In Homeland directed by Roberta Grossman, a member of a Native American tribe bitterly claims that Native Americans become national

sacrifice for the United States government and big western powers, which are willing to exploit the Native Americans for their own good and for the benefit of whom they believe to be the majority. Since the colonization of North America, Native Americans are often forced to accept western values. Although they could have viciously rejected all influences from western culture and become isolated, hermit nations, they instead cleverly chose and utilized the western ideas and technology for the benefit of their community. Native Americans have transformed the seeming threat to their livelihood into an instrument of survival. By transferring the information about their threats to other members of the tribes, Gail Small and Mitchell Capitan from the Cheyenne and Navajo tribes allow other members to become better decision-makers. The Cheyenne tribe in Eastern Montana is threatened by large coal companies that want to establish coal bed methane gas wells, which will exploit Indian resources and potentially destroy the Cheyenne homeland. Seeking way to help her tribe, Gail Small, finds a non-profit organization named Native Action. Organizing information for people to grasp and make better decisions on their own, the organization reveals the hidden truth behind the get-rich-quick scheme offered by the coal companies. One notable observation that can be made is that the organization does not force a decision on the tribe. Rather, it provides knowledge about the negative impacts of coal mining and lets the tribe decide on the course of action. Instead of disturbing the traditional decisions made by the Cheyenne people, Native Action utilizes the western knowledge to provide an opportunity for informed decisions. Similar to Gail Small, Mitchell Capitan from the Navajo tribe in New Mexico see a threat to her homeland by energy-resource companies. In her work with the Eastern Navajo Dine against

Uranium Mining [ENDAUM], she spreads her voice through advertisement and public announcements claiming that compared to her tradition of corn pounding, uranium mining, like coal mining, might provide greater financial return to the individuals but at the cost of the annihilation of her tribe. Raising awareness at tribal and regional level through petitions, she is able to form a powerful grassroots movement to successfully cancel uranium mining projects. Employing similar methods used in the democratic powers exercised by Americans, Capitan was able give the Navajos a chance at informed decision as well. Western political practices are utilized by the Gwichin tribe when its members start to actively engage the public and carry their voice to the outside of their community. The Gwichin is an isolated community in Alaska, whose culture based on caribous is threatened by energy conglomerates. Traditionally, an elder of each tribe would make a decision for his or her own tribe. However, Evon Peter, a young chief of his tribe, knew that this would not work this time. Employing the tactics used by special interest groups, he and elders of different tribes gather all of the villages from Canada and Alaska to create political arms. These political arms further the tribes voice beyond geographic boundaries of Alaska. In addition to the supports from nearby villages, Evon Peter meets woman from Navajo tribe who has endured similar circumstances. As a team, they work together to protecting native communities. Working under a common cause, Native American tribes that have been formerly fragmented by geographic boarders now comprise a formidable global network. Benchmarking western politics, the Gwichin tribes manage to gather their individual small voices and combine them into a uniform voice directed towards the world for the protection of their homeland. Western technology or ideas may have modified Native American culture. Some conservative members of various tribes claim that novelty has even deformed the traditions.

What we must realize is that although there were some irreversible changes, Native Americans were not simply swept away in a flood of Westernization. Rather they show self-determination in carefully selecting and utilizing the resources outside of their communities to protect their culture from further external threats. As Homeland portrays how young members of the society stand up with tools from Western world to preserve and fight for their tradition, the viewers are soon left to realize that utilizing western technology or ideas is not necessarily a precursor to a deteriorating culture. On the contrary, it is a sign that their culture will grow, become more resistant to external influences, and recapture their sprits for the future generation. As long as the younger generation secures the traditions in their own way, their homeland will be safe.