Indian princess

Last updated

The Indian princess or Native American princess is usually a stereotypical and inaccurate representation of a Native American or other Indigenous woman of the Americas. [1] The term "princess" was often mistakenly applied to the daughters of tribal chiefs or other community leaders by early American colonists who mistakenly believed that Indigenous people shared the European system of royalty. [1] This inaccurate portrayal has continued in popular animation, with characters that conform to European standards of beauty, [2] with the most famous misrepresentation being that of Pocahontas. Frequently, the "Indian Princess" stereotype is paired with the "Pocahontas theme" in which the princess "offers herself to a captive Christian knight, a prisoner of her father, and after rescuing him, she is converted to Christianity and lives with him in his native land." [3] - a false narrative which misrepresents the events of Matoaka's life. The phrase "Indian princess", when used in this way, is often considered to be a derogatory term, a type of racial slur, and is deemed offensive by Native Americans. [1]

Contents

One exception to this rule is that at some Native American powwows and other types of pageants, some competition titles and awards for girls or young women might include the name "Princess". [4] This usage is not accepted by all, and there are calls to discontinue its usage and replace it with "more culturally relevant and accurate nomenclature." [5]

Background

Origin of the Indian princess stereotype

The print cultures of European Americans, "since 1575", portrayed the American Indian woman as a symbol of the mysterious new world and freedom. [6] In paintings and engravings, North America was personified by the symbol of the Indian princess, who wore a feathered headdress, gripped a bow and arrow, and was often depicted in pursuit of freedom. [7] Sometimes, the Indian princess was pictured leading troops of American colonists into battle. In later years, she could be seen cloaked in the American flag. [7] This appropriated symbol of an Indigenous woman relied not only on ideas of freedom, power, and wildness but, paradoxically, loyalty to the white man. [6] In Calvin's Case (1608) and in myriad "Acts of Subjection", following waves of epidemics and settler colonialism, English coronations performed by Native Americans wed royal allegiance with previous ritual delegations (or gifted as in Dish With One Spoon wampum wreaths) of authority to indigenous mediators by indigenous counsel, principally for the allocation of resources and, during the seventeenth century, jus gentium negotiations. [8] These themes can be seen in modern media renditions of the Indian princess; for example, in portrayals of Pocahontas, who has been defined by her noble savage connection to nature and her debunked rescue of John Smith. [6] Though the image of the "grand and liberated" Indian princess was commonly used to epitomize America; other icons and accounts depicting and denigrating Native and indigenous women as savages and squaws [ sic ] were still publicized and accepted. [6]

Native Americans were frequent subjects in popular 1860s "dime" novels. Two well-known novels of that period being Mahaska: The Indian Princess (Stephens 1863) and The Indian Queen (Stephens 1864). [3] The covers often depicted Native American women with "darker complexion, distinct dress (belted, fringed and ornately decorated), moccasins, leggings, and loose hair with feather headgear" with the feathered headgear being quasi-Caribbean. [3] The popularity in literature helped in the rise of popularity in productions like the Buffalo Bill's Combination Shows where an Indian Princess, He-Nu-Kaw, was seen on advertising posters. The show typically performed Western melodramas with white people playing the role of Native Americans. By 1877 Bill was actively recruiting Native Americans from reservations to "play themselves" but it is still unknown whether or not He-Nu-Kaw was actually a Native woman. [3] Either way, her character representation was that of an "Indian Princess" which was further reinforced by the portrayal of Native women by white women in other theater shows, advertisements, and literature illustrations. In the 19th-century photography books on American Indians, white women are often shown wearing stereotypical "Indian Princess" clothes. [3]

Historic roles of Native American women

In many Native American cultures, women of all statuses are traditionally in charge of the home and agricultural sector of tribal life. While roles vary depending on geographical region and culture, historically, women have cleared fields, planted and harvested crops, hunted and fished, and providing a great deal of the food for their communities. This is in addition to managing food distribution, owning their homes and, in many communities, sitting on war councils. [9] This proximity to nature is reflected and often exaggerated in depictions of "Indian princesses" in non-Native media. [10] To the mainstream, the Native woman's symbolization of American land and agriculture also gave rise to her as a symbol of fertility. Twentieth-century poet Hart Crane describes Pocahontas as “'a woman, ripe, waiting to be taken'” by the white man. [10] Native women also played integral roles in the fur trade, acting as interpreters. In some tribes, Native women of higher status have historically participated and still do participate in councils, elect chiefs, serve as chiefs, and participate in battles. [11]

