Documentary portrays forgotten history
“In the White Man’s Image”
By Paul Winner
Staff Reporter
The road to hell is paved with good
intentions. ^
If that is true, then somewhere
along the path is room for the docu
mentary, “In the White Man’s Im
age,” to air Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. on
NETV.
The documentary deals with an
ambitious and historic social experi
ment attempted in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries in order to “re
educate” the members of the Ameri
can Indian nation. Scores of native
children were taken from their tribal
homes and placed in military-style
boarding schools in order to, as one
man put it, “kill the Indian” to “save
the man.”
The documentary was produced
by Christine Lesiak and Matthew Jones,
who is an American Indian and is
well-educated on this particular facet
of American history. It will be pre
sented by the Native American iHib
lic Broadcasting Consortium in con
junction with NETV/UNLTV. It also
is part of the major PBS series, “The
1
American Experience.”
In 1875, while the United States
and many of the Indian tribes were in
a period of supposed war, 72 prison
ers were indoctrinated into this bold
program by U.S. Army Lt. Richard
Pratt. In St. Augustine, Fla., the pris
oners were stripped of all Indian cul
ture and forced to accept white cul
ture in order to successfully be re
formed.
The school used military-style
instructional methods to teach the
“savages” to read, jyjite, speak and
act as the white man did. In the proc
ess, Pratt hoped to change the primi
tive culture of the Indian into the
modem culture of the Anglo. Pratt
believed, as did nearly every white
man, that American Indian culture
was based far in the past and was out
of place in the industrialized, pro
gressive United States.
Twenty-six similar schools of
indoctrination turned up across the
nation.
“In the White Man’s Image” uses
archival photos as well as moving
interviews with survivors of the schools
and their descendants. They eloquently
tell of a forgotten chapter of Ameri
can history, one that is often swept
under the rug. Stacy Reach provides
quiet narration throughout the pro
gram, but it is the surviving Indians
themselves who tell their story best.
Pratt’s most obvious fault was that
no matter how much he brainwashed
the Indians into denying their heri
tage, they were still Indians, and that
x>uld not be changed. Often, the Indian
TT • 1 1
Courtesy of NETV
Tom Torlino, shown before and after his transformation at the Carlisle Indian School in Car
lisle, Penn., is one of many Indians who were subjects of a grand experiment in the late 1800s
to assimilate Indians into white society. These experiments are the subject of a documentary,
“In the White Man’s Image,” airing at 8 p.m. on Feb. 20 on NETV.
:hildren secretly met to try to pre
serve the fading strands of their cul
:ure, but to little avail.
The men and women who sur
vived the Pratt experiments ended up
^ving as shadows — not white enough
:o be treated as equals, and too far
1
removed from their heritage to be a
part of the tribe. Pratt’s program was
a spectacular failure, proof that cul
ture is both relative and eternal and
can never truly be taken away.
“In the White Man’s Image’’ is a
superior piece of work, expertly pro
duced and written with due care by
Lesiak and Jones. It stands as a pain
ful chapter of American and even
Nebraska history. (One school ex
isted in Genoa.)
NETV will air an encore presenta
tion at 11:30 p.m. Feb. 20.
nmmyiou Harris oienas couniry
with bluegrass; softens guitars
R.ev'UiV'i
“At the Ryman”
Fmmvlou Harris and The Nash
Ramblers
Reprise Records
Country-rock singer Emmylou
Harris has switched to a quieter sound
these days, as evidenced by her latest
release produced by Reprise Records.
Throughout “Tbe Nash Ramblers
at the Ryman,” Harris’s vocals and
adept guitar playing arc backed by an
entirely acoustic band, The Nash
Ramblers.
Harris, known for her 16 years of
successfully blending rock with coun
try music,-now mixes the sound of
country with bluegrass.
However, in the moving ballad
“It’s A Hard Life Wherever You Go/
Abraham, Martin and John,” Harris’s
willowy voice once again transcends
the boundaries of rock, bluegrass and
country.
