Indian Comics Irregular #187

"National Treasure: Book of Secrets," the sequel to Nicolas Cage's hit movie, is
another archaeological treasure hunt. This time the thrill ride includes a lot
of interesting Indian lore. Too bad most of it is inaccurate or unbelievable.

[Spoiler alert]

The key clue is a piece of wood with "pre-colonial Native American markings" on
it. Ben Gates (Cage) and his father guess the writing is Aztec, Inca, or Olmec.
But the Inca didn't have writing, and the scratchings don't look anything like
Aztec or Olmec symbols.

Gates deduces that the writing refers to Cibola, the legendary city of gold.
But the legend didn't start till the 12th century AD, so it can't be Olmec. And
Gates misstates the record of the Cabeza de Vaca expedition, claiming the black
slave Esteban actually saw Cibola.

Once the adventurers find Cibola, they encounter a series of mechanical marvels.
A colossal sliding door reveals a hidden opening. A tottering platform
threatens to dump them into an abyss. A giant spigot shuts off the cascading
waterworks. All these Mesoamerican contraptions are in perfect working order
despite a millennium of neglect.

Finally they reach the inner sanctum, an underground Maya city of solid gold.
It contains more gold than the total amount processed in human history, but
never mind. Why did the Mesoamericans construct a city there? How many decades
or centuries of man-hours did building it take? How did the effort escape the
local Indians' notice? Did the builders really live in a cavern deep
underground?

It's a fun movie, but the premise is insulting to Indians. It implies they were
like leprechauns, hoarding gold at the end of the rainbow for no reason. It
denies they were (and are) real people with complex histories, cultures, and
religions. And that's no good.

For more on "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," go to
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/bksecret.htm .

Indians on Public TV

Beyond its epic "We Shall Remain" series (ICI #183-184), PBS is doing a good job
of featuring Indians in its documentaries. Here are some of the shows and
episodes I've watched recently:

"Time Team America": Fort Raleigh, site of the "lost colony" of Roanoke. The
Fremont Indians in Range Creek, Utah. Topper, South Carolina, an early Clovis
site.

"NOVA": "Arctic Passage: Ice Survivor"--how Roald Amundsen crossed the
Northwest Passage with Inuit help. "Cracking the Maya Code"--deciphering the
Maya's written language. "Ghost in Your Genes"--a theory that may explain how
disease and hunger can harm one's descendants biologically.

"History Detectives": Millard Fillmore's inexplicable pardon of a condemned
Indian prisoner. Also Tim Giago's supposed photograph of Crazy Horse--a segment
I haven't seen.

I picked up a couple of thought-provoking ideas from "Time Team America." The
Fort Raleigh episode mentions that Indians believed "invisible bullets" caused
disease. When they attacked the colonists, they were really fighting back
against an unseen onslaught of death.

The Topper episode describes the "black mat" theory. This says that a layer of
organic material in many Clovis sites proves a comet or meteor struck the earth.
The resulting climate change, not voracious Paleo-Indian hunters, killed large
numbers of animals.

In other news, I've published articles on Southern California film festivals,
the Creative Spirit script competition, "The Exiles," NBC's "Crusoe," and
non-Natives cast as Natives this year. Check 'em out at
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/pechanga.htm .

Rob Schmidt
Blue Corn Comics