Chaske Spencer talks Twilight Racism and the Game of Hollywood
source: http://www.racebending.com/v3/featured/chaske-spencer-actor-twilight/
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This is my interview with Chaske Spencer. Perhaps no better way to wish you all a happy Day of the Dead than by taking a moment to talk with an actor acquainted with the undead and Chaske has come to fame as both Dracula and Sam Uley the leader of the Wolfpack in Twilight. Chaske is also the founder of Shift the Power to the People a charity focused on making sustainable change in communities across the world. Starting with the Cheyene River Sioux Tribe who were devastated by a brutal winter storm season and are working hard to rebuild their water and power infrastructure. He opens up about his new production company and projects and is even willing to talk about experiences with addiction, poverty, and racism.
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http://www.racebending.com/v3/featured/chaske-spencer-actor-twilight/
RACEBENDING.COM: I’m curious, did your parents, being educators, talk about Indian Boarding Schools? Was that something that drove them to say, maybe make a positive change to address some of those issues, to do good in the community?
CHASKE SPENCER: I remember hearing stories from my mother and father about their parents and grandparents when they were taken of the reservation, taken to the boarding schools, and pretty much taught to be ashamed of who they were as Native Americans. You can feel that impact today.
I think that’s why there is so much alcohol and drug abuse on reservations, because the self-esteem of those people–they were robbed of the self-esteem for who they are. Our people were a beautiful people, and they still are.
The impact of that has affected generations. You had abuse, sexual abuse, at these boarding schools, plus, they were forced to cut their own hair–to be ashamed of who they were. If they spoke their own tongue, their mouths were washed out with soap. You can feel that effect today.
It’s very sad but it’s an awareness; I think our people do know, but some are ashamed to talk about it. If you start talking about it, you realize that’s a key point in our history, where we turned, where something happened. I believe it’s coming back with the Sundances, the Sweat Lodges and Native American spirituality coming back. We were just granted our rights here in the 1970s.
RACEBENDING.COM: Do you think that media representation plays a role in this, because there is a lack of positive portrayals in the media? So many overtly racist practices were allowed to continue well after segregation and other practices had stopped.
CHASKE SPENCER: Yeah. I went to all white school where I dealt with racism. There was a point–when I was a kid–where I said I wanted to be like Luke Skywalker, with blond hair and blue eyes. My mom right there told me to never be ashamed of who I am.
It was just conditioning. You see it everywhere in Hollywood–you know, in the media in general–it’s conditioning, conditioning everywhere you look. It took somewhere into my teens for me to really understand who I was and to start being proud of who I was.
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http://www.racebending.com/v3/featured/chaske-spencer-actor-twilight/
RACEBENDING.COM: I’m curious, did your parents, being educators, talk about Indian Boarding Schools? Was that something that drove them to say, maybe make a positive change to address some of those issues, to do good in the community?
CHASKE SPENCER: I remember hearing stories from my mother and father about their parents and grandparents when they were taken of the reservation, taken to the boarding schools, and pretty much taught to be ashamed of who they were as Native Americans. You can feel that impact today.
I think that’s why there is so much alcohol and drug abuse on reservations, because the self-esteem of those people–they were robbed of the self-esteem for who they are. Our people were a beautiful people, and they still are.
The impact of that has affected generations. You had abuse, sexual abuse, at these boarding schools, plus, they were forced to cut their own hair–to be ashamed of who they were. If they spoke their own tongue, their mouths were washed out with soap. You can feel that effect today.
It’s very sad but it’s an awareness; I think our people do know, but some are ashamed to talk about it. If you start talking about it, you realize that’s a key point in our history, where we turned, where something happened. I believe it’s coming back with the Sundances, the Sweat Lodges and Native American spirituality coming back. We were just granted our rights here in the 1970s.
RACEBENDING.COM: Do you think that media representation plays a role in this, because there is a lack of positive portrayals in the media? So many overtly racist practices were allowed to continue well after segregation and other practices had stopped.
CHASKE SPENCER: Yeah. I went to all white school where I dealt with racism. There was a point–when I was a kid–where I said I wanted to be like Luke Skywalker, with blond hair and blue eyes. My mom right there told me to never be ashamed of who I am.
It was just conditioning. You see it everywhere in Hollywood–you know, in the media in general–it’s conditioning, conditioning everywhere you look. It took somewhere into my teens for me to really understand who I was and to start being proud of who I was.
