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Anthropology
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Dec 6, 2023
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Week 2 Homework Assignment:
FYI - For full credit answers must be detailed and thoughtful. You must read BOTH chapters, watch the
film,
as well as listen to the NPR interview in order to answer the questions.
1. According to Native American writer Sherman Alexie, what are the traditional stereotypes
pertaining to Native Americans and what do these stereotypes represent? How do these
stereotypes compare to those portrayed in your textbook? Do Alexie and Oswalt seem to agree?
Why or why not? - According to Sherman Alexie, the traditional stereotypes pertaining to Native
Americans are stoic warriors or savages. These stereotypes are two entirely different things. A
stoic warrior is someone who is fearless and forgiving. A “savage” is seen as a violent animal or
in general a vicious person. The stereotypes mentioned in the textbook were practically the same.
Indeed, I would say that Alexie and Oswalt would agree that these are some stereotypes and
there are plenty of good and bad ones attached to the Indian people. Both authors mention that
there are many attempts of Whites accusing or falling into these stereotypes.
2.Before seeing
Reel Injun
, what was your image or idea of the American Indian? How did you
develop that image? How does that image compare to the image Alexie portrays in his interview?
- My image of the American Indian was the image of specific people in my family. Just like
Alexie portrays an American Indian, some of my family members portray exactly the same. It is
incredibly easy to become lost in the misrepresentation of the Native people in film.
Reel Injun
becomes more in depth about actual Indian traditions, the different clothes, lifestyle, and
language is different depending on the tribe. Fortunately, I knew this going into the film. Alexie
mentions that there is much more to the American Indian people than the stereotypes we
frequently see in the media.
3. How do Native Americans living in urban settings (and Alexie’s other observations) contrast
with the common American perception of Native Americans? - The American perception of
Native Americans is the idea of the Native people building sweat lodges, playing a drum, and
dressing differently. It is known that America has developed representation of Native people in
sports, cars, and even cigarettes. Alexie’s observations are that a Native person is living the same
as a White person. There is a theme that non-native persons believe that Native’s are isolated
from popular culture, when realistically they are a part of it.
4. From Alexie’s viewpoint, why is the idea that Native Americans are especially spiritual or
close to the Earth untrue and so ridiculous? How does this compare to what you viewed in
Reel
Injuns
? - Alexie claims that he is not only an Indian, but he is White. He mentions that being a
part of America has made all Indians a part of the White culture. Alexie finds it ridiculous that
Indians are spiritual and close to Earth, while the film embraces Indian culture further. This
proves that it is allowed for a Native American to pursue both sides of culture.
5. How important is historical accuracy in films, television programs, and other media? Should
filmmakers stick to the historical facts? What responsibility do they have to let audiences know if
they have embellished the historical record? - Historical accuracy in the media is important so
that we are not misleading the truth of real history that has happened or continues to be a part of
the population. It is to be understood that the media is meant for entertainment purposes, but you
can make films good while still keeping historical facts. I do think that it is an important
responsibility that the media let their audiences be aware when the information is or is not
historically correct. Most audiences want to know where the information originates, especially if
they are a part of that culture. I can see how things may become frustrating and misunderstood.
6. What does Alexie mean by stating that he lives in the “white world”? - Alexie briefly mentions
that the “white world” is practically how America always has been. You come to America and
you’re immediately surrounded by white culture. Alexie admitted that he is consistently being
influenced by Euro-American culture. He mentions that it doesn’t make him any less Native or
any less white. It is up to the Native people to decide what culture they prefer to envelope
themselves in.
7. What does Alexie mean by stating that he “Loves being Indian American”? Why? - Alexie
says that he was always told growing up that as an Indian American it further proves that Indians
were here first and if anything bad happens, they’ll remain to be the last here. Alexie likes that he
is able to have both the Indian and American cultures to indulge in. To him it seems that he likes
having both rather than relying on one.
8. What does Alexie consider to be “the last fight in the colonial war”? Why do you think he says
this? How does this statement connect to the concept of colonialism described in your textbook?
Provide examples. - Alexie considers the last fight in the colonial war to be between the Indians
and the modern Liberals. I think he says this since he describes that the colonizers have
developed the culture of the colonized, Americans have frequently embraced a culture that was
not originally theirs to begin with. The textbook connects to colonialism by describing how the
Europeans had different perspectives on Native Americans. Whether it was good or bad, the
other concept was others were also trying to control and religiously convert Indians. The
textbook also accurately describes that colonizers at that time took the Native people’s land and
culture away from them.
9. What stereotypes have you seen in the media (i.e., films, TV programs, video games, print
media)? How are different ethnic or cultural groups portrayed? What about women? Gays and
lesbians? Immigrants? How can we counteract attitudes and beliefs that reduce groups of people
to stereotypes? - I frequently see in the media the stereotype of how celebrities live and that they
are all stuck up. There is also a huge stereotype in anime that consistently makes the girl a
damsel usually and a boy is heroic. Ethnic and cultural groups are portrayed usually based on
their negative attributes from history. They are usually portrayed poorly or unruly. The same
usually goes for Immigrants. Women are seen as too complex or too much to handle, dramatic.
The same with the LGBTQ+ community, pronouns are seen as complex and the straight
community tends to only focus on negative attributes which are stemmed based off of the
concepts of religion usually. I hope one day we can counteract the attitudes and beliefs to reduce
stereotypes on these groups of people. Currently, these people are still learning to stand up for
themselves, but because of the systems put into place, fear is what most of these people base
their decisions on. Of course, no one should have to live in fear which is why I think there should
be better things set in place.
10. Pick any five (5) terms from pages 60-64 and define in your own words. -
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