Stereotypes Of Native American Society Essay

Popular culture has shaped our understanding and perception of Native American culture. From Disney to literature has given the picture of the “blood thirsty savage” of the beginning colonialism in the new world to the “Noble Savage,” a trait painted by non-native the West (Landsman and Lewis 184) and this has influenced many non native perceptions. What many outsiders do not see is the struggle Native American have on day to day bases. Each generation of Native American is on a struggle to keep their traditions alive, but to function in school and ultimately graduate.

When one typically thinks about a Native American, they picture this ideological representation of a Native American as depicted by popular culture. Native Americans are underrepresented on television, in books, in news, and all other forms of media. We, as a society, have chosen a path of ignorance in which we have chosen not to educate ourselves or our future generations on the true culture of Native Americans. We have ignored the negative impacts of using mascots such as “Redskins” and instead let it serve as a stereotype to fill our heads with unrealistic views and understandings of Native American culture. The resulting misconceptions leave many Native American students with a feeling of inferiority and questioning their self-worth.

Native American people have a unique struggle in society. This stems from cultural epidemics like drug addiction, alcoholism, obesity, and rampant suicide, but also systemic racism and a sort of cultural lag. This is not meant to be a critique of culture, simply an observation of the condition of the families I have helped serve over the course of this internship. To be “Native” has become a slew of stereotypical representations. Stereotypes do not represent reality, but they do affect how individuals view themselves, and limit their ability to become anything but what they are expected to be. This is called the self-fulfilling prophecy. If Native American children grow up in a closed network, such as a reservation or a boundary, they are presented

Since the arrival of the Europeans in 1492 the Native American has systematically been dehumanized, decivilized and redefined into terms that typify a subordinate or minority role, restricted life opportunities persist today as a result.

For most of my life, the word “Native American” had immediately made me think of feathers, powwows, and a society uncorrupted by civilization. However, in watching the movie Smoke Signals, a movie that depicts the modern Native American culture, I learned many other things. For one, I learned that many of the customs that modern Native Americans have are very similar to my own. I also saw that the family life of the Native Americans in the film had many of the same problems that my family had undergone in the past years. This film was unlike any that I have ever seen; therefore, it reached me on a very personal level.

Native Americans Native Americans have endured racism through genocide and stereotypes. A few examples of stereotypes that I can recall are that they all hunt for food using bows and arrows, that they are all alcoholics and poor and that they all live on reservation (only 25% do). Additionally, genocide hurt Native Americans as many died from disease and there land was taken away by American development. Due to genocide, many people believe that Native Americans are extinct and I believed this too. Before this essay, I was not aware of how civilized Native Americans were.

The misrepresentation of Native Americans has been an issue which the United States have struggled for some time. White this has been a problem in the media and national discourse in general, this issue has also impacted higher education. To be specific, inter-collegiate and intra-collegiate athletic teams have used demeaning, disrespectful and racist images of Native Americans to promote sports teams.

Until fairly recently the popular culture of American literature and film did not attempt to study the true representations of Indians in North America. Instead they chose to concentrate on the romanticized/savage version of Native people: which is an idealistic view of a Native with long, beautiful flowing hair riding on a horse obsessed with chanting and praying to the savageness of a rowdy, wild Native causing unnecessary mayhem to the white people. This portrayal of Native people in mass media had led to the stereotyping of Natives, which in turn had ricocheted into real life. Not only do non-natives succumb to these ideals, but Natives do as well.

Prejudice is all around the world, it always has been, and it always will. Some people use it for personal gain. Some want everyone just to be like them. Plus some people just grow up in a prejudice community and think it’s right.

For over thirty years, schools and national sports teams have used Native American names as their mascots, nicknames, and logos. There has been a lot of controversy over it since the 1940’s. According to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, there are two conflicting viewpoints; ¨keeping this imagery honors Native American people, supports nostalgic feelings, and saves funding.¨ On the other hand, ¨keeping this imagery is offensive and degrading because it is sacred to Native American people, and perpetuates negative stereotypes.¨ Those who are for Native American names say that they are ¨complementary,¨ and that they are not meant to be hurtful. Those who are against it say that statistics show that it promotes a negative self- esteem.

Perpetuation of Native American Stereotypes in Children's Literature Caution should be used when selecting books including Native Americans, due to the lasting images that books and pictures provide to children. This paper will examine the portrayal of Native Americans in children's literature. I will discuss specific stereotypes that are present and should be avoided, as well as positive examples. I will also highlight evaluative criteria that will be useful in selecting appropriate materials for children and provide examples of good and bad books. Children will read many books as they grow up.

[1] Native Americans were part of this country long before our founding forefathers. They were the people that Christopher Columbus found inhabiting this land. There is even evidence to show that they have been on the American continents for thousands and even tens of thousands of years. Yet, somehow the European powers dominated these people, forcing them from their land to make it “ours.” In the early part of the twentieth century, a new industry began to develop; we call it the film industry. Along with the industry came movies that were made and are still made for the amusement of a mass audience. Some flaws did come with this industry, and among them was the

Our society applies different stereotypes and cultural expectations to both men and women. These different stereotypes and cultural expectations influence on how each individual both women and men live and act. We act and live this way because it is how our society influenced us rather we realize it or not. But the question is, “Who suffers more from stereotypes and cultural expectations, men or women?” Some people believe men suffer more because men are supposed to “stay in the box”.

Stereotypes in short, are often about seeking patterns. It cannot be helped but to use them as not only a function in society, but also as a way to understand it as humans today are known to identify well with patterns. This question will be explored using the following areas of knowledge; human sciences and history. As well as using the above areas of knowledge to explore this question, ways of knowing, in particular, emotion, perception, language and reason, will be used in conjunction. Taking the story of Gandhi as a prime example, it is important on two levels; most importantly however, the way in which it exposes not only the negative cultural stereotype of the “stupid foreigner”, but how at the same time it undermines and

As has been discussed throughout this class, American Indians have endured a great deal of suffering since Anglo-Americans made contact with the Americas. This suffering, however, has not ended in modern times. American Indians are still treated unfairly in many ways and are also being reduced to several stereotypes. Such stereotypes include beliefs such as that the American Indians are drunkards, savages, promiscuous, lazy, and many others. These stereotypes can be seen in multiple mediums, including advertising campaigns, books, movies, and product labels. With the widespread coverage, these stereotypes can be very harmful to the American Indian culture as they perpetuate beliefs that are untrue. American Indian stereotypes in advertising and movies were very popular in previous centuries, but it has also been proven to still exist today.