Assimilation In Indian Horse, We Were Children, And Rabbit Proof Fence

One of the easiest ways to convey information to the masses is to provide it in a movie. This form of story-telling connects with visual and auditory cues, keeping the viewer in the experience. With the viewer captured by the screen, the producers and actors are able to share a story and immerse the audience within the emotions and actions of the subject. Such a method is utilized when telling the history behind the education assimilation of Native people in the movies “Indian Horse”, “We Were Children”, and “Rabbit Proof Fence”. Each of these went into the effects of education assimilation on individuals, showing glimpses of the general effect on the tribal nations. In watching these movies, I was able to see multiple different views on the

It required a fostering of fear and lack of communication, which is evident in “We Were Children” when the young boy is tossed into a cell beneath the school for asking to visit his home. To him, it makes sense that he would be able to visit his grandfather if his schoolmate was able to go home and see his family, but after seeing him get tossed into the cell, I wonder if that kid ever went and visited his family. He asks constantly whenever he knows someone is nearby why he’s in the cell. Saul in “Indian Horse” experiences this isolation throughout his life, torn away from his dying grandmother, assaulted by someone he thought he could trust, and then being the only Native American on a big-name hockey team. This last event became the final straw on the camel’s back, when he decided that if the people wanted to see a “savage”, then he would give them a savage. Carried throughout his adult life by this isolation, Saul fell into substance abuse and only began to heal after visiting the closed down boarding school again. The isolation that Molly experienced in her story was one where, if she didn’t stand up and keep walking, she would never be able to see her family and home again. She was the oldest and was leading Daisy and Gracie home and had to make difficult decisions, which included finding the strength to keep moving after no food or water for several days and losing Gracie to the authorities. In each of these situations the characters were able to find small comforts, but they were truly on their own in their defiance of the authorities. The young boy found a girl in the cell next to his and knew he wasn’t the only one, Saul was able to return to his found family as a much older adult on the path to healing, and Molly had memories of her people’s traditions, finding strength in the Spirit Bird that Maude showed her at the beginning of the film. In each of these