What’s especially nice is Harris’s
rendition of the Curly Williamscoun
try-westem tune, “Half as Much.”
While lively bluegrass tunes such
as “Scotland” and “Guitar Town” co
exist with the slower country songs,
listeners familiar with Harris’s previ
ous music may be disappointed by the
monotonous pace of her new “Ry
man” selections.
Still, most listeners will agree that
Harris’s vocals enhance whatever songs
she lends her voice to. The switch she
made from electric to the quieter Dobro
and banjo used by the Nash Ramblers
further complements her bluegrass
country style.
—Jill O'Brien
Meza
Continued from Page 9
something that looks real,” he said.
But he’s not interested in
realism. He refuses even to use
models or photographs when
painting.
What he wants instead is to ex
press personal visions in paintings
that “paint themselves,” he said.
Gerardo is serious about his art,
painting every day while holding
down a full-time job.
“No one is going to do it for
you,” he said. “You’ve got to commit
yourself to one thing.”
Gerardo is committed to devel
oping a body of work. He recently
took a week-long break from work
to paint, trying to prepare for
another art show opening this
Saturday in Omaha’s Old Market.
He talks about living the life of a
full-time painter, living his dream:
“You get up in the morning and you
have a cup of coffee and you paint
all day.”
Good dreams, Gerardo.
^ ••• S 'y
1. "Point Break” 1. "Terminator 2"
2. "Hot Shots"__ , 2. “City Slickers"
3. "Mobsters" 3. “Thelma and Louise"
4. “Thelma and Louise" 4. “Naked Gun 2 1/2"
5. “Jungle Fever" 5. “Doc Hollywood"
6. “Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" 6. “Backdraft"
7. “Terminator 2“1 Wrw™ " 1 1,1 1 7. "Silence of the
8. ‘Naked Gun" Lambs"
9. “Dying Young" 8. 'Dying Young
10. "City Slickers" 9. “What About
Recent and Bob’"
requested y\\A 10. “Jungle Fever
Hearts Can’t be Rising quickly: “Point
Broken" Break"
■Courtesy of
Blockbuster Video BBillboard Magazine
Robert Borzekofski/DN
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Releases
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startlingly good special effects, a can’t
miss good vs. evil story with solid
acting. (Available Feb. 5)
“Regarding Henry” (PG-13) This
is director Mike Nichols’ version of
the yuppie redemption film (read “The
Doctor’’ and “Hook”).
Harrison Ford is mcanic attorney,
Henry Turner, who gets shot in the
head at a local all-night food store.
Brain-damaged and rendered almost
childlike with no memory of his pre
vious indiscretions, Henry becomes a
kinder, gentler husband and father.
The acting is great, especially
Annette Bening as Henry’s wife, a
Park Avenue socialite who has to
learn to live on a budget to cope with
the staggering medical bills. First
timer Mikki Alien is also good as
their adolescent daughter. (Available
Feb. 6)
“Return to the Blue Lagoon” (P(J
13) Why? Why would anyone want to
return to the site of one of the worst
movies of all time?
ModeUtumed-actress wannabe
MillaJovovich and Brian Krause take
over for the equally vacant Brooke
Shields and Christopher Atkins in this
sequel to 1981’s “Blue Lagoon.”
Krause’s character is the original
pair’s son, (remember the oh so in
credibly realistic birth-in-the-woods
scene?) The how, who and why of his
arrival on the same island with Milla
are too complicated (and contrived)
to explain.
What little plot there is consists of
the evils of civilization interrupting
their teenage, titillating discovery of
anatomical differences.
Civilization comes in the form of a
rescue ship. To be rescued or not
seems to be their major question. It
certainly isn’t, “Honey, don’t you have
a condom?” (Available Feb. 5)
Music
Continued from Page 9
Tenure and promotion will be done
in a more homogenous way when all
the units in the college share the same
goals, he said.
“For example, it’s difficult to
compare musical creativity in the
School of Music to a breakthrough in
scientific research in the chemistry
department,” he said. “Being part of
the College of Fine Arts will allow us
to compare apples with apples.”