Here's what I know...

Part of the reason why I love this movie is because I'm part Alaskan Native myself. When ever I think about my family re-unions I see so many native faces, but when I'm in my daily life it's like no one knows that I'm Native. Which means of course that I make it a part of my life to talk about being Native and the issues we face. It's a big reason why I want to be a filmmaker. And one of the first places I found a vision for Native people on screen was in this film. But the realities of the world and an ever changing attitude toward Native American people in general make it difficult to raise anymore interest or money towards another project. Plus as a student of film I must now see this film with critical eyes. I know now as an adult that this was a low budget project, and even though there are still so many great things about this film, there are also flaws which I didn't see as a child. When I first viewed it, all I saw was a movie with faces in it that I finally recognized - Alaska Native faces. This film still serves as some of the best footage of life in Alaska I have ever seen. Almost every movie set in Alaska since has been a distortion of what life here is really like. So please don't let any other films fool you. I've studied theatre, acting, film, and writing and I could talk about improvements I would like to see in a film like this. But those attitudes are only helpful in a process that says, O.K. let's do another one and this time let's get it right. And I think if that process is allowed to continue up here we will have world wide success with Alaskan films. For a long time, something like around 20 years, there was a problem with the distribution rights to the film. Then when the dispute was settled there were problems raising money again for distribution. So for a long time the only thing we here in Alaska could do was try to remember. Some could turn to a boot leg copy on VHS from when it was aired on cable in the early eighties. However, at the annual Alaska Federation of Natives or AFN meeting last year, Pius Savage was honored for his role as George Atla the famous Athabaskan Dog Musher. I interviewed on video a local reporter who wrote a wonderful article in the Anchorage Daily News about the film. The same reporter by the way who wrote the original review for the film in the ADN back in the seventies. We knew each other from playwrighting class at UAA, so we had a good time talking about the film. I did talk to Pius at the AFN meeting and was going to set up an interview with him too, but schedule conflicts arose.
This film would certainly belong on DVD with commentary and a making of short film, talking about all the issues and world wide reactions to the film. A section on Native American actors with an emphasis on Native Alaskan actors would be great too. and maybe old photos of Alaska at the time of the film setting, and hey, some photos from film production as well.
I still may get that interview with Pius and Ralph, the star and the director, but I think what needed is another project that focuses on Native peoples and the stories of their lives, not just their myths. My interest in this film has always been as a rare project that allowed Native people to tell their own stories. Seeing an actual Native Alaskan portray the main character was and still is very powerful to me. I would even love to see a remake of this film and the release would co-incide with the release of the new DVD of Spirit of the Wind. All of these are still just things we'd all like to see, someday. You might be able to contact the Anchorage Daily News for that article, adn.com
and check back here from time to time. I've got a play going up in Anchorage this November. I'd love to get Pius to come see it and Who knows, this might just be the beginning...