I thought it was on this board that I read it but it looks like I mistook it for another place where someone mentioned they were irritated that Chief Deputy Hawk played the stereotypical Native American wisdom bringer. Frankly I'm tired of hearing from people sowing discord about that. Yes, Hawk has his deep streak of wisdom. But so did a lot of characters in the show. Agent Cooper, Dr. Hayward, Dr. Jacoby, Maj. Briggs and even Sheriff H.S. Truman had their own brand of evocative philosophy and/or faith. What made the show so wonderful is they combined their knowledge to paint a better picture. I feel like anyone who singles out Hawk for expounding on his native legends is themselves acting quite racist. He's not the only native in the series AND not all of them talked in great detail about folklore. I've always personally felt very drawn in by things that Hawk had to say and always respected his character for being patient with all the other people he worked with.
There's also the fact that Michael Horse is a Native American activist who respects Native American culture more than most who would complain on these forums. I think we need to wait and see what happens before we accuse Lynch of using Hawk as "token Native American"
As an aside when I heard the log lady say the missing piece had something to do with his heritage, I also was intrigued to hear more about the local lodge lore from Hawk's tribal legends. It was too brief for me in the 1st.
You are right, Aron - I believe it was on this board, because I remember the same comment and, yes: people who calls out cultural characterization as something "racist" are, involuntarly (or so I assume), acting on a racist bias. There wasn't any mischaracterization or disrespect in how Hawk was portrayed, at least nothing I could detect as such.
Actually, now that I think about it, the whole thing was addressed in-show, when Lucy's sister went in full reverse-racism mode: "oh, you must hate us white people for what we did to your people", to which Hawk's answer is "Some of my best friend are white people".
Also, yes: the native side of the mythology surrounding the Lodges (and, thus, everything else) would be really interesting to explore further.
People are overly sensitive and often weak. Increasingly so these days.
Did you know avoiding eye contact is racist? I didn't. Ask Oxford though.
(And 'reverse racism'...Is just racism. There's nothing reversed.)
Hawk is a Native American character with as much dimension as the rest, a fine lawman and overall person who apparently has (had?) a romantic streak...And also happens to be well-versed in the mythology of his people. It's almost like it's his culture or something.
It shouldn't be a problem. But, c'est la vie...
Hawk's ancestry is also expanded upon in the Secret History book. It's a crucial part of the story - not sure why people actively seek to see the negative in these things :/
Fire walk with