Plot

A Sikh family living in a small Oregon town struggles to retain their cultural identity, particularly the wearing of turbans, in the face of provincial prejudice.

In 1918, an Indian immigrant family moves from California to Astoria, Oregon. Although the Singh children are born in the United States, they are referred to as "Hindus" or "Ragheads" and rarely treated as Americans. The daughter, Rani, is ignored and rejected by the other children, while her two brothers, Ranjit and Kishan, are taunted and ultimately attacked for being different. In the Sikh religion hair is sacred, and the parents must decide whether their sons can continue the practice of wearing their hair long, wrapped beneath their turbans, or cut their hair to better assimilate and gain social acceptance. The film is based on the memoirs of director Erika Surat Andersen's grandmother, Kartar Dhillon, who lived in Astoria as a girl.—Erika Surat Andersen