Smoke Signals: How Long Will It Take Us To Get There?

Smoke Signals
How Long Will It Take Us to Get There?

[Thomas asks Victor] “How long do you think it’ll take us to get there? Columbus shows up and we start walking away from that beach, tryna’ get away. And then, Custer moves into the neighborhood, driving down all the property values, and we gotta keep on walking. And then old Harry Truman comes and drops a bomb, and we gotta keep on walking somewhere” –Quote from Smoke Signals.

            While on their journey, Thomas asks Victor the central question of how long it will take them to get there. This question in its simplest understanding can be interpreted as an inquiry about the length of time it will take them to actually reach their desired destination. Yet, in a more analytical sense, this question holds a lot of history, and perhaps cynicism behind it. Following this essential question, Thomas demonstrates how his people [the Native Americans] have truly been “walking” for a long time. So, in part this question’s counter-part is in fact inquiring about when his people are going to reach their promise land, and began to receive the rights in which they, as American citizens are entitled to.

            In one’s own opinion, America has obtained its title as a “Super Nation,” and its reputation as being a conqueror through the use of absolute violence. With this use of violence, they managed to rob, steal, kill and conquer assets that weren’t their own. When directly relating this to the question that Arnold asks, it is fair to say that this is what is implied. America conquered his people the same they have conquered many others (like that of the Africans, and the Asians for instance) through acts of inhumane violence, and stealing. Arnold gives not one, not two, but three examples of how his people were abused by American figures of authority, and the irony of it all is that he uses very well-known figure heads such as our 33^rd president for instance. While, it is no secret that Christopher Columbus founded a land that was already (founded) inhabited, and that while discovering this new land and its people, he mistreated and misled them, Arnold further goes on to list other famous figures in history who have committed the same exact crimes: like President Truman and George Armstrong Custer. Through the use of these examples Arnold helps to paint a more vivid picture of America and its leaders. It is leaders such as the ones presented in which the provide the foundation of America, and are the ones in which still, to this day are celebrated by America, disregarding the historical background.

·         On so many occasions Native Americans fell victim to mistreatment, violence and abuse by American authority. Often times their territories, their land, their people and their rights were taken away from them, and so they “kept on walking.” In this dialogue between the two characters, one was able to directly relate and ask similar questions in relation to her own people and race. Similarly to Arnold, one began to ask one’s self: When are African-Americans going to get there? When are we going to reach our promise land, receive our reparations or finally fulfill the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that was promised to every American citizen whether we comprise the minority or majority population?” Likewise to that of the Native Americans, America capitalized on the continent of African, and once again robbed, stole, and killed our people, our rights, and our voices. In the end the product of my people was similar to the product of Arnold’s people, which essentially was that we had to keep on walking. Although this conversation between Arnold and Victor is a brief one, within it contains so much historical context that it in essence speaks volumes. In fully analyzing the dynamics of this dialogue, and its parallel to American values, it has lastly brought one to conclude that my country, America, the conqueror, the “Super Nation” perhaps can also be regarded as no more than thieves.

George Armstrong Custer

Below is a little background information on one of the central American figures mentioned (Custer) during the conversation that will help to further education you on the historical violence committed against Native Americans.

                                             

·         George Armstrong Custer, a U.S. cavalry officer who served with distinction in the American Civil War, is better known for leading more than 200 of his men to their deaths in the notorious Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876. The battle, also known as “Custer’s Last Stand,” was part of the Black Hills War against a confederation of Plains Indians, including the Cheyenne and Dakota Sioux. It remains one of the most controversial battles in U.S. history.

In 1868 Gen. Philip Sheridan replaced Hancock and soon arranged for Custer’s reinstatement. That November, after raiding Black Kettle’s Cheyenne village, he was in trouble again for leaving the field without searching for a missing reconnaissance unit that had been ambushed and slain. Among other activities during the next six years, Custer wrote My Life on the Plains in which he attempted to justify his actions, and in 1874 he violated the treaty of 1868 by taking an expedition into the Indians’ sacred Black Hills where gold was discovered. The gold rush that followed