Stereotypes of American Indians
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This article discusses the various stereotypes of American Indians present in Western societies. American Indians are indigenous peoples native to the continent of America prior to European settlement, and are also often referred to as Native Americans. However, "American Indian" is the preferred name for the indigenous peoples of the Americas.[1] This article primarily discusses Native American stereotypes present in American culture, but the same or similar stereotypes are present in many other Western societies as well. Stereotypical representations of people of Native American heritage are often manifested in a society's media, literature, theatre and other creative expressions, but often have very real repercussions for American Indians in daily interactions and in current events.
The Media Awareness Network of Canada (MNet) has prepared a number of statements about the portrayals of American Indian and Alaskan Natives in the media:
- Westerns and documentaries have tended to portray Natives as stereotypes: the wise elder, the aggressive drunk, the Indian princess, the loyal sidekick. These images have become ingrained in the consciousness of all North Americans.
- Hollywood's portrayal of the American West essentially used Native tribes as a malignant presence to be wiped out or reined in.
- Portrayals of Native characters as primitive, violent and deceptive, or as passive and full of childlike obedience, extended to TV, novels and comics.
- In the 1980s and 1990s, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) made efforts to improve the portrayals of Aboriginal people in its television dramas. Spirit Bay, The Beachcombers, North of 60 and The Rez used Native actors to portray their own people, living real lives and earning believable livelihoods in identifiable parts of the country.
- U.S. television has been slower to respond to criticisms of native stereotyping, although there have been a few efforts to change the situation.
- Stereotyped issues include simplistic characterizations, romanticization of Native culture, and stereotyping by omission—showing American Indians in a historical rather than modern context. [2]
Social commentator Ward Churchill issued a report entitled "A History of Native Americans in Cinema" on November 1, 1998, which thoroughly lambasted Hollywood and the West for its negative and inaccurate portrayals of Native Americans in cinema. [1]
[edit] See also
- Noble savage
- Indian giver
- Ethnic stereotype
- Ethnic stereotypes in American media
- Ethnic stereotypes in popular culture
- Ethnic stereotypes in pornography
- Stereotype threat
- Racial profiling
[edit] References
- ^ Tucker, Clyde and Kojetin, Bryan and Harrison Rodderick. A Statistical Analysis of the CPS Supplement on Race and Ethnic Origin. 1995. August 14, 2006.<http://www.census.gov/prod/2/gen/96arc/ivatuck.pdf>.
- ^ Media Awareness Network. "Common Portrayals of Aboriginal People"