Navajo Police: Class 57

I am quite surprised at how interesting this series is. While it is about a group of young men and women going through training to become police officers on the Navajo Reservation, it is also about the difficulties the officers face once the training is completed. Not enough officers, not nearly enough, the very high crime happening in the area and the loss of traditional Navajo culture which has been a sustaining factor of living on the Rez and being ok.

Later in episode two the training officers were looking at what they might be able to do to get more recruits and keep more in the program. One person said that so many of these young people had grown up with constant put downs and criticism that the marine boot camp style was maybe too harsh. I really agree with this. I get it these people need to have certain qualities to be able to handle life as police in sometimes really dangerous or tricky situations, but first they have to make through the training. I felt many were leaving because of the fairly constant put downs, which in my opinion are not even necessary. Firmness and encouragement!

Other ideas I had (in case anyone is reading this) are;

Some focus on the spiritual at the beginning of class each day. Not necessarily a religious focus but something acknowledging some kind of guidance. It could be a non demoninational type prayer, smudging, the Serenity Prayer, a positive pep talk, asking for guidance or basically anything that brings that sort of focus.

I also think for these students and basically all police officers, everywhere, some sort of outlet for talking about the difficult experiences that happens with these jobs. This could help people get through the academy and also keep people out in the field more emotionally balanced.

Another area I really questioned is what the officers have to deal with once in the job, being alone alot, overworked and overwhelmed. This is not sustainable. Changes need to happen with the way things are being done for working officers. They are often alone and running from one really stressful situation to the next for their entire work day, day after day. It doesn't seem like just having more officers is going to fix this entirely.

Last is the actual recruitment requirements. One is the issue of not having any police record at all. This is going to make it almost impossible to get the numbers they need. There could be some leeway, like minimal crimes or crimes when very young but nothing since. And, possibly something like, okay you messed up but after this amount of time you can apply again. There is such a thing as redemption. There are also people who make life changes, such as recovery from alcohol or drug abuse. I am pretty sure this idea would be questioned but consider this is a specific situation that may call for something different than the usual academy training and requirement.

Okay one last thing(really). I really admire the people who go through this training and make it all the way. They could be the best recruitment tools available.

Imagine watching a docuseries about police and then getting big mad because it's about police. Lol.

The funny thing is it's only kind of about police. It's primarily about an incredible, beautiful and resilient culture that survives despite the best efforts of the United States to grind it out of existence. Heroes--even flawed, traumatized ones--rise up to serve their community (and I'm talking about the activists, the EMTs, the elected officials, the keepers of the traditions every bit as much as the police) and preserve its legacy. Hard to find fault with this effort, and it's made beautifully to boot..

Navajo Police: Class 57 was so moving, compelling, and important. I want to watch classes 58, 59, 60, 61, 62+ and on and on... and hope that we will see the Navajo Police grow and grow and become stronger and stronger with their homegrown, local heroes.

This is what I believe all filmmakers strive for: an important story that is emotional, dramatic, informative, uplifting, surprising, and actually "world changing" in helping others understand new people, perspectives, and worlds (possibly right next door) in an embraceable way. Watching these episodes unfold, I was rooting for every one of these recruits to succeed and bring honor and much needed money to their families in this "nation within a nation." And yet, not all can make it, and the reasons were many, real, sad, and impactful.

I hope there will be more!

This documentary reveals many shadows ad revelations well beyond the experience of a group of American Indians going tio police school. The devestating rise in crime and violence on drugs. The absolute decline and possible collapse of traditional culture, language, ceremony and familuy support. The Navajo are a people I spent time visiting in the 1980s. I do not even recognize the culture I see in this documenary. The most shocking and painful revelation was that most of the Navajo shown in this video are Christians. The Navajo had one of the most excellent indigenous religious traditions, that all seems gone now replaced with prayers to Jesus. I am an Ojibwe American Indian, like the Navajo, we Ojibwe have our own religious and spiritual traditions that we preserve and cherish. That the Christians have overtaken the traditional relion of Navajo was very hard to watch, to comprehend. This is like watching the victims try to protect themselves, as each cop and candidate is an inheritor of the oppression and denialism of US Federal policy, it is a documentary, well made, about a broken culture using its broken people to inch themselves forward. It is mostly, for me, a very sad and disheartening story.

The foundation was culture and pride. As I watched these men and women endure their journey into what I know to be a desperate situation. I grew up on the reservation and the police response has always been a problem. Crime, violence, drugs, addiction are on the rise and very few police to enforce the law. It's a story that we never got to see and it was eye opening. Not just because very few people want to serve but because of the men and women's stories behind the badge. To see the screening process and the initiation wasn't easy to see but I'm glad the recruits are prepared to meet any obstacle in their service. Also to understand Their personal struggles and their reason to serve the Navajo Nation was the icing on the cake. It was a great watch.