The Misappropriation Of Indigenous American Cultures

For over 80 years, Americans have been entertained by Hollywood productions on the big screen. Movies and films have always been a favorite pass time of the country. As a result of the fact that so many Americans turn to the big screen for fun, there is a lot of influence potential carried with the films or the movies that Hollywood produced. With increased ability to disseminate information comes the responsibility of presenting images that are accurate and factual. The influence and perception that Hollywood created was not always positive. There were multiple groups that were marginalized in film through stereotypes. Native Americans were one of the groups that were negatively

I will use box office sales and other prominent statistics associated with the Disney company to help demonstrate the influence Disney has on the public. Pedagogy scholars Kevin M. Tavin and David Anderson’s journal article, “Teaching (Popular) Visual Culture: Deconstructing Disney in the Elementary Art Classroom” informs readers of the power of the Disney company in all medias to create “individual and collective identities” (23). In journal article, “Tackling Māori Masculinity: A Colonial Genealogy of Savagery and Sport”, Māori scholar Brendan Hokowhitu will build off this source by not only referencing cultural stereotypes formed by others, due to the media, but also identities formed about one’s own native culture and heritage. He uses a direct example of Māori men stereotypes. I plan to synthesize many of my sources like this: with one showing a various perspective (i.e. pedagogical or colonial) on the Disney company and another highlighting the point of view from a Polynesian.

The first powwow that Sawaquat went to taught him that people viewed his heritage as a pastime. The powwow featured hobbyist who dressed up as Native Americans and acted like Native Americans would at a traditional powwow. This made Sawaquat feel ridiculous and it made it look like Native Americans were a joke. It was even harder for Sawaquat to see what the hobbyist were doing to his heritage because he was in a time of questioning and searching for his identity and this event was a step back for him. Sawaquat’s search for self-discovery led him down a path of disappointment.

Misrepresentation of Natives on screen throughout the 20th century has had an adverse effect on them. Whether it was positive or negative stereotypes, Natives felt the effect of Hollywood and began to lose their self-identity, their honour, and their pride. Reel Injun takes a look at how movies have defined an entire race and also documents the rebirth of the Native identity after decades of destructive Hollywood movies by interviewing notable Native actors, actresses, and activists. By doing so, director Neil Diamond hopes to silence Hollywood stereotypes and get Hollywood to properly represent the Native people.

In the movie, Native Americans are often portrayed as spiritual, noble, and free this ideal image of Native Americans captured the world’s imagination at one point. It all began in late 1800s when Native Americans were among the first to shot silent by Thomas. One of the common attraction that made

The long history between Native American and Europeans are a strained and bloody one. For the time of Columbus’s subsequent visits to the new world, native culture has

Racism towards Native American tribes and individuals have been found throughout mainstream media. From nationally broadcasted sports games to popular Hollywood movies, Native Americans people have been stereotyped and/or culturally appropriated. Many examples of these stereotypes are blatant and have been portrayed for in the media for decades.

During the end of the nineteenth century, the United States had formed policies which reduced land allotted to Native Americans. By enforcing these laws as well as Anglo-American ideals, the United States compromised indigenous people’s culture and ability to thrive in its society.

Another issue is how Native Americans internalize the stereotypes that are forced upon them. In a study conducted by Fryberg, Markus, Oyserman, and Stone (2008), they found three common stereotypes of Native Americans in mass media: Spiritual people who are in tune with nature, warriors, or people with stereotypically bad outcomes, such as alcoholism. It is important to note that not all of these stereotypes are negative, and in fact a few of them are positive. What Fryberg et al. (2008) found, however, was that regardless if the stereotype was seen as positive or negative, all three of those variations caused harm in the form of “students’ feelings of personal and community worth, and achievement-related possible selves” (p. 216). It did

With their contemporary representation of indigenous people and the issues they face today, Jeff Barnaby’s Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Chris Eyre’s Smoke Signals are films that try to fracture the stereotypical Indian image that has persisted since the beginning of the Hollywood industry. Written and directed by Native American filmmakers, both stories comment on the condition of indigenous people in and outside the United States by confronting topics on poverty, death, drugs, alcoholism, and parent abandonment. While released almost a decade apart from one another, both cinemas follow the similar stories of their protagonist as they try to deal with these problems by trying to understand themselves and the obstacles in their respective

Associated with wearing skins, living in teepees, and riding horses Native Americans are viewed as ‘country’ and lack of knowledge. Shown as dumb and have a lack of formal education, most of them live in poverty invested areas. Because of this, they feel that “one representation is better than no representation.” When a group feels underrepresented their psychological relevance and has a toil on the overall ethnic group and can make a difference in lives. Inaccurate and negative representations of Native Americans can be detrimental to the overall perception to the race in general.

Throughout world history, it is evident that Native Americans have struggled in society ever since the landing of Christopher Columbus in North America. Ever since the film industry began in the 1890s, Native Americans have been depicted in many negative ways by film makers. One particular way film makers degrade Native Americans by making their white characters convert into Indians or “go Native” and eventually they always become better than the original Indians in the film. This notion has been repeated in many films, three significant films were it is evident is in The Searchers, Little Big Man, and Dances with Wolves.

Pierre Gottschlich defines a stereotype as “an exaggerated belief, image, or distorted truth about a person or group” (281). Even though we hate to admit it, stereotypes are used way too often in our everyday lives. We use them as a way to provide ourselves with knowledge of a certain race, gender, age group, or personality. Gottschlich also explains that stereotyping is a way to “help us to cope with complexity in an environment” (281). They are a way for us to ‘learn’ about someone, when in reality we know nothing about the individual. The way Indians are portrayed in the media is the result of distinguishing who was not American. In Indian Accents: Brown Voice and Racial Performance In American Television and Film, Davé explains that from 1924 to 1947, the United States placed restrictions on citizenship that resulted in preventing South Asians from immigrating to the United States (Davé, 2013). As a result of this, Srividya Ramasubramanian points out in “Stereotyping of Indians: Evidence From Content Analysis of Film Media in the US” that the main reason for the stereotyping was to help distinguish ‘Western’ from ‘non-Western’ characters. They would use the visual differences such as skin color, the way they dressed, and physical characteristics to make the differences known

Aidman suggests that Pocahontas is an example of a film which portrays Native Americans as the stereotype of the ‘noble savage’. She quotes Stuart Hall to explain what this is, as he defines it as “the good side of the ‘native’” which is “portrayed in a certain primitive nobility and simple dignity” which is produced out of white ambivalence (Stuart Hall cited in Aidman). This may be an improvement from the depiction of Native Indians as ‘savages’ who shoot at the hero in western films. However, it is still a harmful stereotype as it creates a sense of othering and sets Native Americans apart as something exotic and different to Euro-Americans. Native Americans then tend to be represented in an almost two dimensional idea of what Euro-Americans think they should be like.

Another issue that comes up is how the culture is portrayed within the media and how people use their culture for “business” purposes. In movies, many stereotypes arise among these cultures. They are portrayed as either “noble” or “bloodthirsty” savages (Tsosie 308). For example, Jeep “Cherokee” is a car brand. Cherokee is a Native American tribe. Natives also claim that people are using their rituals and healing traditions for business purposes. “It is sold, exploited, probed, catalogued and controlled by outsiders in many different markets, both economic and intellectual” (Tsosie 311,312). Individuals sell the medicines and traditions for “spiritual services” (Tsosie 312). With people appropriating the culture for their own benefit Native American people get nothing out of it and it brings harm to them economically and culturally.