Native American Popular Culture Essay
Introduction There seems to be no small amount of literature on how Native Americans are represented in our popular culture. Over the past several decades, Native Americans have been mythologized in films, TV, video games and other forms of popular media. And, “For the most part, the white man’s visual expressions of Native peoples have been dominant” (Boehme, et al. 1998:75). It is these depictions that have created a false impression of American Indians. As anyone could guess, the conquest of the American Frontier in the Old West is a period in this country’s history that has been mythicized in the media countless times. Historical issues like cultural genocide, colonization, and geographical displacement were the basis for creating these fresh, new ideas that portrayed
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1998:77). In fact, it’s interesting to note that American Indians themselves objected to film portrayals from the very beginning. Even President William Howard Taft encouraged them to fight against the misrepresentations as shown in the moving picture theaters that were popular at the time. In his book, Custer Died for Your Sins, Vine Deloria states that “many white people claim Indian ancestry, usually by a grandmother who was an Indian Princess; most tribes were entirely female for the first three hundred years of white occupation” (Deloria, 1969:3). To sum it up, people believe that having an Indian ancestor will make them understand and relate to these people. But, what they don’t understand is that blood has nothing to do with it. The purpose of this study is to explore the history of and various positive/negative representations and stereotypes of Native Americans in popular culture and getting the perspective from Native American people. I will cover various examples of these representations through live display, cinema, television, video games, and music. The purpose is to give people a better understanding of this issue on what is the true identity of the
1998:77). In fact, it’s interesting to note that American Indians themselves objected to film portrayals from the very beginning. Even President William Howard Taft encouraged them to fight against the misrepresentations as shown in the moving picture theaters that were popular at the time. In his book, Custer Died for Your Sins, Vine Deloria states that “many white people claim Indian ancestry, usually by a grandmother who was an Indian Princess; most tribes were entirely female for the first three hundred years of white occupation” (Deloria, 1969:3). To sum it up, people believe that having an Indian ancestor will make them understand and relate to these people. But, what they don’t understand is that blood has nothing to do with it. The purpose of this study is to explore the history of and various positive/negative representations and stereotypes of Native Americans in popular culture and getting the perspective from Native American people. I will cover various examples of these representations through live display, cinema, television, video games, and music. The purpose is to give people a better understanding of this issue on what is the true identity of the