Possible identification of "Haida dance film"

[Jeffrey Kopp]

Hi, David.  I see your point; i.e., cleaning up the film might give it an unwarranted appearance of authenticity.

However, Curtis' apparent goal was to publicize the Indians, to introduce them to an unfamiliar population (and quite probably also to make a buck), so I think given the era and the crudity of film technique of the day, he can be forgiven for slipping some P.T. Barnum into it.

It would be great (and of course preferable) if other, more authentic film were located and assembled into something with modern appeal and genuine educational value.  I'd venture here that the value of Curtis' work is that it's available in a preserved version now, and can serve as an introductory vehicle (with suitable caveats) until something better is developed.  Even just the clip of the dramatized canoe dance is an effective attention-getter, and could stimulate interest in an audience who hadn't given much thought to the topic before.

In a way, that's why I'm so gung-ho about the Jargon; while I am well aware that it doesn't give a fully representative picture of Native culture or language, it's fun and easy to learn, and I greatly hope will serve as a "gateway" to further understanding of the Native word by a naive majority population.

(It's also a significant aspect of NW pioneer culture which has been almost completely forgotten; not only does the Jargon add color to our pioneer history and some authenticity to the glossy, epic legend which has grown from it, I feel it's important not to overlook the fact that while plows were starting to till this soil and trees beginning to be cut, there were still Natives about.  The development and long and widespread use of the English/French/Native post-contact Jargon illustrates the extent and importance of interaction with natives in pioneer life.)

The visitor hit count on my Jargon sites surges every October, so I know the URL is going up on blackboards.   I was amazed to run across a grade-school page all the way in Illinois on PNW native culture--see  http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/northwest.html --so I know interest in this area has a wide range.  Not long ago, a college student downloaded and played Duane's Jargon song on her laptop for her linguistics class--in Germany.

I've tried to assemble a list of useful links on http://home.attbi.com/~chinookjargon/email.htm , not only to carry the interested visitor into material of greater depth, but also to reduce the number of email inquiries I can't answer myself.  (Suggestions for additions are most welcome.)

Regards,

Jeff

On Wed, 26 Jun 2002 13:18:51 -0700, David Lewis <coyotez at OREGON.UOREGON.EDU> wrote:

>Klahowya,
>
>Due to the way the film way probably produced, the romanticist nature of it,
>its Hollywood staging, and its fanciful depiction of Northwest Indians, I
>would not personally advocate for a digital reproduction to be made of this
>film. While it may hold some fascination for many of an early example, if
>not the earliest example, of filming of Indian people, it does not really
>deserve to be saved and thus perpetuated for following generations in a more
>accessible format. The film and its creator Curtis do not do justice to the
>Native people here, and is a great example of ethnocentric perceptions of
>indigenous people and societies that is most wrong with anthropology,
>history and other disciplines. Let the film remain as it is, a marker of a
>simpler time among American scientists...
>
>David