Observations on Ethnographers, Part 2
Discussion | Summary
Both Thomas King in "The Inconvenient Indian" and Neil Diamond in "Reel Injun" explore the portrayal of indigenous peoples in North American film. They highlight various stereotypes and their impacts, from the depiction of Native women as victims to the portrayal of Native peoples as daemons, saviors, savages, and more. These stereotypes often originated from historical figures, incidents, and social norms.
Female Native Peoples as Victims: Often portrayed as victims of war, rape, or violence.
The Vanishing Indian: Depicts Native Peoples’ demise due to hunger and displacement.
Native Peoples as Daemons: Early writers termed Native Peoples as daemons.
The Brutal Savage: Portrayed as delaying progress in America and as savage cutthroats.
Native Peoples as Saviors: Early colonists described friendly exchanges with Native Peoples.
The Backwards Indian: Portrayed as un-American and regressive.
Native Peoples as Different Species: Ignorance of scientific works led to claims of sub-humanity.
The Dead Injun: Depiction of dead Native Peoples in cartoons.
Native Peoples as Exotic Showmen: Displayed traditional clothing and rituals in rodeos and shows.
The Hippie Indian: Joined the Hippie movement in the 1960s.
Native Peoples as Boy Scouts: Friendly and loyal image emerged in media.
The Symbol of Freedom: Heroic portrayals acted as rallying cries for freedom and justice.
Native Peoples as Vampires: Stereotype transformed into legendary monsters in contemporary films.
Human Being, The Regular Person: Portrayals in the 1990s revisited stereotypes in a human light.
Native Peoples as Dead Indians: Appropriated ancient-looking garb and rituals.
The Aboriginal: Real depictions of the Native American experience in modern films.
As Live But Invisible Indians: Present but overshadowed by fake performances.
As Legal Indians: Defined by legal status based on physical or historical attributes.
The Meddlesome Indian: Accused of meddling when agitating for rights.
Both authors emphasize the evolution of these stereotypes and their persistence, noting that contemporary efforts by indigenous communities to rise above these stereotypes show promise.
Discussion | Full Text |
Spring 2016
Both Thomas King, an author and historian, and Neil Diamond, a filmmaker, have produced pieces detailing the imagery of the indigenous peoples of North America in film – Thomas King in his book The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native Peoples in North America, and Neil Diamond in his celebrated film Reel Injun. Following are some of the typographies of indigenous peoples in film, each identified in their respective pieces and a brief explanation of what these might represent.
The Inconvenient Indian | Reel Injun |
Female Native Peoples as Victims (xv)Female Native Peoples are often portrayed as victims of war, rape, or violence. | The Vanishing Indian (:19-:21) In the silent era of film, images of Native Peoples’ demise due to hunger and displacement were featured |
Native Peoples As Daemons (21) Early colonialist writers termed Native Peoples as “daemon’s”. | The Brutal Savage (:23-:36) In the 1930’s Native Peoples are portrayed as ‘delaying progress’ in America, as savage cutthroats, and the ‘Tonto’ speak we know today came into fashion. |
Native Peoples As Saviors (23) Early colonists that reported back to the Crown described friendly, cooperative exchanges with Native Peoples. | The Backwards Indian (:33-:35) The 1950’s Native Peoples are portrayed as un-American and regressive. |
Native Peoples As a Different Species (28) Ignorance of Charles Darwin’s scientific works ignited claims of sub humanity in non-White people and were used by Fascists in the Nazi Regime in the early 20th century. | The “Dead Injun’” (:40-:42)In the 1970’s dead Native Peoples shot by cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny were counted by marking on boards. |
Native Peoples As Exotic Showmen (31) Native Peoples joined travelling rodeos and shows to display their traditional clothing (often invented), rituals, and other activities. | The Hippie Indian (:49) In the 1960’s Native Peoples joined the ‘Hippie’ movement in San Francisco and engaged in the Summer of Love. Other participants appropriated Native People’s traditional clothing as a trend. |
Native Peoples As Boy Scouts (42)With the advent of friendly Native Peoples on television like Tonto in The Lone Ranger, the image of a helpful, trustworthy, and loyal Native American surfaced. | The Symbol of Freedom (:59-:61) In the 1970’s a protest by Tribes and at the Academy Awards, as well as portrayals of heroic Native Americans in movies such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest acted as a rallying cry for principles of freedom and justice. |
Native Peoples As Vampires (45) In some contemporary film the stereotypical image of the Savage Indian has been transformed into werewolves and other legendary monsters, such as in the Twilight Saga. | Human Being, The Regular Person (1:14-1:20) In the 1990’s Movies like Smoke Signals and Flags of Our Fathers. The Drunken Indian stereotype, not listed, is revisited in a human light during this era. |
Native Peoples As Dead Indians (55-58) New age practitioners and other enthusiasts appropriate ancient-looking garb and ancient-sounding rituals or ceremonies, and sell the image of the Dead Indian | The Aboriginal (1:19-1:25)Movies in the 2000’s and beyond, like The Fast Runner, attempt to make visceral and real the ancient and contemporary Native American experience. |
As Live But Invisible Indians (64, 66)At rodeos and other gatherings in modern times, many Native Peoples are in attendance, but it is sometimes the faked ceremonies or other Native American-like performances that people see instead.
