It
seems hard to fathom how Scott O’Dell’s Newbery Award-winning Island of the Blue Dolphins missed the
cut for PBS’s Great American Read,
but a likely culprit could well be the “Own Voices” movement striving to
racially segregate literature. O’Dell was not Native American, nor was he ever
castaway on a small island. However, his classic YA novel was indeed based on a
historical figure. Director-producer-screenwriter Paul Goldsmith and a
specialized core group of archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians
examine the evidence left behind by the “Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island” in Alone on the Island of Blue Dolphins,
which releases today on DVD.
It
is still unclear why the castaway woman (eventually baptized Juana Maria) was
not on the boat that ferried the rest of the transplanted Native population off
San Nicholas Island, but it is well understood why nobody came back until years
later. The island itself is basically a handful of sand dunes perched in the
middle of some genuinely treacherous currents and wind patterns. The only local
vessel sufficiently sea-worthy met with disaster shortly after conveying the
rest of the former San Nicholas population. Most just assumed she perished, but
she survived and even thrived living among the remaining dogs, foxes, sea
lions, and plentiful shellfish.
The
Navy archaeologists who have jurisdiction over San Nicholas show viewers landmarks
on the island that conform to passages in O’Dell’s book and other historical
documents. Basically, the various social scientists largely confirm what we
think we know about the woman who inspired Karana. Rather remarkably, they
manage to deepen our understanding of her as a flesh-and-blood person, without undermining
any of the book’s mystique, which is a nice trick.
In
fact, everyone associated with the film seems to have their hearts in the right
place. Everyone is scrupulously sensitive to Native cultures, but they also
show respect to George Nidever, the hunter-sailor who “saved” Juana Maria, or
at least returned her to human company, for his protective treatment. There is
no kneejerk demonization here, even though her final weeks were surely
frustrating. Indeed, the film is admirably adept at finding new perspectives.