As Native American life continued to evolve alongside colonial culture, Native women gradually played a larger role in Euro-American life. Recruited by settlers as interpreters, guides, craftspeople, and instructors some Native women were assimilated (or were forced to assimilate) into colonial society, losing their connections to family and culture. [12] Native women of higher rank, such as the daughters of chiefs or other community leaders, were at times pressured to marry white settlers in order to form alliances. Though settlers assumed the Native women would see these alliances as, at the very least, friendship (y/n Algonquian: netompaug), encompassing both fictive/non-fictive kinship in such associations, and that they would appreciate being accepted into Euro-American society, many of these Native women were still referred to derogatorily as squaws [ sic ], despite this supposed elevation of class. Additionally, these marriages were usually for the purpose of white families claiming Indian land through forced kinship. [12]

These Native women's assimilation into colonial society is a key component of many depictions of "Indian princesses" in historical depictions all the way up through current media, [6] This is often conveyed through the religious conversion of the Native woman/"Indian princess", portrayals of the Native woman and white men in close proximity, and illustrations of the Native woman with a skin tone lighter than other Natives. [6]

Media representation

Common characteristics

Characteristics of the "Indian Princess" stereotype can be seen in said characters relationship with the white man and specific behaviors or traits that would make her the idealized Indian woman. The depiction of Native American women in media is important because it may be the only insight the mainstream audience has to the lifestyle of a culture that is generally hidden from the public. [13] The Princess stereotype thus serves as a model for the assimilation of Indigenous people into a more "civilized" society. [13] She gains this "privilege" by "allowing" the white man into her territory. Even if she is actually being taken prisoner or raped. [14] Native author Denise K. Lajimodiere elaborates on this idea of the Indian Princess being an aid to the white man by claiming that these captive "Princesses" must help non-Indians in their conquest against their own people in order to achieve a likeness to their European counterparts [14] Her aid to the white man is typically portrayed as being done out of love and 'Christian sympathy' as many "Indian Princesses" are portrayed as Christian converts. [3] Because of this, the Indian Princess is seen as a sidekick to the white hero. John M. Coward asserts that their relationship is based on a power dynamic that shows the colonizers as heroes to a group of "savages" because the colonists had helped them transition from barbarism to a "refined" society. [15] Typically, the Indian Princess serves as a symbol of triumph for white men in colonizing and asserting their power over Native people [15]

"Indian Princesses" are considered by the promoters of this stereotype and narrative to be the idealized Indian woman. [15] They are commonly depicted with lighter skin and follow other European Beauty standards. Coward claims that Indian women who then follow this standard and show signs of a charming feminine beauty will become the woman that men lust after. [15] Their characterization isolates them from typical Native American women and portrays them as an extension of their white counterparts. This emphasizes the “otherness” of Native American women who will be denigrated as squaws if they don't adopt these European beauty standards. [14] The decision for Native American women to become an Indian Princess or squaw depends on their relationship with men. [13] The Indian Princess acts as a symbol of the success of these colonizers. The “otherness” of Native Americans is combated when she acts as a medium between these two cultures. [15]

Tiger Lily

Tiger Lily is an "Indian princess" character from the fictional "Piccaninny Tribe"[ sic ] [16] [17] in Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie. In the book, she is captured by Captain Hook and Mr. Smee and is rescued by Peter Pan. She has a limited command of the English language [18] and speaks in stereotypical, halting, broken English. Her most famous depiction is the 1953 Disney film adaptation. In an early version of the manuscript, Tiger Lily plays out a rape fantasy by asking Peter Pan what would happen if he attacked her in the woods to which the other Indians replied that “she him’s squaw”. [18] Tiger Lily is depicted as both a sexualized figure [18] and a strong warrior [19] in Peter Pan. The depiction of Tiger Lily stands in stark contrast to the female figure of Wendy. [18] While many of the female characters appear to desire the affections of Peter Pan, [17] Wendy, the older sister in the Darling family, is presented as a pure, motherly, and talkative figure, often associated with the color white. [18] Conversely, Tiger Lily is depicted as both ethnic and quiet, [17] but not embodying the stereotypical role of a woman. Although Peter Pan saves both Wendy and Tiger Lily in the story, Tiger Lily promises to protect him from the threat of pirates in return. [19] Tiger Lily is brave in the face of fear and possesses important knowledge of the forest. [19] In Warner's 2015 Pan , Tiger Lily was played by a Caucasian actress, Rooney Mara. This generated a vast amount of controversy around the whitewashing of Native American representations, with thousands protesting the role. In an interview with The Telegraph in 2016, Rooney Mara said she regretted her role and said that she could "understand why people were upset and frustrated". [20] [21]

Pocahontas

In the early twentieth century, Native American women often portrayed Pocahontas on-stage during World's Fairs. For instance, Pamunkey women assumed the role of Pocahontas during the 1907 Jamestown Exposition. Spectator perceptions and conceptions of the certainty of these representations were often fielded, and dictated by, Native Americans women, even if gilded wage labor and monetary exchange initially ensnared such women in boom-and-bust economies. [22]

