It is not often that anthropological field videos are offered to the public for general distribution. One of the few that have been is Maurice Blumenfeld-Champfleur’s Les Indiens Ruinés. Blumenfeld-Champfleur, the controversial author of books such as La Hachée et la Purée and Deux Ans parmi les Cous Rouges, dismayed at the acculturation he encountered during an expedition down the Mojave River in 1999, decided to bring the dire situation of the Interior Chumash tribe to the attention of a lay audience.
Les Indiens Ruinés was not a box-office success nor was it nominated for any Academy Awards, despite intense lobbying by Blumenfeld-Champfleur, which included a threat to release secret videos of the initiation rites of Hollywood extras, yet it accomplished Blumenfeld-Champfleur’s purpose. So shocking were the images of the degradation of this once noble Native American tribe that, spurred on by HUG (Hollywood United Girlfriends), the powerful non-profit organization AAKIOP (American Association to Keep Our Indians Picturesque) was formed.
Thanks to intense lobbying by AAKIOP, Congress has passed such legislation as the Taos Airport Expansion Act (2002), the Turquoise Jewelry Deregulation Act (2004) and the Drum Safety Act, also known as Stuie's Law (2008).
(Because of the commercial nature of this production, it will probably be preceded by an advertisement. You MUST purchase the product advertised, otherwise you will incur the Wrath of the Internet which could manifest itself in one of many unpleasant ways, such having the Google Map Car drive past your home just as you have stomped out of the house after a screaming row with your domestic partner or having a message sent from your e-mail account to all your contacts advising them of a sure cure for genital warts.)
Les Indiens Ruinés was not a box-office success nor was it nominated for any Academy Awards, despite intense lobbying by Blumenfeld-Champfleur, which included a threat to release secret videos of the initiation rites of Hollywood extras, yet it accomplished Blumenfeld-Champfleur’s purpose. So shocking were the images of the degradation of this once noble Native American tribe that, spurred on by HUG (Hollywood United Girlfriends), the powerful non-profit organization AAKIOP (American Association to Keep Our Indians Picturesque) was formed.
Thanks to intense lobbying by AAKIOP, Congress has passed such legislation as the Taos Airport Expansion Act (2002), the Turquoise Jewelry Deregulation Act (2004) and the Drum Safety Act, also known as Stuie's Law (2008).
(Because of the commercial nature of this production, it will probably be preceded by an advertisement. You MUST purchase the product advertised, otherwise you will incur the Wrath of the Internet which could manifest itself in one of many unpleasant ways, such having the Google Map Car drive past your home just as you have stomped out of the house after a screaming row with your domestic partner or having a message sent from your e-mail account to all your contacts advising them of a sure cure for genital warts.)