| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Diane B. |
Posted - October 29 2002 : 8:57:27 PM
Hello, Everyone!
I heard that there was a new series coming to PBS in November called "Skinwalkers" so I went online to check it out. Imagine my surprise and delight to discover that one of the stars of this new series is our own Wes Studi!  This mystery series is directed by Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals) and it also stars Adam Beach (also from Smoke Signals). The Executive Producer is Robert "Sundance" Redford - are you listenin', Theresa?! 
Check out the links below for more info:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/programs/skinwalkers/
http://www.pbs.org/insidepbs/news/skinwalkers.html
Rattlesnake Woman
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| 22 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Theresa |
Posted - July 25 2003 : 8:11:40 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Dillon1836
And to think he'll be in ALAMO as Chief Bowl
Speaking of...Clabair, did you happen to see Wes while filming? |
| Dillon1836 |
Posted - July 25 2003 : 5:30:51 PM
And to think he'll be in ALAMO as Chief Bowl |
| Diane B. |
Posted - July 20 2003 : 6:04:41 PM
Hello, Everyone!
I'm very excited to be "reviving" this topic because last night, I saw a TV commercial for two more episodes in this series, with Wes Studi and Adam Beach! They will air in the fall, and will feature guest stars - including Graham Greene, remember him as Kicking Bird in "Dances With Wolves"? If these two episodes are as good as the first one, we certainly have something to look forward to! I can hardly wait!  |
| Theresa |
Posted - November 22 2002 : 10:31:14 PM
AW MAN! Sorry I missed that. I bet he didn't have near as much fun with the NPR folk as he did at Gathering 2001!
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| Gadget Girl |
Posted - November 22 2002 : 10:50:17 AM
Yesterday, on NPR they were interviewing Wes about Skinwalkers...as an intro they referred to him as "The James Bond of Native Americans".
Unfortunately I missed the interview - I had to run pick up a sick child.
Di |
| Theresa |
Posted - November 22 2002 : 09:52:53 AM
REMINDER!!
Wes Studi's "Skinwalkers" on PBS this Sunday. Check your local listings.
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| Vixen |
Posted - November 16 2002 : 6:05:34 PM
LOL....during the movie, I was wondering why anyone would marry Magua in the first place...I know that he was revenge driven, but, for me, once evil, always evil....at least in movies...did his wife leave him because she thought he was dead, or for another reason..... |
| Ithiliana |
Posted - November 16 2002 : 11:44:03 AM
ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!sorry, of course i should have realized it, but its just kind of hocking that magua would have a famly.... =/ |
| Vixen |
Posted - November 16 2002 : 12:42:35 AM
I would just like to say that, even though I know that its kinda obvious that magua would look similar to the real person, its just surprising how close they look. I figured that since this movie took place hundreds of years ago, even if you were of native american descnet, theyd still put tons of makeup on and youd look different. The similarity is just amazing for me... |
| Ellie |
Posted - November 12 2002 : 11:13:16 AM
Does anyone know if this show will be available to UK viewers on Sattelite telly??? I would really like to see it.
Thanks :) |
| Jayne |
Posted - November 12 2002 : 08:28:22 AM
Thanks, Theresa! A good introduction to the program on Nov. 24th. It's on my calendar.
Jayne |
| Theresa |
Posted - November 11 2002 : 12:00:39 PM
Hey Folks!
I received a copy of this artile from the APT (Alabama Public Television) Guide. It's an interview with Tony Hillerman. "Skinwalkers" will air Sunday, November 24 at 8:00 PM Central Time.
Tony Hillerman grew up in rural Oklahoma among Pottawatomie Indians. To Hillerman, these neighbors were compatriots in baseball and cotton chopping, ordinary farm kids just like him. So it wasn't until he was home on leave from World War II, driving a truck cross country to earn money, that he chanced across Native Americans who seemed at all different. They were Navajos (the Dineh), engaged in a ritual curing ceremony on reservation land in northwestern New Mexico. Hillerman's fascination with the Dineh eventually led to his captivating series of mysteries with Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police. Skinwalkers was the first of these books to unite the two policemen.
Q: What exactly is a skinwalker?
T.H.: It's tied up with the Navajo concept of good and evil. The Navajos believe that life is a kind of wind blowing through you. Some people have a dark wind, and they tend to be evil. How do you tell? People who have more money than they need and aren't helping their kinfolk - that's one symptom of it. Along with this tendency toward evil, if they're initiated into witchcraft, they get a lot of powers. Depending on the circumstances, they can turn into a dog; they can fly; they can disappear. There are many versions of a skinwalker, but that's basically what it is. A lot of Navajos will tell me emphatically, especially when they don't know me very well, that they don't believe in all that stuff. And then when you get to be a friend, they'll start telling you about the first time they saw one.
Q: Leaphorn says he doesn't believe in skinwalkers.
T.H.: He doesn't say that exactly. Somebody asked him if he does, and he said, well, I believe in evil.
Q: Does Chee believe in it more literally?
T.H.: Chee believes in the Navajo book of Genesis, which is part of their oral tradition, in about the same way that a good many Jews and Christians believe in their book of Genesis. Some of them see it as absolutely, precisely, literally true. Others see it as metaphor. I'd say that Chee is more of the school that see it in terms of metaphor.
Q: What does the term skinwalker mean? I assume it's a literal translation from the Navajo.
