Motivation In Rez Dogs

Rez Dogs is a television series following many mischievous characters living on a small indigenous reservation. The show focuses on the complexity of these characters as they all have their own special way of struggling through life. Each character has their own motivations to persevere through the tough life of living on the reserve. The character with the strongest motivation is Elora Danan Postoak. Elora’s motivation is her motivation to leave the reserve and move to California for a better life. This motivation is driven by the death of her close friend Daniel, who wanted to go to California with her. The tenacity and ruthlessness needed for the group to succeed are exemplified by Elora. She is not a leader; yet, her motivation to leave

A final reason why Elora’s motivation for California is so strong is that she believed if she stays on the reservation, she would be swallowed whole as Daniel did. Poverty and depression are themes in the series, so Elora believed that if she stayed on the reservation any longer, she would be consumed by her depression and end up like Daniel. She also may have believed that if she went to California, she would no longer be haunted by Daniel’s death. As seen in episode seven, Elora is given constant reminders of her trauma and grief. She needed an escape from this, and thought California was the answer. However, her trauma will follow her everywhere she goes, as she was stuck in the first stage of grief; denial. Staying in denial would only lead to bottled up anger and outbursts, as evident in episode eight. In episode eight, the gang has a meeting revolving around the California plan. Cheese and Willie Jack revealed that they do not wish to go to California anymore, as they came to the realization that it is unrealistic, and they belong on the reserve. Elora lashed out at them, screaming at the people closest to her. She even got angry at Bear, even though he said he still wanted to come. Additionally, every time the gang would discuss California, Elora would call it her money not the gang’s money. This significantly displays the stage of denial that she is in, and how the effects of grief will swallow her