Smoke signals

      The film smoke signals is a film that portrays Indian life accurately. During the film the characters experienced struggles with circumstances and ideas that ha  to do specifically with being Native American. Some of these ways are the difficulties they faced on the bus, the difficulties they faced driving home, and they found power and meaning in Native American cultural traditions when Victor helps Thomas look more Native American. 
             
        First, they faced struggles for being Native American on the bus. When Thomas and Victor took the bus to Phoenix to go pick up Victors fathers stuff, they faced a difficulty because they were Native American. After they got off the bus for a few minutes, when they came back to white men had taken their seats even though they knew they were sitting there and there bags were there. If it was two white men sitting there the two men would not have taken their seats but because it was two native Americans and they basically don't consider them human they had no problem taking their seats and making them go to the back of the bus.

        Next, they also faced difficulties for being Native American while driving home. On their way back home Victor and Thomas faced another difficulty when they were framed for crashing into another car and injuring two women, but the truth was that the accident had already happened when they got there. The man who actually caused the accident was trying to blame Victor and Thomas for the crash even though all they did was swerve out of the way too avoid hitting the car. Thomas tried to help the women and the man who caused the crash was yelling at victor saying that it was his fault just because he was a Native American. Had Victor and Thomas been white their is no way the man would have tried to frame them for something they clearly didn't do. Even when the man became sober he still said that Victor and Thomas assaulted him after they caused the crash which was clearly untrue.

          Lastly, the characters found power and meaning in their Native American history and cultural traditions when Victor helps Thomas look more Native American. When Victor told Thomas to stop wearing suits and to take out his braids he was helping Thomas to look Native American and to be proud of being Native American. Thomas grandma was almost trying to make him dress and act like a white man instead of embracing that he is Native American which is what Victor was doing he was embracing being Native American. Like Victor said to Thomas "The pride of an Indian is in his hair."

         In conclusion,, there were times in the film when they were happy to be native american and where it brought problems Some of these ways are the struggles they faced on the bus, the difficulties they faced driving home, and they found power and meaning in Native American cultural traditions when Victor helps Thomas look more Native American.