The Disney character Pocahontas, eponymous star of the 1995 Disney film is the most famous modern representation of an Indian princess. She has been inducted to the ranks of the Disney Princess franchise. [23] Critical reception of her character has panned her overly sexualized portrayal, [24] especially as the real Pocahontas was "a child of ten years old" during the events fictionalized by Disney. [25] Her appearance was modeled on a number of sources, including Eskimo-French Canadian/Cree actress Irene Bedard, who provided the character's speaking voice, [26] Powhatan historian Shirley Little Dove Custolow, [27] [28] and her sister Debbie White Dove, [27] white American model Christy Turlington, and Dyna Taylor, a then-21-year-old senior at the California Institute of the Arts, who was used as the model for the character's face. Taylor, who is of Filipino descent, was paid about $200 for four modeling sessions, saying, "I work across from a Disney Store. When they show the promos, certain expressions are really familiar." [27] [28] [29] The fictional Pocahontas is portrayed as being different from the rest of her Powhatan tribe, [30] particularly as it relates to her relationship with John Smith, the European character she falls in love with. [30] Unlike her violent and unfriendly tribe, Pocahontas is gentle and loving. [30] She represents the “noble savage” in her willingness to defy the stereotypical traits assigned to indigenous people, instead of embracing traits of the colonists, specifically her adventurous spirit which allows her to turn her back on her past and embrace new opportunities. [30]

Indian princess costume

Dressing up in a stereotypical Native American costume, for various reasons, is an American practice that goes back to colonial times, and has been analyzed by historians and scholars such as Philip J. Deloria. In his Playing Indian , Deloria concluded that the practice is commonly a quest for National identity on the part of settlers, while also denigrating, dismissing, and making invisible real, contemporary Indian people. [31] During The Boston Tea Party, colonists dressed up as Indians by wearing feathers, blankets, and drawing on their faces with black soot. They then boarded an East India Company merchantmen and threw the chests of tea onboard into the Boston harbor. [31] [32]

Portraying an Indian princess is a form of playing Indian. Many non-Indigenous people believe that dressing up as an Indian princess is innocent, inoffensive, and not only harmless but a fun and personally empowering activity. However, the cultural appropriation of Native traditional dress (or the wearing of degrading costumes that non-Natives believe resemble traditional Native dress) is often viewed as offensive because it ignores the deep cultural and religious significance of traditional Native American regalia. These settler costumes also routinely sexualize Native American women in particular, though men are sexualized as well. In contrast, traditional regalia is usually modest in style and there are protocols around its construction, how and when it is worn, and by whom. Some of the items in particular indicate an earned social and ceremonial status in the community, and are considered sacred. [33] [34]

A neologism for those who misappropropriate Native American identity, especially if done on an ongoing basis, is pretendian . [35] [36] It is considered an extreme form of cultural appropriation, sometimes also referred to as ethnic fraud or race shifting. [37] [38] One of the most common claims among pretendians, or from those trying to excuse dressing up as Native Americans, is that one of their non-Native ancestors was actually a "Cherokee Princess". [39] [34]

Uses by Native Americans

Native American stage performers

Sarah Winnemucca, a Northern Paiute educator, translator, author, and activist, was a well-known performer who was billed as "an Indian princess" for some of her stage and screen performances. She played many roles after she came to the northeastern United States in 1883, continuing to speak out about Native American rights and treaties, in addition to performing in theatrical roles. She was at times referred to as a “Paiute princess” or "Princess Winnemucca", despite the fact that the Paiute do not have Princesses, nor would that be her status in the tribe even if they had that kind of leadership structure. Carolyn Sorisio argues that by using the English term “princess” to refer to herself, she claimed a type of power that the press was able to recognize and attribute to her and the Paiute nation. Her role as a "princess" served to “legitimize in non-Native discourse Northern Paiutes’ political identity”. The question of her legitimacy is further contested in her costuming. [40]

Sorisio argues that Winnemucca's inaccurate costuming suggests compliance with non-Native desires, as expressed in the Indian princess stereotype. Joanna Cohan Scherer argues that Winnemucca exhibits a "Pocahontas complex" as she dresses in clothing that is not representative of a Paiute woman - dressing in cloth rather than buckskin and in “elaborate nontraditional costumes”.[ citation needed ] Some critique her actions as a form of complacency in colonialism. Winnemucca reportedly responded to the issue by stating that her lack of materials needed to recreate traditional regalia would be understood by the audience because it is a performance, and that as an "Indian princess", she used the performances to reflect presentations of herself and Native Americans regardless. [40]

