More Than Frybread

Last updated

More Than Frybread is a comedic pseudo-documentary that was released in 2012 which was directed and written by Travis Holt Hamilton. The 96-minute comedy premiered at the Harkins Valley Art Center on May 4, 2012. [1] This film stars Tatanka Means, Greg Fernanadez and Mary Kim Titla. Wanting to celebrate and showcase Native American cultural tradition, Hamilton says “More Than Frybread is a comedy to showcase nationalism and inter-tribal competition” [2]

Contents

Plot

This 90 minute mockumentary tells the story of the first ever annual World Wide Frybread Association (WWFA) Arizona Chapter State Championship in Flagstaff, Arizona. The contest includes 22 representatives of the 22 Native American tribes of Arizona. The mockumentary focuses on 6 of the contestants: Buddy Begay (Navajo), Sharmayne Cruz (Tohono O'odham), Sammy Powsky (Hualapai), twin sister team Sunshine and Stormy Smith (Yavapai-Apache) and Betti Muchvo (Hopi). Their backstories are told and they are filmed at their homes and with their families. The mockumentary then follows the contestants as they arrive at Flagstaff and shows all the wacky events that transpire as they compete to attend the national frybread contest in New York City. [3]

This story starts with Buddy Begay and his food truck where he sold fry bread on his family's reservation in Arizona. [4] Enjoying the attention from the crowds and the fans, Buddy gloats his way to the competition and is determined to do whatever it takes to win. The mockumentary gives backstories of the other contestants and follows them as they arrive for the contest. During the competition, Betti is eliminated. Buddy, Sharmayne, Sammy, and Sunshine all end up as the finalists. Sharmayne gets fed up with Buddy's showboating during the finals and picks a fight with him. This causes the entire competition to descend into a giant food fight. During the brawl, hot oil is splashed onto Sammy and she is taken to the hospital with burns. The fight is broken up and the contest is ended. Ultimately, the judges decide to award first place to Sammy, who receives get-well cards from the other contestants. In the end the contestants realize what really matters is not competition, it's coming together to share and enjoy a common culture.

Cast

Background

The title and concept of this film was heavily influenced by the post-colonial native dish frybread which has a daunting and sad history. In 1864-1968 Navajo Native Americans were forcibly evicted and endured a 300-mile journey from Arizona to New Mexico which was formally known as “The Long Walk”. Living on flour, sugar, salt and lard given by the government, was transformed into “Fry Bread”. This dish has been seen as a symbol of pride and has been passed down from generations. [6] When asked “Why Frybread?” Hamilton responded “I wanted to make a movie that gave us an excuse to shoot on numerous reservations and make new friends. I thought frybread was a good thing that had the potential to bring people together. I liked the idea of a mockumentary frybread contest and wondered why there wasn't a real national frybread contest. I didn’t realize how big frybread really was." [7]

Hamilton's main goal is to change the way people view Native Americans. Due to the fact that there is a very limited amount of comedies and dramas regarding Natives in the mainstream media. He wanted to use frybread as something that could bring people and other culture together. [8] This film's success and great feedback inspired Hamilton to create a spin off of the show as a comedy called "Frybread". [9] The show was put on hold until funding could be found to support the project.

Wanting to continue to display Native Americans through various characters and narratives, Hamilton has made four contemporary films; the others are “Pete and Cleo (2010), “Blue Gap Boyz” (2008) and Turquoise Rose (2007).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tohono Oʼodham</span> Native American people of the Sonoran Desert

The Tohono Oʼodham are a Native American people of the Sonoran Desert, residing primarily in the U.S. state of Arizona and the northern Mexican state of Sonora. The United States federally recognized tribe is the Tohono Oʼodham Nation. The Ak-Chin Indian Community also has Tohono Oʼodham members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akimel O'odham</span> Indigenous people in the US and Mexico

The Akimel O'odham, also called the Pima, are an Indigenous people of the Americas living in the United States in central and southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua. The majority population of the two current bands of the Akimel O'odham in the United States is based in two reservations: the Keli Akimel Oʼodham on the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) and the On'k Akimel O'odham on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC).

Indigenous peoples of Arizona are the Native American people who currently live or have historically lived in what is now the state of Arizona. There are 22 federally recognized tribes in Arizona, including 17 with reservations that lie entirely within its borders. Reservations make up over a quarter of the state's land area. Arizona has the third largest Native American population of any U.S. state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Apache people</span> Native American ethnic group

The Western Apache are a subgroup of the Apache Native American people, who live primarily in east central Arizona, in the United States and north of Mexico in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Most live within reservations. The Fort Apache Indian Reservation, San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Tonto Apache, and the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation are home to the majority of Western Apache and are the bases of their federally recognized tribes. In addition, there are numerous bands. The Western Apache bands call themselves Ndee (Indé). Because of dialectical differences, the Pinaleño/Pinal and Arivaipa/Aravaipa bands of the San Carlos Apache pronounce the word as Innee or Nnēē:.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonto Apache</span> Western Apache Indigenous people

The Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona or Tonto Apache is a federally recognized tribe of Western Apache people located in northwestern Gila County, Arizona. The term "Tonto" is also used for their dialect, one of the three dialects of the Western Apache language, a member of Southern Athabaskan language family. The Tonto Apache Reservation is the smallest land base reservation in the state of Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frybread</span> Variety of flatbread

Frybread is a dish of the indigenous people of North America that is a flat dough bread, fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard.

