Kresge Library

Director Chris Eyre presents the film Smoke Signals

cover for DVD version of Smoke SignalsThe English Deptarment, with the support of the College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Programs Fund, and the Office of the Provost, cordially invites you to attend a very special event. Native American film maker Chris Eyre will be on campus to host a screening of his award winning film, Smoke Signals, and to answer questions following the film on Monday, November 15, 2004, at 7:00 p.m. in Banquet Rooms A & B of the Oakland Center. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served during the hour before the event.

The award-winning film Smoke Signals is the first feature film written, directed, and starring Native Americans. The screenplay, written by poet/novelist Sherman Alexie (based on stories from his book "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven") follows the adventures of two Coeur d’Alene youths who venture from the reservation to Arizona to collect the remains of the father of one of them. A variation of the classical road trip/buddy movie, this film mixes hilarious comedy with darker, sharply poignant moments. It explores contemporary Native American experience and explodes Indian stereotypes such as the Vanishing Indian and romanticized versions of the warrior and the shaman.

For more information abot this screening, see the English Department's Current Events Page.


Reviews of Smoke Signals*:

  • IMDB.com
  • Georgakas, Dan. Smoke Signals. Cineaste, Fall 1998 v23 i4 p28(5)
  • Lafontaine, Aimee. Smoke Signals. Educational Studies v. 34 no2 (Summer 2003) p. 262-5
  • They've gotta have it; what Spike Lee's film did for African Americans, Smoke Signals aims to do for Native Americans. Time, June 29, 1998 v151 n25 p69(2)

Interviews with and articles about Sherman Alexie and Chris Eyre

  • Alexie, Sherman. Making Smoke. Whole Earth, Fall 1998 n94 p102(2)
  • Bowman, Jon. Telling it like it is: filmmaker Chris Eyre. Native Peoples v. 15 no3 (Mar./Apr. 2002) p. 22-3.
  • West, Dennis and West, Joan. Sending cinematic smoke signals: an interview with Sherman Alexie. Cineaste, Fall 1998 v23 i4 p28(5)

*Access to some full text resources from off campus is limited to current Oakland students, staff, and faculty (find out why...).
Created on 12/12/06 by 11/02/04 by Robert Slater and Kevin Grimm / Last updated on 5/1/19 by Robert Slater
Oakland University

Oakland University, Kresge Library
2200 N Squirrel Rd., Rochester, MI 48309
(248) 370 - 4426