Pow wow pageants

"Princess" is sometimes included in the titles some girls and young women compete for in pageants held at pow wows. [41] However, contrary to typical beauty pageants that judge based on physical appearance, Indigenous women who compete in Indian princess pageants are primarily judged on how well they preserve, practice and promote traditional Indigenous cultural values and represent their community, and not just on how they look. [5] Emphasis is also placed on their skills in traditional arts such as the designing and creation of their regalia, and their talents for traditional dances. [41]

The term "Princess" was never a part of traditional Native culture, however, and there are now calls by participants to change the term. New York State Fair Indian Princess, Yanenowi 'She Guards the Corn' Logan (Seneca Nation) has dedicated her platform "to propose the retirement of the Indian Princess title in lieu of a more culturally appropriate way to celebrate and honor young Indigenous women." [5] She continues,

Being called an Indian Princess, although a position of honor, can also be uncomfortable in predominately white spaces.

I had the awkward experience of being called princess all day at work this summer by my white colleagues once I shared the news. Although I know their congratulations were well-intentioned, I couldn’t help but feel tokenized. I knew that I was the only Native girl they knew and now they could tell their friends and families that they knew a real Indian Princess.

The issue isn’t just a matter of discomfort with the term but the stereotypes, microaggressions and historical inaccuracies embedded in it.

We remain rooted in culture and traditions that are ours; we must peel away the false pretenses of Indian Princess nomenclature. We have no need for notions of a Disney-fied, romanticized, abstract Princess ideal.

I don’t want to dishonor or disrespect past princesses, but bring us forward with more culturally relevant and accurate nomenclature. [42]

Indian princess pageants throughout history

In 1940 Ella Deloria, a Yankton Sioux scholar, produced a pageant named The Life Story of a People for the Native Americans of Robeson Country and surrounding areas. [43] It was part of a morale and community-building effort that is also now recognized by Native American scholars as an important effort toward the accurate representation of Native Americans in theatre. [43] It was supported by the Dakota Indian Foundation and had since become a tradition. [43] Lumbee Indians, the ninth largest tribe in the United States, has referenced the pageants done by Deloria within their historical narrative, demonstrating the pageants’ “contribut[ion] to the persistence and revitalization of […] Indian identity through narrative and performance”. [43] Deloria's pageantry began with the assimilation and accommodation of Euramerican institutions but later developed into an exploration of “Indian identities under siege” [43] where Native American people performed themselves and acted out their stories in her pageants. According to David Glassberg, pageantry characteristically has a “theme of […] keeping pace with modernity [and] retaining a particular version of their traditions”, [44] an effort that Native American pageantry has since been able to accomplish. According to Deloria, the purpose of her pageants was to “reclaim, with pride, the cultural resources of the past” [43] through theatre. American Indian scholars agree that pageantry was able to reclaim the historical tellings of history that had thus been juxtaposed by media's representation of the past.

Feminist writers like Wendy Kozol make note of beauty pageant winners who exemplify Native American tradition within the Euro-American cultural context. According to Kozol, Viola Noah a runner-up for the Choctaw Princess award in the 1973 Labor Day gathering stepped away from the typical photo rendering of Native American princesses. [45] Previous winners were typically shown with traditional Native American attire in natural settings for an ‘“authentic”’ rendering of Native Americans. [45] This, however, is interpreted by feminist writers like Kozol as more of a suggestion that Native Americans are “living relics of the past” (Kozol 70) because it suggests a society that has been untouched by time or colonization. Kozol calls the photo of Noah a “competing form […] of affiliation” [45] because she wears traditional attire with modern American elements within the photo. She explains that Native tribes have often used pageants and parades as cultural practices to keep the tradition alive. Anita Ahenakew, 1981 Saskatchewan Indian Princess is identified by her community as being a multiple, medal winning Judoka, a practitioner of Judo, also breaking the stereotype. [46]

Miss Indian World

The Miss Indian World contest began in 1984. The contest is held each year during the Gathering of Nations pow wow in Albuquerque, New Mexico. [4] The contest is the largest and most prestigious of its kind. [4]

Requirements for participation [47]

  • Must be a woman of Native or indigenous descent
  • Must be between 18–25 years of age
  • Must be affiliated with a tribe
  • Must be Single
  • Must never have been married
  • Must not cohabitate with an intimate companion
  • Must not have, nor ever had, children
  • Must conduct themselves morally and refrain from drugs, alcohol, smoking, profane language, and intimate public displays of affection with a boyfriend.

