These connotations have been changing over the years. Originally, Indians were linked to 'savages', 'violence', and 'alcoholism'. News casts would frequently run public service stories detailing the amount of alcohol consumption by this ethnic group. Additionally, the thoughts of 'violence' were renewed when Drew Shadeen, a young college student, was kidnapped, raped and killed by a member of the Native American community. This event heightened the level of fear and resentment towards Indians. In the last few years, Native Americans have taken on a new role in the media- 'healer'. Many sitcoms portray Indian characters as 'spiritual', 'dedicated', and 'healers'. Popular shows like 'Sex in the City', 'Will and Grace', and even 'Family Guy' have shown main characters seeking spiritual guidance from Native American individuals.
While these new portrayals are certainly more positive, the underlying assumption remains the same- Native Americans are an entity, a uniquely ethnic group with a degree of novelty attached to their foreignness. Beach refers to these ethnic groups as 'the others' (50). Labeling 'Native' people as 'others' is tremendously ironic given the historical implications of Indian populations and white settlements' use of reservations (anthropology). In many other disciplines (sociology and psychology), the lack of power associated with being 'the other' serves the purpose of the authority group; in our society this authority group is 'white'.
Comparing the media representation of 'foreign' with the sociological representation of 'the other', we see one strong parallel. Both disciplines acknowledge Native Americans as being outside the traditional culture of power. However, the contrasts between these two perceptions in the disciplines is staggering. Media outlets highlighting the 'novelty' of Native Americans usually overlook the power structure associated with these connotations. In general, media outlets show the 'how' (Native Americans as foreign, novel groups) and sociology offers the 'why' (to further the white authority ethnicity).
You can add to that list of shows King of the Hill and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteI think you have to address some of the biological elements involved: American Indians have gotten a raw deal from both colonialism and biological disposition. Alcoholism and diabetes aren't just pop culture's representations of American Indians but very real dangers that they as a population are tragically more likely to face.
I'm not saying that you were going to blame pop culture alone for those representations, but I think it's important to make it clear that some populations are more likely to face particular diseases or conditions.
Jen, you're a bold woman to take on censorship, and I commend you. And I'm sure glad it's you who has this task and not me.
Even the Twilight saga, which is one of the most popular book series right now, portrays American Indians as 'healers' or 'spiritual'. I think you nailed it when you talk about how the media messages have been changing over time.
ReplyDeleteYour blog reminded me of a lesson that I had to teach one hour last year for a coworker. It was part of an introduction to Smoke Signals, I believe. The teacher had me show a clip from The Lone Ranger that had Tonto in it, then the students had to read Sherman Alexie's essay "I Hated Tonto (Still Do)." http://www.mondowendell.com/tonto.htm Thought you might be able to bring that into your lesson to discuss stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in high school we had to change our name from the "Indians" to the "Wildcats". We, as a student body, put up a fight for our name, trying to play this angle: we're respecting Native Americans by choosing them as a mascot. It was the only angle we could think of that allowed us to be rebellious and do "the chop" at all of our games. I was always wondering why the Atlanta Braves got to keep their name and could do "the chop" with no questions asked?? Your blog brings up this inconsistency, and I still don't really get it. I guess money trumps all.
ReplyDeleteI have also taught Smoke Signals and read Sherman Alexie's short stories with my senior English class. We talk about the stereotypes surrounding Native Americans, and we've had some lively discussions as we had several members of the Navajo tribe in our class. The unfortunate thing was that our three Navajo students agreed that much of the media and social assumptions about Native Americans were true. What do you do with that? And these kids also fit the descriptions all too well...on the surface. We tried to focus on people as individuals rather than carciatures...I could ponder for hours, but those are just a few thoughts...
I am so sick of this debate. I don't understand how offensive images of Native Americans are still around and popular... I just don't get it.
ReplyDeleteIn reference to the Twilight book series, it's easy to assign the label of "spiritual" to the Quilletes, but I think it goes a little deeper. The Quilletes are seen as protectors of the innocent and are very proud people. Due to this book series' popularity, the portrayal of American Indians may just evolve further. Good luck teaching the censorship issue.
ReplyDeleteI think your post is extremely interesting. I really enjoyed reading it, I am Native American (Anishinabe) and coincidently wrote a very large paper on representations and Native Americans. It's a difficult issue for some, but its pretty simple--mocking people and cartooned stereotypes are offensive. Great blog!
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