spurlock the bilagaana

As promised, my take on “Spurlock does the rez” or perhaps more appropriately, “The rez does Spurlock”



Within the first minute of the show he used the phrase “rock the rez” and any sense of unbiased watching went completely out the window.

My positive bias was further bolstered when he went to buy a sheep. Unfortunately the sign just said “Sheep” rather than “Fat Sheep 4 Sale.” Later he helped to slaughter it, and was the person to clean out/off the stomach after butchering. Now, fortunately, I was never give that job, but I could related to the faces and comments he made in response to the smell. I remember being seated about 3 feet from a big silver bowl full of sheep intestines at the Squaw Dance, and well, I didn’t have much of an appetite after that. Except for fry bread, of course.


But of course all was not lovely reminiscing with Navajo tacos, Shiprock Fair rodeo, running to the sun, Diné College paraphernalia, and Benallys and Begays and Yazzies. What made the show good (and unlike Going Tribal) was the focus on the less picturesque sides of rez life. Poverty and language loss were key themes, as well as culture loss and the feeling of living between two worlds.

Spurlock did a decent job of demonstrating the rampant poverty. Though there were no scenes of completely downtrodden neighborhoods, he did mention many rez residences’ lack of running water and electricity, himself living in a hogan with neither (and also noted that now hogans are used primarily for ceremonies rather than living). Additionally, unemployment was a major factor in the program. Spurlock himself tried to find a job, interviewed a director at the Navajo job placement program, and spoke with a young man who said, “there are no jobs on the rez, its just hard, you know.” Eventually Morgan got a job at a tire shop, making $25 a day, but this development was tempered with the fact that the son of the family with whom he was staying was resigned to leave the rez to find a job after not earning enough on the rodeo circuit.

Also appreciated was Spurlock’s attempt to learn the language. He mentioned how tough it was and the previously mentioned son said, “I’ve lived here my whole life, and I don’t even know it.” Spurlock replied, “How am I going to learn it in 30 days?” Especially relevant for me was a fluke in editing: One shot is of Morgan trying to pronounce the Navajo word for horse, which Leap has mentioned a number of times that he has problems with. In the end, Morgan learned a phrase to say to Grandma (shiimazi) which was touching.

I’ve seen the show only a few times, so I’m only marginally aware of the format, but it was rather informative, with lots of Michael Moore-esque animations to illustrate facts. And while the animations were stupid, the facts that Spurlock, et. al decided to include I found rather responsible. General history, treaties, language loss, meaning behind ceremonies, and much more were addressed in a factual manner.

He did use the word “Indian” and I know that the most common nomenclature for Indigenous North Americans seems to be Indian, or American Indian, but I choose to use Native American. And this is not an uninformed choice, but is based on what a few select, close Navajo friends told me they preferred. But I digress…..

During the episode Spurlock explained to the family with whom he was living that his reason for coming was his (and presumably popular) lack of knowledge of indigenous North Americans. He explained that school history classes don’t do justice to the subject, so he wanted to learn from them so that he could teach others. And in fact, I even learned a few things from the show:

• sheep’s throats should be cut facing the east because good things come with the sun from the    east.
• An 1868 treaty with the U.S. gave rights to use the San Juan river’s water to the U.S.    Government in exchange for the U.S. accepting responsibility to make sure basic necessities    were provided for the Navajo.
• Running toward the sun is not just something that takes place during kinaaldas (which were    sadly absent—follow your nose!), but many Navajos do it every morning to start each day with  a clear mind.

At the end, he did get a little idealistic (verging on exotic) and pondered of what might be described as “the bilagaana world” and “the Navajo world,” “Why can’t we have both? Why can’t we move forward in this world and still have the values and heritage that make us who we are?” In the end, I came away thinking that his demonstration of both the positive and negative aspects of the rez really gave a good picture of, as the Admiral would say, “Beauty that hurts.”