Borders

The cameras of the television crew that appears on the third day of the narrator and his mother’s border crossing symbolize transparency and accountability. After telling Mel their story, the narrator and his mother see camera crews arrive at the border the following morning. They interview the narrator and his mother about “be[ing] an Indian without a country,” and when they drive back to the American side of the border, the camera crew follows. When the final guard steps out of the American border office, his eyes immediately catch the cameras trained on him. Lights shine in his face, catching sweat rolling down his face as he uneasily takes in the scene. Knowing that people are watching him, he grows uncomfortable, having registered that his power is now limited and subject to backlash if he missteps. Knowing that he will be held accountable for however he acts now, the guard greets the narrator and his mother with particular friendliness and lets them pass through the border after the narrator’s mother declares Blackfoot citizenship.

With that said, however, the cameras also add an element of voyeurism to the story. The crew seems particularly interested in hearing sad stories from the narrator and his mother in their interviews. When the narrator instead gushes about their big house on the reservation, where he fishes and rides horses with his cousins, the crew members appear bemused, as if this kind of narrative is not what they’re looking for. With the cameras’ ability to hold oppressive power accountable comes caveats: not only is the accountability dependent on having someone watching, but the narrative itself is also beyond the subjects’ control. In this way, then, the camera’s presence also serves to reinforce how little power the narrator and his mother have over their fates when up against the power of larger, institutional powers.