Winners [48]

  • 2014 – Taylor Thomas
  • 2013 – Kansas K. Begaye
  • 2012 – Jessa Rae Growing Thunder
  • 2011 – Marjorie Tahbone
  • 2010 – Dakota Brant
  • 2009 – Brooke Grant
  • 2008 – Nicole Alex’aq Colbert
  • 2007 – Megan Young
  • 2006 – Violet John
  • 2005 – Cassie Thomas
  • 2004 – Delana Smith
  • 2003 – Onawa Lynn Lacy
  • 2002 – Tia Smith
  • 2001 – Ke Aloha May Cody Alo
  • 2000 – Lillian ‘Cepa’ Sparks
  • 1999 – Mitzi Tolino
  • 1998 – April Whittemore
  • 1997 – Shayai Lucero
  • 1996 – Andrea Jack
  • 1995 – Crystal Pewo
  • 1994 – J.C. Lonetree
  • 1993 – Gloria Snow
  • 1992 – Lanette Asepermy
  • 1991 – Janet Saupitty
  • 1990 – Lovina Louie
  • 1989 – Tammy Deann Billey
  • 1988 – Prairie Rose Little Sky
  • 1987 (August 87 – April 88 ) – Jovanna Plenty
  • 1987 (April 87 – August 87) – Celeste Tootoosis
  • 1986 – Lisa Ewaulk
  • 1985 – Shelly Valdez
  • 1984 – Cody High Elk

Calgary Stampede Indian Princess

The Calgary Stampede Indian Princess contest began in 1964. [49] The Calgary Stampede Indian Princess joins the Calgary Stampede Rodeo Queen and Princesses to complete the Calgary Stampede Rodeo Royalty. While the Calgary Stampede Indian Princess is considered part of the Calgary Stampede Royalty, she has a separate category and competition of her own. [50]

Evelyn Locker (née Eagle Speaker) of the Kainai Nation was the first First Nations woman to participate in and be crowned as Calgary Stampede royalty in 1954. [51] Controversy erupted after Evelyn Eagle Speaker's crowning because she was of Aboriginal descent. The issues surrounding her crowning focused on how she should represent the Calgary Stampede and perform her role as Queen, specifically what kind of clothing she should wear (her traditional regalia or cowgirl gear). Most of the time the Calgary press referred to her as the Indian Princess instead of her rightful title as Rodeo Queen. [51]

Requirements for participation: [52]

  • Must be a member of one of the Treaty 7 First Nations
  • Must be between 18 and 25 years old
  • Must never have been married, lived common-law, or have had a child
  • Must agree not to marry, live common-law, or have a child during her reign
  • Competency in a native language is an asset
  • Riding ability is required

Judgement criteria: [52]

  • Application package
  • Personal interview
  • Public speaking presentation
  • Dance
  • Interpersonal communication
  • Horsemanship and riding ability

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Winnemucca</span> Northern Paiute author, activist, and educator (c. 1844 –1891)

Sarah Hopkins was a Northern Paiute writer, activist, lecturer, teacher, and school organizer. Her Northern Paiute name was Thocmentony, also spelled Tocmetone, which translates as "Shell Flower."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pocahontas</span> Native American woman (c. 1596 – 1617)

Pocahontas was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Powhatan, the paramount chief of a network of tributary tribes in the Tsenacommacah, encompassing the Tidewater region of what is today the U.S. state of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Paiute people</span> Native American people in eastern California

The Northern Paiute people are a Numic people that has traditionally lived in the Great Basin region of the United States in what is now eastern California, western Nevada, and southeast Oregon. The Northern Paiute pre-contact lifestyle was well adapted to the harsh desert environment in which they lived. Each tribe or band occupied a specific territory, generally centered on a lake or wetland that supplied fish and waterfowl. Communal hunt drives, which often involved neighboring bands, would take rabbits and pronghorn from surrounding areas. Individuals and families appear to have moved freely among the bands.

<i>Pocahontas</i> (1995 film) 1995 animated film by Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg

Pocahontas is a 1995 American animated musical historical drama film loosely based on the life of Powhatan woman Pocahontas and the arrival of English colonial settlers from the Virginia Company. The film romanticizes Pocahontas's encounter with John Smith and her legendary saving of his life. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ella Cara Deloria</span> Yankton Dakota Author

Ella Cara Deloria, also called Aŋpétu Wašté Wiŋ, was a Yankton Dakota (Sioux) educator, anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and novelist. She recorded Native American oral history and contributed to the study of Native American languages. According to Cotera (2008), Deloria was "a pre-eminent expert on Dakota/Lakota/Nakota cultural religious, and linguistic practices." In the 1940s, Deloria wrote the novel Waterlily, which was published in 1988 and republished in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irene Bedard</span> American actress (born 1967)

