Condenados ao Passado

This movie really is not a view of life in boarding schools, per se. I don't believe it was intended to be. It is a metaphor for the effects still felt today by nearly all Native Americans here in the U.S. The movie "is" a period place. All of the issues that the story touches base on are those that Natives all over Indian Country are dealing with today. It is not the direct reflection of one single reason why Natives today face the afflictions of poverty, alcoholism, abuse, unemployment, illiteracy, and loss of identity as a culture, but the culmination of many. Forced attendance into an institution specifically designed to strip away everything it means to be "Indian" just so happens to be the primary area of focus in this film. The sub-plots add depth to the characters as well as much needed comic relief. Even though this film is classified as a drama, it should be shown in every history class across the United States, right after the lesson on the first "Thanksgiving".