Native Actors and Filmmakers by Gary Robinson

Author:Gary Robinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 7th Generation

Born in San Francisco in 1961, Jack credits his grandmother with teaching him about his tribal roots. She was a great storyteller with a knack for humor, as was Jack’s father, who worked for a large engineering and construction firm in San Francisco building skyscrapers. Both contributed to the boy’s early exposure to storytelling.

However, Jack’s parents had what he calls a “tumultuous marriage,” so from ages one to seven, the boy lived with his grandparents. When Jack was around five years old, his grandfather had a stroke that affected the elderly man’s ability to function or speak for the rest of his life.

One day, when Jack was about seven years old, his grandfather was sitting as usual in his La-Z-Boy chair, quietly watching television as Jack played with his toy cars on the living room floor. Suddenly, the elder stood up and declared, “Jackie, one day you’re going to Stanford University,” and then he sat back down.

“That’s the only thing he ever said to me,” Jack recalls. (Stanford University is a highly respected California college known for science and engineering excellence.)

As one of only two Native American students in his high school, Jack experienced quite a bit of prejudice. White students made fun of him, calling him “Tonto” or “Geronimo,” terms that were meant to humiliate him.

As a senior in high school, Jack remembers a counselor giving him an application to attend a local state college, saying, “I think you’ll do well at this school.” Jack suddenly remembered what his grandfather had said all those years ago and told the counselor he wanted to go to Stanford instead. The counselor told him that he “wasn’t Stanford material,” meaning that he wasn’t smart enough to go to a school like that.

Jack took the initiative to contact Stanford on his own and request the necessary application forms. He was accepted to this prestigious university and ended up being the only student from his high school chosen to go there.

While attending Stanford, Jack met other Native American students and started taking part in Native activities. That’s when he began to feel the pride of being a Native American. During school breaks, he visited his grandmother and asked questions about his Native heritage. He also began attending events on his reservation at least once a year.

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