Directed by
Florio, Maria
Mudd, Victoria, American, born 1946
Narrated by
Sheen, Martin, American, born 1940
Subject of
Hopi Tribe of Arizona, Hopi
Distributed by
Earthworks, American, founded 1980
Owned by
D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
Date
1985
Medium
polyester film
Dimensions
Duration: 56 Minutes
Length (Film): 2025 Feet
Caption
This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
Description
A documentary film with the title Broken Rainbow. It consists of a single reel of color 16mm polyester film with optical sound. The documentary discusses the plight of the Navajo and Hopi peoples who were forcibly relocated from Black Mesa, Arizona after the 1974 Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act. It opens with footage of a congressional hearing on the Navajo relocation. Other scenes/topics that arise in the documentary include a discussion of the origins of the Hopi and Navajo nations; footage of Navajo people doing everyday tasks such as herding sheep, farming and grinding corn, as well as harvesting medicinal berries; interviews with Navajo people in their native language where they talk about their connection to the land; archival footage of clashes between Europeans and Native Americans (the narrator comments that Nazis studied the internment camps used on the Navajo to design the ones in Europe); the attempted acculturation of the Navajo and Hopi peoples by white Americans; relations between Navajo and Hopi peoples; footage of the construction of the Santa Fe railroad and the consequences it had on the nations; creation of the Navajo Tribal Council Chambers; as well as the impact of World War II on the Navajo and the contributions the Navajo made to the American military. The final sections of the documentary discuss the creation of the Navajo Tribal Council Chamber and the impact of coal and other mining on the Navajo. The narrator and interviewees state that the Navajo gain miniscule pecuniary benefits from the mining industry but suffer immensely from the health consequences. One of the men featured suffered adverse health risks from unwittingly using radioactive ore to build his house. There are also scenes of Navajo and Hopi activism and resistance despite the government destroying the flora and livestock they rely on in order to remove them from the land.
Place used
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
Place filmed
Hopi Reservation, Arizona, United States, North and Central America
Navajo Nation, Arizona, United States, North and Central America
Collection title
DC Public Library Film Collection
Classification
Time-based Media - Moving Images
Movement
American Indian Movements
Type
documentaries
sound films
color films (visual works)
16mm (photographic film size)
Topic
Activism
American West
Colonialism
Communities
Decolonization
Documentary films
Economics
Film
Government
Health
Race relations
Resistance
United States History
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2017.55.92.1a
Restrictions & Rights
Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd50f1cfa72-2e31-4853-a82a-6b5e675b33c8

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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