native American and that were told that they were Lamanites? Do we understand that some of those individuals that revolved their whole lives, spiritual and otherwise, to the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint? What about them and what does the church have to say about that? There is no real recourse for someone who wants a definitive answer of what a Lamanite is, was, were, or could be. Not according the official position of the church anyway. I wonder then, what is be done of this and other generations of the natives who were told this bold designation.
It is like something no one ever wants to talk about. The focus and the emphasis is the doctrine and its teachings, but I would like to see less of that talk and more of that action of what they teach of brotherhood and love. I attended there many days in those congregations and those classrooms, not to mention in people’s homes and the seminary mornings, as well as the one-on-one conversations with men who I knew and respected and what I gathered from all of this was that for all that which was taught there was nary a place for the indigenous in their lives. For the premise of the Book of Mormon, built upon the foundation of the Nephites and the Lamanites, we are not regarded as anyone special even though we may have been told we were in past and in the present. Many non-native members are concerned with their own worlds of their jobs, congregations, activities, and families and not so much of the social inequalities that are the everyday realization of the rest of the world. Even in my own backyard where the Mormon influence is strong, my Navajo reservation, myself and many others have also been left with left with a similar impression.
Many will negate me as a decrier of the Mormon faith. On the contrary, have I not earned the right to be critical to something that was so near and dear to me in my youth? It is possible to every completely be devoid of something that was a part of me as I grew up and continues to be an influence in my life today? What is it that is so hard to understand of the complexity of the human spirit that makes its mark upon each and every one of us when the times are hard and the days are long except we find something of value in the community, organizations, and the people whom we share with. In this case, similar beliefs, faith, and a worldview that has helped many people to cope and thrive in this modern society even with its many pitfalls. By the same token, is it hard to understand how someone could be Mormon and Indian? Is it difficult to understand how someone could be native and Catholic? How about native and Christian? How about native and work for the government? These seemingly walking contradictions are neither definitive nor static. These are complicated layers of what makes a human being. These are the same yardsticks by which we measure many ideas with patience, understanding, education, and tolerance. With these same measurements, we can abide by them in terms in Mormons and Indians. As human beings, we are not simple.
March 7, 2008
Reflections on film premiere Night:
This day came faster than I thought it ever would. Sometimes, I thought it would never come. I didn’t think that it was going to be up to my standards but I found that I was satisfied enough to show it to people. It is something we often discuss as filmmakers that our films are never done but they just stop. I can say that it hindered me in the process to make one film. So, one way to solve that was to make this available to as many people who were as curious and inquisitive as I was about the Lamanite Identity and the ideas of the Mormon and Indian relationship. One thing that has always stuck with me was how I was going to tell the world about this. Who would listen? Why would they? I didn’t understand that this question would never be up to me but only to those who watch it, accept it or reject it, or take the time to sit and find out if the film has anything to contribute to the discussion.
I know it is not done. It won’t really ever be. But it needs to be out there and it needs to live its own life. And people need to see it, regardless of who they are and where they come from because it’s not going to go away and the issues are only going to get larger. You only need to look at the latest brush with Mormonism and the United States. Mitt Romney never answered any questions about Lamanites. I personally would have loved to ask him myself. I believe that the President of America has a responsibility to answer questions of social inequality, racism, and social policy. More than that, he has a separate responsibility to address sovereign nations of indigenous peoples whom this country has made treaties with and needs to uphold them. Would he have done that? Does he feel the same way? Does he believe in Lamanites and the ideas of them in the Book of Mormon and would that influence his social policies with Indians? Will he run for president again?
Back to the topic at hand, I did enjoy opening night. I thought it was great to have family and friends there and all those who supported me from the beginning to the end, all the way to now. I was fortunate and still am, to have the help that I do to make this possible. They have had some harrowing experiences during this process because they all tried to see what I was trying to say and they had the hardest time until I was almost done and then the overall picture became more complete. Also, during filming they had some experiences they will never forget: direct comments of racism, circular logic of answering questions from interviewees, having security descend on them, and many more personal trials that this film imparted its influence upon each and every one of them. I am forever grateful.
The night opened with a good performance of Chenoa Egawa who sang a blessing song that was beautiful. Everyone was impressed and wanted to her to sing more. They did a wonderful job and I was honored. I felt like crying because it was as beautiful and strong as I had imagined it was. My traditions were alive and well and we didn’t have to say anything. It spoke for itself.
Steffany Suttle showed her film as well, “Fry Bread Babes.” It was a nice portrait of indigenous women who discussed body image issues and the media making it contemporary and completely relevant in today’s modern world of images. It was well done and I was impressed by how far she had come. My congratulations to her and her family, they should be proud.
So, all in all, the film festival was a success and it was something that everyone needed. It also served in part as a memorial to Phil Lucas who was a great and influential native filmmaker. He was one of the first of us to pave the way and forge into territory unknown which many of us now take for granted. He worked so hard and did so much that I’m sure it must have cost him some time here in this world but he gave us guidance and inspiration where he could and now it seems that the rest is up to us. I will always be in awe however of what he left us. Great films he made did more than educate and entertain us; he was able to have people come to a place of healing through the filmmaking process. That in itself can’t be said of everyone.
The Native Voices Program people did a wonderful job. They did well in preparing and executing the film festival. Having been a part of the planning in the years before, I can tell they worked hard and did the best they could. They were so kind and generous and did a good job. It only comes around so often but I hope it will become a more popular and festive even t in the future, more so than during my time. These films are not only significant contributions to education but to the world of film and documentary as well. It is my hope that the rest of the world will soon acknowledge this as well simply for the fact that these stories need to be told. Dan Hart and Luana Ross are tireless supporters and to them we are always humbly grateful. I love my family and friends, the very reasons I do what I do is for them. I give them my eternal thanks.
Although, I could not put everything I wanted into the film I think there is another way to bring to the people. I am in the process of, for this website, making these other materials available to people so they can see other significantly and important subject matter that round-out the film and touch upon subjects that are not adequately represented in the film. Of course, this is new and it is a process. We are few, and they are many. Time is scarce and we do what we can when we can do it. Nevertheless, I am excited to at least offer other options to people who want to seek more of the discussion at hand to contribute to the dialogue of Native Americans and the Book of Mormon.
Wherever the film goes in the world, it belongs there. It seeks truth, history, and the reality of which we live in everyday. It is not a film for any one side, or just Indians or Mormons. It is for anyone who has questions about God.