Racism in The Searchers, respect and Comanche burial traditions

I think that everyone should be respected regardless of their color, race, traditions, culture etc. In the movie The Searchers directed by John Ford, we see a lot of racism towards the Comanche Indians. I believe that it is wrong and unfair to treat and despise someone just because they have different traditions and different ways other than the “white way” which was the only thing the main protagonist Ethan, played by John Wayne, cared about. There is a specific scene in the movie that was really disturbing and racist towards the Comanche Indians and their culture. The scene is when Ethan and his men came across a Comanche Indian dead body that was buried under a rock and Ethan being the revengeful man that he is he shoots the body even though he is dead already. Ethan knows Comanche traditions very well and he knew that if he shot the eyes of the dead body it’s spirit would wander forever. “Along the way, the searchers find a Comanche buried under a large sandstone rock. [This scene of the traditional Indian burial ritual is closely juxtaposed to the previous scene of the Christian funeral.] Ethan takes his gun and shoots two bullets at the Indian corpse, aiming at its eyes. Although Reverend Clayton interprets his senseless, excessive act as vindictive and contemptuous, Ethan explains how his defilement of the Indian has thwarted the spiritual belief of the Comanche, causing his spirit to wander forevermore” (AMC).

The Comanche death rituals and burial traditions are very unique and special to them. The author describes the burial ritual, “The knees of the deceased were folded and tied with a rope and then the body was washed. The deceased was dressed in finest available clothing and put upon a blanket. The face was painted red and the eyes were covered with some clay. The relatives of the deceased said farewell to their loved one. The body was then wrapped in blanket and tied with buffalo-hide rope and put on a horse and carried to the place of burial. The Comanche usually buried their dead in a cave, a ravine or a crevice among the rocks” (Popovic). The Comanche Indians as well as everybody else should have their traditions and culture respected because it’s the correct and moral thing to do. I don’t think any of us would be very happy if we come to see that our loved one was dug out of the grave and thrown somewhere just because someone didn’t like our culture.

If only everyone was respectful enough and not judgmental, I’m sure that every race and culture would be very happy and feel respected and wanted at all times, but we know that it’s an impossible thing. The Searchers is a very wonderful movie with a lot of meaning behind it but it is also a very racist movie but in all it was a great movie to watch and learn from. As for the Comanche Indians, I think they are very unique in their traditions and despite the movie and how it trashed their ways, they still show to be very prideful and a content Indian tribe.

Works Cited

AMC Filmsite: The Searchers. 1956. Web. 13 March. < http://www.filmsite.org/sear.html>

Catlin, George. A Comanche Village. 1834. Texasindians.com. Web. 31 Mar. 2012

Chief Scar. Screenshadowsgroup.com. Web. 31 Mar. 2012

Indian burial. Texasbeyondhistory.net. Web. 31 Mar. 2012

John Wayne scenery picture. Dvdjournal.com. Web. 31 Mar. 2012

Popovic, Mislav. “Native American death rites.” Traditions and Customs from all over the world. 2009-2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2012. < http://traditionscustoms.com/death-rites/native-american-death-rites>

The Searchers. Dir. John Ford. Perf. John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter and Vera Miles. 1956. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1956. DVD.