Spirits For Sale
Spirits for Sale is a moving film where the protagonist of the documentary, Annika Banfield, makes trip to the United States to find the rightful owner of the feather that was given to her when a Native American visited her in Sweden. Her mission to find the owner took her through many Native American communities from New Mexico to Texas, to South Dakota, which led her to understand in depth about how they were both proud and sad in preserving the Native American Culture. Spirits for Sale isn’t just a film about Native American culture, rather, it aims to tell the world the restoration and the constant fight Native Americans have to protect their culture. Anna Banfield “[s]incerely hope[s] that film can be used as tool to inform about traditional
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The rituals were reviewed as an important significance in facilitating interactions with the sacred. In other words, it can mean communing with deities, and honoring ancestors. This underscores the connection of Native American’s relationship with their spirits and ancestors. However, the Native Americans are having to fight a major battle in maintaining tradition yet allowing for the influence of contemporary values they face every day. It proves to be challenging because the beliefs that make contemporary society are drastically different from their traditional customs. In addition, being a Native American had a stereotype associated to being drug addicts and alcoholics. This meant no jobs, and no housing. Due to the lack of respect for the way these people pray, and live to understand their relationship of the world around them the biggest problem, Annika explains, for the Native American people today is invisibility. She explains throughout the film how the American people forgot about the natives, where they made treaties with them and yet failed to uphold their part of the treaty, by stealing lands. One of the many ways these Native Americans have been countering these issues have been where one out of four tribes in the US have casinos and use that money to fund education, housing and have control over their own finances and resources. This creates freedom for the community while at the same time holding on to their identity. Vic Camp, one of several interviewees of the film beautifully summarizes the reflection of the Native American’s struggles by stating, “[w]e live in America, but we are not Americans. But we are the first nation here, protectors of this land. So we are going to be here on the July 4th to celebrate our independence
The rituals were reviewed as an important significance in facilitating interactions with the sacred. In other words, it can mean communing with deities, and honoring ancestors. This underscores the connection of Native American’s relationship with their spirits and ancestors. However, the Native Americans are having to fight a major battle in maintaining tradition yet allowing for the influence of contemporary values they face every day. It proves to be challenging because the beliefs that make contemporary society are drastically different from their traditional customs. In addition, being a Native American had a stereotype associated to being drug addicts and alcoholics. This meant no jobs, and no housing. Due to the lack of respect for the way these people pray, and live to understand their relationship of the world around them the biggest problem, Annika explains, for the Native American people today is invisibility. She explains throughout the film how the American people forgot about the natives, where they made treaties with them and yet failed to uphold their part of the treaty, by stealing lands. One of the many ways these Native Americans have been countering these issues have been where one out of four tribes in the US have casinos and use that money to fund education, housing and have control over their own finances and resources. This creates freedom for the community while at the same time holding on to their identity. Vic Camp, one of several interviewees of the film beautifully summarizes the reflection of the Native American’s struggles by stating, “[w]e live in America, but we are not Americans. But we are the first nation here, protectors of this land. So we are going to be here on the July 4th to celebrate our independence