Powwow Highway
Within Powwow highway, the two main characters are living their life, according to how they believe it means to be a Cheyenne, the Native American tribe they both belong two. Although they both are striving to be a true Cheyenne in their own portrayal belief, they both differ on many levels of what it means to be a Cheyenne. For Red bow, being a Cheyenne means defending their land and ownership against those who wish to harm it, and defending against the government, and others, who also wish to harm their tribe. Red bow believes defending his heritage is what it means to be a Cheyenne. On the other hand, Philbert believes in embracing, and embodying the wisdom of his ancestors and the spiritual side of being a Cheyenne. For Philbert, embracing the spiritual side of becoming a warrior of Cheyenne is what it means to be a true Cheyenne.
When the two men embark on their journey, within Philbert’s car, who he deems ‘the protector,’ a transformation of the men occurs within Protector, the more they are on the road. At the beginning of the trip, Red bow only decides to use Philbert for his car, to get to his sister, however, the longer Red bow spends time with Philbert, particularly on the road, the two distinct characters begin to become closer as members of the same tribe, and become closer as friends. On the road, the who are forced to talk and interact with each other on their own level; Red bow wanting to facilitate chance and protection for their tribe, and Philbert wanting to embrace the spiritual side, causes both to embrace each other for who they are on their own terms, and in regards to who they are as Cheyenne’s, and the road facilitates that.
At the end of the film, I believe the emotion Red bow shows when he believe the friend he just became so close to died, and Philbert embracing his new found identity of being a Cheyenne warrior, cause the two to really ‘fuse’ together. With the ‘death’ of the protector, in my opinion, it symbolizes the need for the two men to not have to be dependent on it anymore, and have each other to protect and defend each other, as ‘the protector’ was doing, and the two can begin another journey back home as newly defined people.