T.H.: A lot of Navajo doesn't translate precisely, because the translation would involve a good many English words. Traditionally, skinwalkers are able to change themselves into dogs, and traditionally they wear the sking of a dog over their shoulders or the skull of a dog as a cap.So I guess that's the reason for the term. I've never had anyone explain it to me. Navajos just don't like to talk about it much, even when you've known them a long time. It's kind of obscene, you see.
Q: In that case, do the Navajo approve of your writing about this subject?
T.H.: [Laughs] I don't know. I know that it's one of the more popular books among the Navajo young people. Maybe it's a little bit like pornography to them. But I've had no objections to the book. It's hard to judge, because Navajos are incredibly polite. They just do no like to offend people.
Q: How did you get started as a mystery writer?
T.H.: I had no intention to be a mystery writer. I had been a police reporter and covered courts, so I knew something about it. But I wanted to write the great American novel, like Thomas Wolfe. I actually had one in mind, but I didn't think I was good enough; didn't know if I could develop a complicated plot; didn't know if I could develop characters. I had always been a big fan of mysteries and decided to try that first. I figured I was pretty good at narrative. Hell, I'd written millions of works as a journalist! So I though |
| richfed |
Posted - November 03 2002 : 10:24:58 AM
And here it is, though you've pretty much covered it all! Article finally arrived ...
The blurb:
quote:
On PBS's Skinwalkers, Wes Studi plays a Navajo police officer trying to balance urban and Indian lifestyles.
True ... airs on Sunday, November 24 on PBS. Wes plays Lt. Joe Leaphorn, from the Tony Hillerman story, and, as Wes says:
quote:
Joe is a lot like me and like many other Indians. We're trying to figure out how to make everything work, integrating all the different influences -- traditional, rural, contemporary -- like keeping languages alive, but being engaged in what's happening today.
And, really, that's the gist of the article ... the vanishing Indian languages. According to the story, of approx. 500 Indian languages that existed prior to 1492, a mere 175 still exist - 40% of those spoken by only a handful of elders ... soon to depart from this world. There are only 20 languages still routinely spoken by all generations ... Sad stuff. Wes talks a bit on languages in our interview with him. See: Meeting Magua
Wes & family at the 2001 Mohican Gathering!
There's also a link in the article regarding the effort to revitalize Native languages that you might find of interest, at: http://www.indigenous-language.org
Wes:
quote:
It's not just words. Language represents centuries of tribal wisdom. When an American Indian child is capable of speaking his own language, it links him to a group of people much larger than the family or the clan.
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| Jayne |
Posted - October 31 2002 : 11:22:28 AM
Hi, all. My local listing is the same for Skinwalkers as Diane's - Nov. 24 @ 9:00. My PBS magazine has a great picture of Wes and others. I'll put his on my calendar, for sure!
Jayne
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| Theresa |
Posted - October 30 2002 : 4:10:26 PM
Hey Diane,
Actually I don't have a Sundance bell. Just so happens, though, he was in the N.C. (Asheville, I think) area a few weeks back and so was I. Hmmmm?
Thanks for naming the air time for Wes's movie. I'm looking forward to that.
Theresa |
| Diane B. |
Posted - October 30 2002 : 4:02:04 PM
Theresa, I should have guessed that you knew about this already: I hear you have a little bell on "Sundance" so that you always know where he is & what he's up to!
I checked our local listings last night & "Skinwalkers" will air as a two-hour movie at 9:00 p.m. on November 24th in my area. I still haven't heard of any local movie theaters that plan to show Eric Schweig's movie, "Skins"  - so at least we will get to see this made-for-TV-movie with Magua in it!
Rattlesnake Woman
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| Gadget Girl |
Posted - October 30 2002 : 10:30:05 AM
I just got a copy of this article myself yesterday from Cecelia. So I have a back up in case it takes a mystery trip somewhere else.
Di
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| Jayne |
Posted - October 30 2002 : 08:25:08 AM
I'm with you, Theresa. Sophia is certainly the priority! This is the first I've heard of the PBS series with Wes Studi. I'll be sure to check my local directory today. (By the way, welcome back). Jayne
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| Theresa |
Posted - October 30 2002 : 07:29:36 AM
Hey Rich,
Yes I sent it to your PO Box. We still have some time before this airs. You take care of Sophia and worry about this when you can. No hurry....right folks?
Theresa |
| Ellie |
Posted - October 30 2002 : 06:28:25 AM
That sounds fantastic! I watched Windtalkers at the weekend with Adam Beach and I was impressed, he held his own against Nicholas Cage.
And Robert Redoford too... yummy :)
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| richfed |
Posted - October 30 2002 : 04:28:57 AM
No ... Theresa ... it never has arrived ... I don't think. You mailed it to the PO box? If so, I haven't been up there all that often since Sophia was born [thank God for a whole bunch of accumulated sick leave!!! - I tried going back last week ...].
Anyway, as soon as I get my hands on it, I'll post some of the info here ... |
| Theresa |
Posted - October 29 2002 : 9:24:34 PM
Way ahead of you on this one, Diane. Prior to my MIA status, I notified Rich about this and sent him the article that was in Parade magazine insert in the Sunday paper two Sundays ago. Rich, did you get this?
The article touched on this program that will air on PBS...not sure of the times so check your local listings. It also talked about Wes's efforts in bringing together young Native Americans to preserve their language. Really interesting.
Thanks for the reminder, Diane. I'm sure all of us here will be looking forward to that program.
Theresa |
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