Irene Bedard is an Alaska Native actor, who has played mostly Native American lead roles in a variety of films. She is perhaps best known for the role of Suzy Song in the 1998 film Smoke Signals, an adaptation of a Sherman Alexie collection of short stories, as well as for providing the speaking voice for the titular character in the 1995 animated film Pocahontas. Bedard reprised her role as Pocahontas in the film's direct-to-video follow-up, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998) and for a cameo in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squaw</span> English-language ethnic and sexual slur

The English word squaw is an ethnic and sexual slur, historically used for Indigenous North American women. Contemporary use of the term, especially by non-Natives, is considered derogatory, misogynist, and racist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnemucca (Paiute leader)</span> Native American Northern Paiute war chief (c. 1820–1882)

Winnemucca was a Northern Paiute war chief. He was born a Shoshone around 1820 in what would later become the Oregon Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States</span> Generalized representations of Indigenous peoples

Stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States of America include many ethnic stereotypes found worldwide which include historical misrepresentations and the oversimplification of hundreds of Indigenous cultures. Negative stereotypes are associated with prejudice and discrimination that continue to affect the lives of Indigenous peoples.

Pocahontas is the titular character of Walt Disney Animation Studios' 1995 film Pocahontas, and the seventh addition to the Disney Princess franchise.

Tiger Lily (<i>Peter Pan</i>) Fictional character

Tiger Lily is a fictional character in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, his 1911 novel Peter and Wendy, and their various adaptations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Native Americans in film</span> Depiction of Native Americans

The portrayal of Native Americans in television and films concerns indigenous roles in cinema, particularly their depiction in Hollywood productions. Especially in the Western genre, Native American stock characters can reflect contemporary and historical perceptions of Native Americans and the Wild West.

<i>Playing Indian</i> 1998 nonfiction book by Philip J. Deloria

Playing Indian is a 1998 nonfiction book by Philip J. Deloria, which explores the history of the conflicted relationship white America has with Native American peoples. It explores the common historical and contemporary societal pattern of non-Natives simultaneously mimicking stereotypical ideas and imagery of "Indians" and "Indianness", in a quest for National identity in particular, while also denigrating, dismissing, and making invisible real, contemporary Indian people.

Native American feminism or Native feminism is, at its root, understanding how gender plays an important role in indigenous communities both historically and in modern-day. As well, Native American feminism deconstructs the racial and broader stereotypes of indigenous peoples, gender, sexuality, while also focusing on decolonization and breaking down the patriarchy and pro-capitalist ideology. As a branch of the broader Indigenous feminism, it similarly prioritizes decolonization, indigenous sovereignty, and the empowerment of indigenous women and girls in the context of Native American and First Nations cultural values and priorities, rather than white, mainstream ones. A central and urgent issue for Native feminists is the Missing and murdered Indigenous women crisis.

Jacqueline Keeler is a Native American writer and activist, enrolled in the Navajo Nation and of Yankton Dakota descent, who co-founded Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry (EONM), which seeks to end the use of Native American racial groups as mascots.

Pocahontas is a Disney media franchise that commenced in 1995 with the theatrical release of Pocahontas. The franchise is based on the real-life early 17th-century indigenous woman, Pocahontas.

"What Made the Red Man Red?" is a song from the 1953 Disney animated film Peter Pan with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Sammy Cahn, in which "the natives tell their story through stereotypical dance while singing". Some modern audiences consider it “racist and offensive” due to its exaggerated stereotypes. Although a similar depiction was displayed within J. M. Barrie's original play, later adaptations have reimagined the Natives, while the Disney version—and this song in particular—were said to have "doubled-down on racial stereotypes".

Racial or ethnic misrepresentation occurs when someone deliberately misrepresents their racial or ethnic background. It may occur for a variety of reasons, such as someone attempting to benefit from affirmative action programs for which they are not eligible.

Pretendian is a pejorative colloquialism describing a person who has falsely claimed Indigenous identity by professing to be a citizen of a Native American or Indigenous Canadian tribal nation, or to be descended from Native American or Indigenous Canadian ancestors. As a practice, being a pretendian is considered an extreme form of cultural appropriation, especially if that individual then asserts that they can represent, and speak for, communities from which they do not originate. The practice has sometimes been called Indigenous identity fraud, ethnic fraud, and race shifting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atalie Unkalunt</span> Cherokee singer, activist, and designer

Atalie Unkalunt was a Cherokee singer, interior designer, activist, and writer. Her English name Iva J. Rider appears on the final rolls of the Cherokee Nation. Born in Indian Territory, she attended government-run Indian schools and then graduated from high school in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She furthered her education at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. After a thirteen-month engagement with the YMCA as a stenographer and entertainer for World War I troops in France, she returned to the United States in 1919 and continued her music studies. By 1921, she was living in New York City and performing a mixture of operatic arias, contemporary songs, and Native music. Her attempts to become an opera performer were not successful. She was more accepted as a so-called "Indian princess", primarily singing the works of white composers involved in the Indianist movement.

