On Thanksgiving, families from various backgrounds come together in the United States to celebrate the people who give their lives meaning. However, for many, Thanksgiving is not a period of celebration, but a moment to mourn lives lost to American expansion.
Indigenous people in the United States have often been sidelined by American history. However, this holiday season, San Gabriel Valley-raised and still-L.A.-based Native American and Mexican hoop dancer, Eric Michael Hernandez, is using his talents to promote Indigenous pride.
Hernandez is not only a talented dancer, but a filmmaker who celebrated his directorial debut for his short film, “Courage,” during Native American Heritage month.
The short film, screened alongside two other Native American shorts that have received critical acclaim, follows a young Hernandez as he navigates his childhood while coming to terms with his Native American identity through the art of hoop dancing.
“At that age when you just want to fit in, the idea of learning more about your culture and wanting to devote time to that or present yourself publicly in that way is kind of scary,” Hernandez said. “And I wanted to make this film because I wanted to share that it's actually our greatest strength to embrace our roots and our authenticity.”
Hernandez grew up in California, very close to his father’s Mexican family in El Sereno. However, this meant that he often felt distanced from his mother’s Lumbee heritage in North Carolina.
“A lot of my experience with my Mexican culture is just from our family get-togethers and the foods that my grandparents would make, and going there and having menudo and just being part of the community out here,” Hernandez said. “However, my father didn't speak Spanish, and he never taught us Spanish, so there was a bit of disconnect there.”
Being in Los Angeles allowed Hernandez to feel much closer to his Mexican roots, but it wasn’t until he turned 10 that he was able to learn about the second half of his heritage.
His uncle, Terry Goedel, is part of the Yakama and Tulalip tribes in Washington state and is also a nine-time world champion in hoop dancing. Hernandez said that Goedel became a father figure in his life after his parents separated. “My mom would send me over to his house, and I started hanging out a lot more with him and my cousins, and when he chose to teach us about life and how to be a man, and he chose the hoop dance,” Hernandez explained. Soon, he was participating in pow-wows around the community, finding strength in inspiring others through dance.
In recent years, families have left the reservation to pursue education, professional opportunities, and more. However, it has meant that many Indigenous youth have become very detached from their roots and are just starting to find their way back.
For that reason, in honor of Native American History Month, Hernandez felt that “Courage” might be able to bridge that gap. “I wished I would have been able to see a film like this when I was a kid, a story of a Native that is in an urban environment,” he said. “It’s not a Cowboys and Indians, it's not an old Western. It's something that feels relatable. It's something that speaks directly to an urban Native. The message carries my particular story, but it really is a general message of embracing your true identity and your true self and having courage.”
Native American culture is often victim to many false narratives and misconceptions, but Hernadez hopes that his work as a dancer and filmmaker will help to set the record straight.
“We didn't all live in teepees, we don't all look like the mascot of the Washington Redskins,” he said. “There's 570 different tribes. We come from all different places around Turtle Island. And, we all look different. We all speak different languages, eat different foods, live in different homes, and all have our own unique culture. There's not just one image of this characterized Indian.”
Above all, Hernandez hopes that his film allows people to think about their own identities and what they can do to make sure they’re living their lives to the fullest.
“In our culture, we talk about having an impact on the seven generations after you,” he explained. “I try to stay away from substances, alcohol, and drugs and things like that, because that's something that our community really has a hard time with.”
In an effort to live by example, Hernandez looks to practice what he preaches. “My day-to-day life as an urban Native is really just making sure that I'm able to carry myself daily and continue to feed my physical, spiritual, and mental so that I can be a great tool to represent my community,” said Hernandez.
For Hernandez, filmmaking and hoop dancing became a beacon of hope to allow children off of the reservation to reconnect with their roots. For no matter how far away they may be, through dance, people can always find their way back home again.
Follow @CouragetheFilm on Instagram to see where and when it will air next.
