Smoke Signals

Smoke Signals is about life on and Indian Reservation in 1976. They are in Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation, Idaho. It starts off with a family hosting a 4th of July party at their home and it was the largest party in their history, then at 3:00 in the morning, everyone was passed out on couches, chairs, beds, and floors, than fire started, and killed the hosts of the house after they threw their baby boy Thomas out of the window to save his life and not die in the fire along with them. Arnold Joseph caught him and then handed him to his grandmother. Arnold also had a baby boy during this time as well and his name is Victor Joseph.

Thomas said that him and Victor were children born of flame and ash, he was a very good story teller. How Ironically truthful though that they went through the flames of fire to survive. Victor is the daughter of Arlene. After the fire, Arnold mourned by cutting his hair and never grew it long again. He started drinking heavily and than one day he vanished.

They have their own radio station called KREZ radio on their reservation and one time while they were hanging out at the crossroads of their reservation and the state, they talk about the traffic that passed by, and they said, “a big truck just went by……….now it’s gone.” This tribe on their reservation are a very humorous group of people.

Victor Joseph, a teenager in high school, just finds out that his dad just past away. And Thomas, who grew up with Victor picking on him offers to help him go to Phoenix and help him financially but the deal is that he has to take him along, and he declines.

Victor grew up with an alcoholic father who let him hold his beer for him while he was driving. His father also seemed a bit arrogant which Victor replicated while he played basketball with his friends in high school. His father also beat him and his wife if they did anything to provoke him to anger.

This is Thomas with his grandmother, he plays a very big role in Victor’s life. I think that he gets his grandmother’s traits of being very nice, happy, and loving. He’s also a very good story teller. He explains in detail the situations that he speaks of. Victor ends up letting him follow him to Phoenix since he had a jar of money and that’s what he needed.

Thomas and Victor ends up getting a ride from their friends by bartering. Thomas had to tell a story in trade for a ride. The story had to be good, and it was very engaging.

These are a group of friends that stick close together. They have each others back. Although Victor was not fond of Thomas growing up, they ended up becoming friends.

Victor asked Thomas if he was sure about the decision that he was making, and Thomas said yeah. Although it was expensive, Victor made sure first that it was okay with Thomas to be spending his money. That is thoughtfulness right there. Victor is thoughtful in this situation, he doesn’t take advantage, he makes sure that Thomas is really okay with spending his savings before they leave.

Victor grew up with alcoholic parents that didn’t care, along with an abusive father. This poor boy is in a bar with his parents and the parents actually thinks that it’s okay for them to have their own child hanging out in a bar along with all the smoking and drinking in there.

This was the day that Arnold left and the wife said if you leave don’t ever come back. His son Victor said don’t go. But he ended up leaving.

It was an emotional experience for both Victor and his mom.

While hopping on the bus, Thomas and Victor experienced prejudice. These two European Americans took over their seats and talked with derogatory language to the Natives as if they were nothing. These poor white folk dressed up like they’re rich, yet, taking a public bus to wherever there destination is.

Thomas and Victor ends up at his Victor’s father’s home to pick up his ashes in a jar. They meet a young lady named Susie who has befriended his father.

After Victor’s father moved here, he stopped drinking and sobered up. Susie found Arnold dead in his trailer. When Victor asked if she loved his father, she said, yes, like a father. They told each other their secrets about each others past. It also turned out that the fire that started in ’76 was accidently started by Arnold. He was the last one up drunk still shooting fire works. One ended up going in the house which caused it to burn down. Victor always thought that his mother saved his life, and it turns out that his father did. His father ran into the burning house looking for his only son and found him and took him out of the house. It turned out that Arnold kept his secret for so many years and ended up telling his new friend that he became close with. Arnold missed his ex-wife and son but never chose to move back or reconcile with them, and he still loved them both.

Native Americans take great pride in their hair, and Victor ended up cutting his hair in his dad’s trailer after first going in there and looking through his things. Once he found his dad’s knife, he cut his hair.

Thomas scolded Victor on their ride back home. Thomas was telling good stories about Victor’s father. Victor got mad about it and told him to stop acting like he knew his dad. Thomas stood up and said yes he did and told Victor to stop moping around, he’s been doing it for over ten years. Thomas has a positive attitude about him and rarely gets angry.

They ended up getting into an accident. There was a drunk driver that already hit another car with bad injuries and Victor ran to get help, with the next town nearly twenty miles away. During his run, he was having flashbacks of the fire and the things that Susie told him, how his dad saved him. Victor ran until he dropped on the concrete holding his stomach in pain but finally reached a town and got help. He ended up getting treatment at the hospital for his feet, and he ended up saving the live of the people in the crash. The drunk driver blamed the accident on Victor and said they were trying to kill them and Victor was drunk, which was a lie and the lady told the cops that, but they didn’t believe her. He never had a drop of alcohol in his life. However, the drunk driver’s wife made a statement and Victor and Thomas weren’t charged.

Victor ended up taking his fathers truck after it took him a while to start it. After they got back to their reservation, Victor gave Thomas half of his dad’s ashes and thanked him for his help and with the money. It was all because of Thomas that Victor found some truth and healing. Thomas has a kind and gentle spirit who loves to help others. Victor’s trip could of never happened without Thomas’ help. If Victor didn’t go pick up his father’s ashes, he would of never found out the truth about his father and how he really does love him and his mother.

“How do we forgive our fathers, maybe in a dream? Do we forgive our fathers for leaving us to often, or forever, when we were little. Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage, or making us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage there at all. Do we forgive our fathers for marrying, or not marrying our mothers. For divorcing, or not divorcing our mothers. And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness? Shall we forgive them for pushing or leaning, for shutting doors, for speaking through walls, or never speaking, or never being silent.”

I like the saying above that Thomas said at the end of the movie. This movie was about family and friends on a reservation. How an alcoholic father beat his wife and son all the time and ended up running away. This left Victor confused, hurt, and angry. The journey that he went on with Thomas was as a healing adventure. Although he didn’t make peace with his dad while alive, he made peace with his dad after his death. This is a story of resilience and some humor. I think we can learn a lot from Thomas, he’s a very good social worker in the film, although that isn’t his role.