Smoke Signals

Thomas and Victor both grew up surrounded by stereotypes and separated from the world. As they start out their journey to leave the reservation they run into Velma and Lucy. Velma says " Yeah, your leaving the rez and goin' into a whole different country, cousin" (Smoke Signals). The reservation is keep so separated by the two different cultures. There are stereotypes on both sides that keep the disconnection from ever being able to come together. Natives have resorted to becoming stereotypes in order to be respected. Victor tells Thomas "you gotta look mean or people won't respect you. White people will run all over you if you don't look mean. You gotta look like a warrior! you gotta look like you just came back from killing a buffalo" (Smoke Signals). Even thought their tribe was never known for hunting buffalo, that is the main stereotypical idea about natives. In order to gain respect the boys must present themselves as warriors, and become the stereotype. People get set in their ways of thinking and let these stereotypes influence their views on all natives and therefor judge them before they even say anything and treat them inferior. When Thomas and victor are in the police office, Victor tells the man he has never had a drink of alcohol in his life and the police officer proceeds to question that and ask Victor "what kind of Indian are you". (Smoke Signals). The stereotypes have influenced the cops thinking of all natives and he judges Victor before he even knows his story and the truth about him drinking. These ways of thinking are set in our ways and therefore continue to up keep the separation.

In order for Victor to heal from his Dads death and leaving him earlier in life, he must first face it. Thomas always tried to get Victor to relies this. Since they were kids Thomas would always ask Victor why his dad left. He was trying to get Victor to see the real reason he left and that it was not because of of him but the fire he started. On their trip Thomas continued to tell stories about Victors dad no matter how many times he told him to stop. Thomas was trying to get Victor to think about his dad and face the truth of what had happened. If you keep denying tragic events you can never heal from them. Suzy Song also pushed Victor to face his fathers death. She encouraged him to go into his fathers trailer and look at the things he had left behind. She knew it would be help Victor heal to connect to his father and seeing his belongings would be a good way of doing that. Victor needed to really think about and absorb the pain in order to get past it and heal.