stargirl

mangeur-detoiles:

THE ENGLISH | 1x06

i just want to talk a little about this show so there will probably be spoilers.

i’ll admit i went into this show skeptically— as a Native living in england…I don’t think I’ve ever seen a truthful portrayal of us from british media. i watched it last december out of curiosity — chaske spencer was in it and that was enough for me. i actually had no idea that my people would be so heavily interwoven in this story— i don’t think there was any mention of Cheyenne in the trailer. i was almost instantly drawn in and lost my skepticism within the first episode— I remember binge watching it last early december while working on a commission.

the fact that they mentioned Sand Creek Massacre — it brought tears to my eyes. To see it spoken about and rightfully condemned— was …powerful. it’s something that is often denied or ignored by white society due to its shameful nature. so i was very much surprised by the mention and pleased that they’d chosen this path of taking the side of Indigenous people.

the massacre was hard to watch— i know it isn’t shown but even listening was difficult. when you know the stories of your Ancestors— when you know that they survived such awful situations. that they witnesses such evil — it’s just hard to watch but it was good— cathartic in a way to have these violent moments acknowledged.

i won’t go into all of it but essentially this show changed my life in a way— my great great grandfather (who i inherited a lot of my features from) and also a great great great uncle from the other side— both participated in these wild west shows in around 1898-1906. in fact my 3* great uncle actually came over to england on one of these shows just like the ending.

i just…i could never understand before how…somebody born on the plains- somebody who fought in the battle of little big horn, who grew up a warrior on the plains …how he could go from that to essentially performing in a circus for white folk. it was something i used to puzzle over until i watched this show. when two moons speaks with cornelia and gives his simple reasoning for staying— it clicked and i felt like i’d unlocked a huge mystery in my life.

idk it probably seems stupid to a lot of people— that a tv show could inspire emotions like that but it really was so powerful to me. i’m thankful for it.

i’m not very eloquent tonight, probably because i just finished the finale and it ripped my heart out (again). i just wanted to say that it’s a beautiful love story. it’s painfully honest and wonderfully cinematic & i highly HIGHLY recommend it.