Sunday, July 7, 2013 THE NEW MEXICAN
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Farce: Filmmaker sees need to develop Native talent in industry Continued from Page A-1
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the Santa Fe University of Art and Design. He also is known for his contemporary films Smoke Signals and The Doe Boy, as well as directing television versions of Tony Hillerman’s A Thief of Time and Skinwalker. “I don’t think it has anything to do with Indians,” Eyre said, “and Tonto is still a secondary character.” For James Lujan of Taos Pueblo, chairman of the department of cinematic arts and technology at the Institute of American Indian Arts, The Lone Ranger is not unlike any old-time Western depicting the cavalry against Indians. “It reinforces stereotypes of American Indians living in tepees and wearing buckskins and feathers,” he said. “I don’t think there was necessarily anything offensive about it, but when you make a film like that or go see a film like that, that’s the type of concept you buy into as far as its depiction of American Indians. “As far as the way Tonto is portrayed by Johnny Depp, his performance is so quirky that his character may as well be an outer-space alien. There’s nothing to connect him to the Native American psyche or persona.” Lujan said the producers did an “OK job” casting Native American actors in supporting rules. The Kentucky-born Depp, who just turned 50, is known for playing offbeat characters, including the flamboyant pirate Jack Sparrow in the successful Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which were directed by Verbinski and produced by Bruckheimer. Depp has publicly stated that he was told at a young age that he is part Native American, though he does not know the specifics. In May 2012, Albuquerquebased Comanche activist LaDonna Harris hosted a traditional ceremony to formally adopt Depp into the Comanche nation, an event that made headlines. Depp was at that time in New Mexico filming The Lone Ranger. Speaking by phone this week, Harris, president of Americans for Indian Opportunities, said it is valid to question Depp’s casting. But she also said the publicity surrounding that move draws attention to the issue “and reminds studios in New Mexico to not only hire Hispanics but Indian actors as extras, actors and all throughout the industry.” Noting that her organization is more than 40 years old, Harris said, “We have spent all our lives educating the general
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I mean, what’s Native American about Tonto? I don’t know how I can be offended by a character that is not representative of Native Americans.” Chris Eyre, filmmaker LaDonna Harris: President of Americans for Indian Opportunity found film ‘hilariously funny.’
LaDonna Harris, left, president of Americans for Indian Opportunity, greets Johnny Depp at her Albuquerque home in May. COURTESY OF AMERICANS FOR INDIAN OPPORTUNITY
public, because not only is Hollywood not informed, but neither is the general public. There remains a great deal of misinformation about Indians — and of course Hollywood contributes to that; but it’s because we are not always educated about the
issue. We hope this discussion about the film improves this situation.” She said she found The Lone Ranger “hilariously funny” and noted that Disney contributed some money to the American Indian College Fund. She
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appreciated the film. She noted that given “there has been a minimal amount of inclusion of Natives in the industry, this may be an opportunity to get Hollywood into a relationship with us so they are more aware that they need to use more Native Americans, and there are talented and skilled professionals to hire.” James Lujan, Taos Pueblo Eyre and Lujan agree about the need to develop Native talent and to keep the discussion emphasized that the producalive. ers cast Native Americans in a “For me, it’s about making number of supporting roles. your own work in your own She said Depp’s turn as a artistic voice,” Eyre said. Comanche outcast is not that “One of the great qualities to far from truth, since Comanches come out of this is that people kidnapped and adopted children of other cultures into their are talking about this, which is more than we had last week or nation and often used decorathe week before. The fact that tive colors to paint their faces it is engaging Native people on and attire, as Tonto does in the both side of the conversation is film. an incredible thing.” The addition of a dead black Lujan said, “What this demcrow as a headpiece for Tonto onstrates is the need to develop in the film probably isn’t that and grow more Native talent to unusual, either, she said: “People talk about that headdress as the point where we can get a Native actor who is on the level if it is something different. The Comanches were very individu- of being able to carry or ‘open’ a film. There doesn’t seem to be alistic.” She said she understands and much faith in American Indian actors, and that’s something we respects critical response to need to change.” Depp’s depiction of Tonto, but Oklahoma-born independent added, “We don’t happen to be filmmaker Sterlin Harjo (Semicritical.” nole/Creek) said he couldn’t Harris’ daughter, Laura, said care less about any possible she has encountered a number of Native Americans who have uproar over Depp’s portrayal.
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His character may as well be an outerspace alien. There’s nothing to connect him to the Native American psyche or persona.”
“It’s almost sort of laughable that people might get upset about Tonto,” he said. “It’s The Lone Ranger. It’s a Hollywood depiction of a buddy movie. And Hollywood has been depicting Natives in a negative way since the beginning of movies. “It doesn’t necessarily affect me. We just do what we do and keep making films about Native people who we see and know. That does more on the positive side than Johnny Depp does on the negative side.” Depp, of course, isn’t the only Anglo or ethnic actor to play an Indian in a Hollywood film. His predecessors include Burt Lancaster in the title role of Apache (1954), Victor Mature as the titular figure in Chief Crazy Horse (1955), and Elvis Presley as a half-Kiowa frontiersman in Flaming Star (1960). Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Jeff Chandler, Robert Taylor and Chuck Connors have also played leading Indian roles in Westerns. Mel Brooks took an irreverent pot-shot at the whole idea of such nontraditional casting when he played a Yiddishspeaking war chief in his own 1974 Western spoof, Blazing Saddles. Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.
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