In 1989, the film Powwow Highway was released; it is based of the novel with the same title by David Seals. Powwow Highway is an unique film that received nominations and awards from numerous film related associations including; Independent Spirit Awards, Native American Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival. As with any film or other form of artistic medium there are several aspects that can be analyzed to find deeper meaning in the artistic work and to evaluate the motivations of those involved in its production some of these aspects in Powwow Highway include; the similarities and differences between the novel and the film, the political climate that surrounded when they were produced and how stereotypes are relevant to the film.
Too often, when a novel is made into a movie the purpose, characters and feeling of the novel is completely lost, this is not really a concern with Powwow Highway. Powwow Highway the film was based off of a screenplay written by the author of the novel David Seals, while it is unclear why he wrote the screenplay to include certain parts of the novel and leave out others, it seems that the majority of the differences between the novel and screenplay are most likely related to the time constraints related to film. The major deviation from the novel that is present in the movie, is that Hilbert is much more of a flat or underdeveloped character in the film, where as in the novel the reader spends more time with Philbert and his internal motivations and emotionality or more extensively understood. It is clear to the reader that Philbert is not just a slow lovable Indian but is an individual who has chosen to take a different path in life and finds great and deep meaning in his quest to become a warrior. Secondly, as a result of the time constraints related to the media form of film the back story related to all of the characters in the film is immensely shorter than what the reader is given in the novel. This is specifically related to the viewers knowledge about Bonnie Red Bow, in the film she comes off as a much more innocent character than she does in the film. These are the major differences between the film and the novel, the differences between the forms of this story seem to be almost entirely related to the differences in what can be accomplished and expressed with these different mediums.
All artistic mediums express in some way what is happening when the story that they are expressing is written. Powwow Highway is set during the 1970s and was wrote in the 1970s as well, additionally it was transformed into a screenplay and movie within a decade of when it was originally published so the effects of political climate are very consistent in both the novel and the film. Since the novel was wrote during the end of the sexual revolution and during the American Indian Movement the climate of these periods are expressed fairly accurately and with no major political movements occurring in the 1980s, political stances are not secretly expressed through the film. There are a few tinges about impressions about the Gulf War that can be seen because it is related to the fact that Buddy is a Vietnam War veteran. The time span between the creations of each version of the story of Powwow Highway makes a great amount of difference on the severity of political statement expressed in the film.
When analyzing films or literary works related to a specific ethic or social group, one of the main things that are most commonly evaluated is the presence and relative abundance of the use of typical stereotypes of the ethnic group that is featured in the work. Powwow Highway is a very modern look at American Indian culture and expresses and highlights few of the typical stereotypes. Since, this film was filmed on location the images of the reservations are extremely accurate and do not attempt to make reservations look worse than they are or glamorize the condition on the reservations in South Dakota and Montana. A key moment in the film is when Philbert goes to his beloved Aunt Harriet to ask for advice and she says, “I get sick of being asked for good old Indian wisdom. I ain’t got none. So get the hell out of here!” Her character at this point in the film helps break the stereotype that all aged American Indians have profound and unexplained wisdom. Additionally, the variety of characters and the varying degree with which they are involved in the Indian community and follow the guidelines of their heritage also helps to break down some of the typical stereotypes related to Indians that were expressed in traditional films. Also, that this film is set in modern time rather than a glamorized setting in the past also helps to express a more modern and accurate perception of American Indians.
The film Powwow Highway is a unique and impressive film for many reasons including its similarity to the novel of which it is based, its limited background political motives and its limited usage of typical stereotypes related to American Indians.