Yavapai is an Upland Yuman language, spoken by Yavapai people in central and western Arizona. There are four dialects: Kwevkepaya, Wipukpaya, Tolkepaya, and Yavepe. Linguistic studies of the Kwevkepaya (Southern), Tolkepaya (Western), Wipukepa, and Yavepe (Prescott) dialects have been published.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Grant massacre</span> Part of the Apache Wars

The Camp Grant massacre, on April 30, 1871, was an attack on Pinal and Aravaipa Apaches who surrendered to the United States Army at Camp Grant, Arizona, along the San Pedro River. The massacre led to a series of battles and campaigns fought between the Americans, the Apache, and their Yavapai allies, which continued into 1875, the most notable being General George Crook's Tonto Basin Campaign of 1872 and 1873.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oasisamerica</span> Pre-Columbian cultural region of North America

Oasisamerica is a cultural region of Indigenous peoples in North America. Their precontact cultures were predominantly agrarian, in contrast with neighboring tribes to the south in Aridoamerica. The region spans parts of Northwestern Mexico and Southwestern United States and can include most of Arizona and New Mexico; southern parts of Utah and Colorado; and northern parts of Sonora and Chihuahua. During some historical periods, it might have included parts of California and Texas as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yavapai</span> Indigenous people from Arizona

The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Their Yavapai language belongs to the Upland Yuman branch of the proposed Hokan language family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Miles</span> American painter

Douglas Miles is a White Mountain Apache-San Carlos Apache-Akimel O'odham painter, printmaker and photographer from Arizona, who founded Apache Skateboards and Apache Skate Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hualapai War</span> 1865–1870, United States v. Natives

The Hualapai War, or Walapai War, was an armed conflict fought from 1865 to 1870 between the Hualapai native Americans and the United States in Arizona Territory. The Yavapai also participated on the side of the Hualapai and Mohave scouts were employed by the United States Army. Following the death of the prominent Yavapai leader Anasa in April 1865, the natives began raiding American settlements which provoked a response by the United States Army forces stationed in the area. By the spring of 1869 disease forced the majority of the Hualapais to surrender though some skirmishing continued for almost two more years.

The Fry Bread House is a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, serving fry bread, a Native American dish of dough fried in lard, Crisco, or oil, which the restaurant serves with various toppings or fillings. Exact recipes and ingredients vary but those typical of frybread are flour, salt, and lard, reflecting the commodities doled out on the reservations by the U.S. federal government.

Arizona, a state in the southwestern region of the United States of America, is known for its high population of Native Americans. Arizona has the third highest number of Native Americans of any state in the Union. Out of the entire US population of 2.9 million Native Americans, roughly 286,680 live in Arizona, representing 10% of the country's total Native American population. Only California and Oklahoma have more Native Americans than Arizona by number. Arizona also has the highest proportion of land allocated to Native American reservations, at 28%. Arizona has five of the twelve largest Indian reservations in the United States, including the largest, the Navajo Nation, and the third-largest, the Tohono O'odham Nation. Also, Arizona has the largest number of Native American language speakers in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schoolhouse at Truxton Canyon Training School</span> United States historic place

The Schoolhouse at Truxton Canyon Training School, which has also been known as the Truxton Canyon Indian School and as the Valentine Indian School, is a historic schoolhouse that was built in 1903. It was built using Colonial Revival architecture as a work of the Office of Indian Affairs, and was expanded, compatibly with the Colonial Revival style, in 1929. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Tatanka Wanbli Sapa Xila Sabe Means is an American actor and comedian, of Oglala Lakota, Omaha, Yankton Dakota, and Diné descent. He is best known for his roles in Killers of the Flower Moon and The Son.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous peoples of the North American Southwest</span> Regional culture of native peoples in southwestern North America

The Indigenous peoples of the North American Southwest are those in the current states of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada in the western United States, and the states of Sonora and Chihuahua in northern Mexico. An often quoted statement from Erik Reed (1666) defined the Greater Southwest culture area as extending north to south from Durango, Mexico to Durango, Colorado and east to west from Las Vegas, Nevada to Las Vegas, New Mexico. Other names sometimes used to define the region include "American Southwest", "Northern Mexico", "Chichimeca", and "Oasisamerica/Aridoamerica". This region has long been occupied by hunter-gatherers and agricultural people.

The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona represents the unitied voice of 21 tribal nations. The council's programs and advocacy include cultural issues, health, education, environmental issues, and community issues.

References

  1. ↑ "'More Than Frybread': Native American mockumentary fries up fun". AXS. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  2. ↑ "More Than FryBread". navajotimes.com. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
  3. ↑ "'More Than Frybread'". azcentral.com. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  4. ↑ Goodykoontz, Bill. "'Frybread' overdone: Native fun wears thin". Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. pp. P1, P2. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  5. ↑ Hamilton, Travis Holt; Apachee, Deshava; Apachee, Jesse S.; Arviso, Ojay (2012-02-03), More Than Frybread , retrieved 2016-12-20
  6. ↑ Vantrease (2013). "Commod bods and frybread power. Government food aid in American Indian culture". Journal of American Folklore. 126 (499): 55–59. doi:10.5406/jamerfolk.126.499.0055. S2CID   161943946.
  7. ↑ "More Than Frybread". Holt Hamilton Films. Archived from the original on 2016-12-16. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
  8. ↑ "More Than Frybread Mockumentary Going Rez to Rez - Indian Country Media Network". Indian Country Media Network. 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  9. ↑ Fellow, April Sperry Entertainment; Post, The Huffington (2014-02-13). "Could 'Frybread' Become America's First Native American Sitcom?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.