Post by Okwes on Feb 6, 2008 11:26:29 GMT -5
Delivering a message to White Swan students
By PHIL FEROLITO
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Thursday, April 5, 2007
WHITE SWAN -- American Indian actor Eddie Spears could easily have been
mistaken for a student as he walked through White Swan High School on Wednesday,
shaking hands and signing autographs.
Although his boyish face and calm manner allowed him to blend in, it was
clearly the 23-year-old's starring role in the American Indian boxing movie
"Black Cloud" and a message of pursuing dreams and staying away from drugs and
alcohol that set him apart.
His visit was part of a series of events at the high school geared to occupy
students on spring break and deter them from drinking and drugs.
Events include a basketball tournament that has drawn some 40 youth teams
from throughout the Valley and Cle Elum, a career and health fair, and a ropes
course where students use teamwork to get through obstacles.
Clad in an untucked white button-down shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers with
his long black hair pulled into a single braid, Spears took a seat in the
school's gym and signed autographs and had his picture taken with youth and
family.
Students and parents waiting for autographs formed a line that stretched
clear to gym doors.
Seventh-graders Nathan Lewis and Chris Arthur asked Spears if he really swam
in his leading role in "Dreamkeeper," a movie about a troubled youth who
realizes he must carry on his grandfather's tradition of storytelling after his
grandfather's death while on the way to a powwow.
"He said yeah," said Arthur. "He said they put sand bags in the water to make
it higher."
"He's pretty cool," Lewis added. "It's pretty cool for him to come down
here."
Spears, a Lower Brule Sioux who mentors Indian youth in his home state of
South Dakota, said he was excited about visiting the Yakama reservation.
"It was an opportunity to reach kids that I haven't had a chance to reach
yet," he said. "I asked myself, 'what am I going to say to these kids that their
teachers and parents haven't said yet?'"
He too recalled being pulled in different directions by drugs and people
during his teens.
But he stressed overcoming adversity.
"Getting used to rejection," he said. "That's what I'm always telling these
kids. It's not always instant gratification -- It's not an easy road."
Spears told how his efforts of becoming an actor echo his message to youth
about not giving up on their dreams.
For him, getting leading roles in American Indian films hasn't been easy and
he has yet to break into non-Indian roles, he said.
"For a long time, it was getting my resume tossed in the garbage," he said.
But he hasn't given up, he said.
"These kids, they are capable of doing anything," he said.
He said he was inspired by an actor who visited his school when he was a
youngster.
His first role was at age 10, when he played in the Turner production of
Geronimo.
He's won Best Actor awards from First Americans in the Arts and the Phoenix
Film Festival for his performance in "Dreamkeeper" and "Black Cloud," written
and directed by Rick Schroder -- the television star of "Silver Spoons" and
more recently "NYPD Blue."
Having the actor well known in Indian Country visit the school was a
blessing, said Nancy Fiander, one of the event organizers.
"It makes you feel good," she said.
By PHIL FEROLITO
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Thursday, April 5, 2007
WHITE SWAN -- American Indian actor Eddie Spears could easily have been
mistaken for a student as he walked through White Swan High School on Wednesday,
shaking hands and signing autographs.
Although his boyish face and calm manner allowed him to blend in, it was
clearly the 23-year-old's starring role in the American Indian boxing movie
"Black Cloud" and a message of pursuing dreams and staying away from drugs and
alcohol that set him apart.
His visit was part of a series of events at the high school geared to occupy
students on spring break and deter them from drinking and drugs.
Events include a basketball tournament that has drawn some 40 youth teams
from throughout the Valley and Cle Elum, a career and health fair, and a ropes
course where students use teamwork to get through obstacles.
Clad in an untucked white button-down shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers with
his long black hair pulled into a single braid, Spears took a seat in the
school's gym and signed autographs and had his picture taken with youth and
family.
Students and parents waiting for autographs formed a line that stretched
clear to gym doors.
Seventh-graders Nathan Lewis and Chris Arthur asked Spears if he really swam
in his leading role in "Dreamkeeper," a movie about a troubled youth who
realizes he must carry on his grandfather's tradition of storytelling after his
grandfather's death while on the way to a powwow.
"He said yeah," said Arthur. "He said they put sand bags in the water to make
it higher."
"He's pretty cool," Lewis added. "It's pretty cool for him to come down
here."
Spears, a Lower Brule Sioux who mentors Indian youth in his home state of
South Dakota, said he was excited about visiting the Yakama reservation.
"It was an opportunity to reach kids that I haven't had a chance to reach
yet," he said. "I asked myself, 'what am I going to say to these kids that their
teachers and parents haven't said yet?'"
He too recalled being pulled in different directions by drugs and people
during his teens.
But he stressed overcoming adversity.
"Getting used to rejection," he said. "That's what I'm always telling these
kids. It's not always instant gratification -- It's not an easy road."
Spears told how his efforts of becoming an actor echo his message to youth
about not giving up on their dreams.
For him, getting leading roles in American Indian films hasn't been easy and
he has yet to break into non-Indian roles, he said.
"For a long time, it was getting my resume tossed in the garbage," he said.
But he hasn't given up, he said.
"These kids, they are capable of doing anything," he said.
He said he was inspired by an actor who visited his school when he was a
youngster.
His first role was at age 10, when he played in the Turner production of
Geronimo.
He's won Best Actor awards from First Americans in the Arts and the Phoenix
Film Festival for his performance in "Dreamkeeper" and "Black Cloud," written
and directed by Rick Schroder -- the television star of "Silver Spoons" and
more recently "NYPD Blue."
Having the actor well known in Indian Country visit the school was a
blessing, said Nancy Fiander, one of the event organizers.
"It makes you feel good," she said.