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As “Red Fever” opens, Cree-Canadian director and on-screen guide Neil Diamond ponders why the imagery and stereotypes of Native people have lingered for decades. He then finds himself traveling from Canada to the U.S.
to Europe to reveal how indigenous societies have influenced contemporary culture, from fashion and sports to democracy and environmentalism. That approach leaves, to a large degree, the stereotypes on the side — Diamond and his co-director Catherine Bainbridge already won a Peabody Award for their 2009 documentary “Reel Injun,” which explores Hollywood’s bigoted portrayal of Native Americans that essentially covers that ground. And, when it does confront that imagery, in the section on sports that opens with a Diamond visit to Kansas City on the day of a Chiefs game, it does so briefly, while demonstrating that “Indian” team names were rooted in the success of the Carlisle Indian School on the football field, led by Jim Thorpe, the Sac and Fox Nation Olympian who’s often tagged as the greatest athlete of the 20th Century.
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Thorpe and Coach Glenn “Pop” Warner, however, were responsible for more than the racist nicknames, as Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins details how the Carlisle school’s use of the then-new forward pass changed football, presaging way the modern NFL and college football is played. Just as revealing, the affable Diamond travels to upstate New York to look at the world’s longest running democracy, the Iroquois Confederacy, which brought together five, then six, nations between the 1100s and the 1700s, to create peaceful governance based on a type of equal representation. The Iroquois Confederacy, the film and its scholars argued, influenced the Founding Fathers — who studied and visited the confederacy — as they were creating the U.
S. Constitution following the Revolutionary War. Other scholars disagree with that view, citing little written evidence of the confederacy’s influence.
The opening section of the film find Diamond visiting fashion houses in the U.S. and Paris to look at, initially, the appropriation of Native fashion by couture designers, and the larger culture, e.
g. the use of the feathered headdress that desecrates the revered Plains tribal adornment. Then it brightens a bit focusing on the increasing recognition for and success of Native designers who are incorporating their culture into their clothing.
The final section of the film sends Diamond back to his native Canada, where it focuses on the Vancouver Island First Nation’s protests against salmon farming and their efforts to ensure that salmon run free. “Red Fever” isn’t close to confrontational. It is so genially presented by Diamond, and the commentators, that its critical edge is subtle.
But that approach is effective as its presentation convincingly details the enduring influence on Native peoples on government and culture. Reach the writer at 402-473-7244 or kwolgamott @journalstar.com .
On Twitter @KentWolgamott Red Fever Grade: B Directors: Neil Diamond and Catherine Bainbridge Rated: Not Rated Running Time: 1 hour, 44 minutes Now Showing: Ross The Reel Story: This documentary reveals how Native American individuals and societies have influenced contemporary culture in fashion, sports, government and environmentalism. Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Entertainment reporter/columnist {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items..
