Smart Bets: Our Spirits Don’t Speak English

In a season when stories of Indians and Pilgrims paint a skewed version of the country’s past, the North Asheville Library’s Indigenous American History documentary series seeks to present a more honest perspective. The third film in the five-part program, Chip Richie’s 2008 feature Our Spirits Don’t Speak English explores the history of the Indian Boarding Schools. The institutions took Native American children from their families and forcibly re-educated them in the ways of Western society. The film will be screened Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m. Tea will be provided, and a discussion session will take place after the film. Free. avl.mx/251. Pictured, students at Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Pennsylvania, circa 1900. Photographer unknown, image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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About Edwin Arnaudin
Edwin Arnaudin is a staff writer for Mountain Xpress. He also reviews films for ashevillemovies.com and is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) and North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA). Follow me @EdwinArnaudin

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