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As Legal Indians (66-71) Legal status has been turned into a contemporary label that can be based on physical attributes such as blood-quantum or mystical attributes such as oral historical information. The Legal Indian is differentiated from the non-Legal Indian by the Federal Government, the Tribe, or by the community. |
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The Meddlesome Indian (75) Activities designed to homogenize Indian Law and agitate for Treaty Rights, sovereignty issues, and Congressional backing lead to accusations of meddling. |
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In Thomas King’s book several of the stereotypes have analogues in historical figures, incidents, and social norms. For example, for many decades during the 20th century some Sioux bands lived in relatively undisturbed communities on small plots of land granted to them. They maintained a traditional economy and supplemented it with livestock and farming. After World War II anthropologists arrived at the sites to begin a study. Vin Deloria Jr., noted Standing Rock Sioux and writer, intellectual and activist explains their surprise. “The people did Indian dances. BUT THEY DIDN’T DO THEM ALL THE TIME. Suddenly the Sioux were presented with an authority figure who bemoaned the fact that whenever he visited the reservations the Sioux were not out dancing in the manner of their ancestors. In a real sense, they were not real.” (Deloria 1988:87)
As the 20th century matured and indigenous people shed the romanticized image of indigenous people’s culture, activities, and ceremonies the image of “The Real Indian” was lamented by non-Native Peoples. Interestingly, Deloria notes that it was poverty assistance programs that hastened this change in communities (87). In 1968 during the “Poor People’s March” when 3,000 underprivileged and minority populations marched onto the Washington Mall, setting up camps for six weeks while lobbying Congress for concessions, Deloria notes that bureaucrats noted that “’Indians don’t act like that.’ (254) “The Meddlesome Indian” is a default go-to stereotype for policymakers when indigenous people agitate for change. Deloria also notes the The Indian as Savior or “The Friendly Indian Companion” in the person of Tonto who “cemented in the minds of the American public the cherished falsehood that all Indians were basically the same – friendly and stupid.” (201)
Watching first Reel Injun then Disney’s Pocahontas with my partner, a Suquamish Indian, we were both struck at the fact that John Smith had never met Pocahontas in real life and that he had fabricated stories of being saved by beautiful women during various travels around the world. But we both laughed a lot and feel pretty confident that going forward these stereotypes will have a difficult, if not impossible time surviving as truth in the modern world. Having seen the enormous progress that Tribes in the Pacific-Northwest region have made since the 1990's and been fortunate to be a part of some of that change, we're encouraged because we see our friends and families rising above the stereotypes and winding around the road blocks that non-Native Peoples have been erecting since first contact.
References
Deloria, Vine. Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto. Norman: U of Oklahoma, 1988. Print.
King, Thomas. The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America. 9th ed. N.p.: Anchor Canada, 2013. Print.
Reel Injun. Dir. Neil Diamond. Perf. Adam Beach, Chris Eyre, and Russell Means. National Film Board of Canada, 2009. Netflix.com.