References

  1. 1 2 3 National Museum of the American Indian (2007). Do All Indians Live in Tipis?. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN   978-0-06-115301-3.
  2. ↑ Garcia, Alma (2012). Contested Images: Women of Color in Popular Culture. Lanham, Md: AltaMira Press. pp. 157–166.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cohan Scherer, Joanna (May 1988). "The Public Faces of Sarah Winnemucca". Cultural Anthropology. 3 (2): 178–204. doi:10.1525/can.1988.3.2.02a00040. JSTOR   656350.
  4. 1 2 3 "Miss Indian World Information". www.gatheringofnations.com. Retrieved December 15, 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 3 Logan, Yanenowi (September 7, 2021). "Honor past princesses, but retire the 'Indian Princess'". Indian Country Today . Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Green, Rayna (1975). "The Pocahontas Perplex: The Image of Indian Women in American Culture". The Massachusetts Review. 16 (4): 698–714. JSTOR   25088595.
  7. 1 2 Fleming, E. McClung (1965). "The American Image as Indian Princess 1765-1783". Winterthur Portfolio. 2: 65–81. doi:10.1086/495753. JSTOR   1180453. S2CID   162204435.
  8. ↑ Glover, Jeffrey (2014). Paper Sovereigns: Anglo-Native Treaties and the Law of Nations, 1604-1664 (1st ed.). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 187–226. ISBN   9780812245967.
  9. ↑ Wishart, David J. (2011). "Native American Gender Roles". Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Snyder, Howard A. (2015). "Gospel, Mission, and National Myth". Jesus and Pocahontas: Gospel, Mission, and National Myth. Lutterworth Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1cg4mj0. ISBN   9780718894191. JSTOR   j.ctt1cg4mj0.
  11. ↑ Shoemaker, Nancy (1995). "Native-American Women in History". OAH Magazine of History. 9 (4): 10–14. JSTOR   25163037.
  12. 1 2 Parezo, Nancy J.; Jones, Angelina R. (2009). "What's in a Name?: The 1940s–1950s 'Squaw Dress'". The American Indian Quarterly. 33 (3): 373–404. doi:10.1353/aiq.0.0058. S2CID   162233209. Project MUSE   270642 ProQuest   216862711.
  13. 1 2 3 Marubbio, M. Elise (2009). Killing the Indian maiden : images of Native American women in film. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN   9780813192383. OCLC   463320173.
  14. 1 2 3 Lajimodiere, Denise K. (May 2013). "American Indian Females and Stereotypes: Warriors, Leaders, Healers, Feminists; Not Drudges, Princesses, Prostitutes". Multicultural Perspectives. 15 (2): 104–109. doi:10.1080/15210960.2013.781391. S2CID   144739822.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Coward, John M. (2016). "The Construction of Native American Women in the Pictorial Press". The Princess and the Squaw. Indians Illustrated. University of Illinois Press. pp. 71–93. ISBN   978-0-252-04026-9. JSTOR   10.5406/j.ctt18j8xvg.7.
  16. ↑ Laskow, Sarah (December 2, 2014). "The Racist History of Peter Pan's Indian Tribe". Smithsonian . ISSN   0037-7333. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  17. 1 2 3 Shipley, Heather E. (April 2012). "Fairies, Mermaids, Mothers, and Princesses: Sexual Difference and Gender Roles in Peter Pan". Studies in Gender and Sexuality. 13 (2): 145–159. doi:10.1080/15240657.2012.682946. S2CID   219642157.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Wilson, Ann (January 31, 2003), "Hauntings: Anxiety, Technology, and Gender in Peter Pan", in Knowles, Ric; Tompkins, Joanne Elizabeth; Worthen, W.B (eds.), Modern Drama, University of Toronto Press, pp. 128–143, doi:10.3138/9781442620926-010, ISBN   9781442620926
  19. 1 2 3 FitzPatrick, Theresa J. (2014). "Sacred Kisses and Profane Thimbles: Dual Female Identity in J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan". Victorians: A Journal of Culture and Literature. 126 (126): 9–22. doi:10.1353/vct.2014.0009. S2CID   244121715.
  20. ↑ Sturgis, India (February 22, 2016). "Rooney Mara: 'I've been on the wrong side of the whitewashing debate'". The Telegraph . Archived from the original on February 22, 2016.
  21. ↑ Bryant, Jacob (February 22, 2016). "Rooney Mara Hated Sparking Whitewashing Debate as Tiger Lily in 'Pan'". Variety . Archived from the original on February 24, 2016.
  22. ↑ Gleach, Frederic W. (July 1, 2003). "Pocahontas at the Fair: Crafting Identities at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition". Ethnohistory. 50 (3): 419–445. doi:10.1215/00141801-50-3-419.
