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it's not clear whether this is going to be a documentary or more of a dramatization, but apparently the surviving family members aren't too happy about it..
i was a kid when all this happened but i remember the protest marches and how tense things were.
Quote:
The cover of one edition of the 1992 book "Broken Circle" endorses the story as a "riveting bestseller."
Surviving family members of the three Navajo citizens killed during the 1974 incident, however, don't find the story riveting. In fact, reading the accounts of their fathers, grandfathers and uncles being burned and beaten to death reopened wounds that never really healed, said John Harvey Jr., son of one of the murdered men.
"The death of my father was so traumatizing to me all my life," Harvey said. "Then they publish a book about the horrible way he died, making the hurt and sorrow even more pronounced in my life now."
Harvey was one of about 20 family members of the three men to meet Friday to discuss the proposed independent film based on the book by Rodney Barker.
Family members claim they were not consulted before the book was written, and they were brought into the film process after it already was funded.
I don't know why, but The Broken Circle (now out of print) is one old paperback book that I re-read ever so often.
It's difficult to fathom such utter cruelty, and I can understand why the families affected would be upset at a pending documentary/movie.
Didn't all of the family members of the boys responsible for the killings leave the Farmington area not too long afterward? I know the names of the boys were changed, but I also thought that the real names of the Navajos were not used.
Last edited by Cathy4017; 06-02-2010 at 03:16 PM..
I don't know why, but The Broken Circle (now out of print) is one old paperback book that I re-read ever so often.
It's difficult to fathom such utter cruelty, and I can understand why the families affected would be upset at a pending documentary/movie.
Didn't all of the family members of the boys responsible for the killings leave the Farmington area not too long afterward? I know the names of the boys were changed, but I also thought that the real names of the Navajos were not used.
i'll have to see if i can dig up my copy of the book, but i was under the impression that the real names of the victims were used. one of the killers used to go to the same church my family attended, and yeah, i'm pretty sure all left town.
it was not at all uncommon in the 70s and 80s for bored high-schoolers to go 'rolling indians.' i hope that no longer happens but it very well may.
My copy is probably still packed in one of the boxes I haven't gotten around to yet. The major perpetrator was killed when he was out jogging (couldn't have happened to a "nicer" guy), but I don't remember what became of the other two.
What I can't believe is that they got off so lightly (as far as the existing system went at that time). 2 years (if I remember correctly) at a juvenile facility in Springer, NM is nothing.
I hope it doesn't happen any longer, either, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.
i'll have to see if i can dig up my copy of the book, but i was under the impression that the real names of the victims were used. one of the killers used to go to the same church my family attended, and yeah, i'm pretty sure all left town.
it was not at all uncommon in the 70s and 80s for bored high-schoolers to go 'rolling indians.' i hope that no longer happens but it very well may.
Later addition:
Yes, you're correct. The true names of the Navajo victims were used, but not the killers.
The ringleader was killed in Lubbock in 1977, and is buried here in Farmington. If I'm not mistaken, his parents still live here, if they're still alive.
I'm re-reading the book once again
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