Picuris Indians

The Picuris Indians of New Mexico are a deeply religious people that, at one time, numbered in the thousands. Today, the Picuris population is less than 250. Picuris Indians combines narration by filmmaker Harold Joe Waldrum, interviews with local scholar Herbert Dick, and filmed footage of the Picuris people as they appear in both daily living, and in special, rarely observed, ritual dances. As a visual record of a particular culture this video has some value. As a general interest documentary, however, it is woefully lacking. Except for the footage/narration on the restoration of the mission churches (Waldrum is an artist), much of the narration is alternately offensive and ridiculous. Like most amateur films made on minorities, this one somehow manages to convey that the Picuris people are a living tragedy and its basically your fault (at the same time referring to the Picuris as if they are a nation of saints.) Just to drive home the point, the filmmakers have included a glossary, defining such terms as "condescend" (which, of course, is condescending in itself), "psychological stress", "pagan", "deignous" (a word, long considered obsolete, according to the OED, meaning "haughty, arrogant" either of which would have done nicely), etc. Can one really be expected to idly sit back without squawking while being incorrectly informed that "heretic" means "one who refuses to believe after the second admonition" by people who pronounce "consummate" with the accent on the second syllable ? We think not, and you may call us deignous for that if you'd like. Recommended only for university collections with strong Native American study programs. (Available from: Waldrum Studios, Box 549, Rancho de Taos, NM 87557-0549.)