  23. ↑ "Meet Pocahontas". Disney Princess . Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  24. ↑ Edgerton, Gary; Jackson, Kathy Merlock (April 1996). "Redesigning Pocahontas: Disney, the 'White Man's Indian,' and the Marketing of Dreams". Journal of Popular Film and Television. 24 (2): 90–98. doi:10.1080/01956051.1996.9943718.
  25. ↑ Smith, True Relation Archived September 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine , p. 93.
  26. ↑ Weeks, Janet (June 30, 1995). "The Face That Launched a Thousand Animators' Pens " Archived 2023-01-09 at the Wayback Machine . Tulsa World .
  27. 1 2 3 Mackie, Drew (June 23, 2015). "Disney's Pocahontas Has Been Painting with All the Colors of the Wind for 20 Years" Archived 2017-07-10 at the Wayback Machine . People .
  28. 1 2 Cochran, Jason (June 16, 1995). "Pocahontas needed an ethnic look" Archived 2018-01-15 at the Wayback Machine . Entertainment Weekly .
  29. ↑ Ramirez, Anthony (July 6, 1995). "The Media Business: Advertising; Who in the world is Dyna Taylor? She may be the face that launched a thousand movie tie-ins." Archived 2015-05-26 at the Wayback Machine . The New York Times .
  30. 1 2 3 4 Savage, Jordan (Winter 2018). "'There Was a Veil upon You, Pocahontas': The Pocahontas Story as a Myth of American Heterogeneity in the Liberal Western". Papers on Language & Literature. 54 (1): 7–24. ProQuest   2013927777.
  31. 1 2 Deloria, Philip J. (1999). Playing Indian. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 64–8, 91, 101, et al. ISBN   9780300080674 . Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  32. ↑ Robertson, Dwanna L. (2015). "Invisibility in the Color-Blind Era: Examining Legitimized Racism against Indigenous Peoples". The American Indian Quarterly. 39 (2): 113–153. doi:10.5250/amerindiquar.39.2.0113. JSTOR   10.5250/amerindiquar.39.2.0113. S2CID   161473003. Project MUSE   578009 ProQuest   1665111510.
  33. ↑ Lara-Cooper, Kishan; Cooper, Sammy (2016). "'My Culture Is not a Costume': The Influence of Stereotypes on Children in Middle Childhood". Wíčazo Ša Review. 31 (2): 56–68. doi:10.5749/wicazosareview.31.2.0056. JSTOR   10.5749/wicazosareview.31.2.0056. S2CID   164426888. Project MUSE   663856.
  34. 1 2 ICT Staff (June 4, 2014). "Oh, Pharrell Is Part Native American? Here's Why It Doesn't Matter - Does some Native American heritage make it OK for Pharrell Williams to wear a feather headdress? No -- and here are four reasons why it doesn't". Indian Country Today . Retrieved November 20, 2021. By the way, the Cherokee did not have "princesses" and did not wear feather headdresses
  35. ↑ Polleta, Maria (November 30, 2017). "'Pretendians': Elizabeth Warren not alone in making questionable claim to Native American heritage". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved November 11, 2021– via AZCentral.
  36. ↑ Irwin, Nigel (January 12, 2017). "Joseph Boyden's Apology and the Strange History of 'Pretendians' – Boyden is hardly the first person to be alleged to have faked Indigenous roots for material or spiritual gain". Vice Media . Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  37. ↑ Leroux, Darryl. "Raceshifting". Raceshifting. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  38. ↑ Ridgen, Melissa (January 28, 2021). "Pretendians and what to do with people who falsely say they're Indigenous". APTN News. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  39. ↑ Martin, Joel W. (1996). Bird, Elizabeth (ed.). 'My Grandmother Was a Cherokee Princess': Representations of Indians in Southern History. London: Routledge.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  40. 1 2 Sorisio, Carolyn (2011). "Playing the Indian Princess? Sarah Winnemucca's Newspaper Career and Performance of American Indian Identities". Studies in American Indian Literatures. 23 (1): 1–37. doi:10.5250/studamerindilite.23.1.0001. JSTOR   10.5250/studamerindilite.23.1.0001.
  41. 1 2 Ellis, Clyde; Lassiter, Luke Eric; Dunham, Gary H. (2005). Powwow . Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press. pp.  152–171.
  42. ↑ Logan, Yanenowi (September 7, 2021). "Honor past princesses, but retire the 'Indian Princess'". Indian Country Today . Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  43. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gardner, Susan (2006). "'Weaving an Epic Story': Ella Cara Deloria's Pageant for the Indians of Robeson County, North Carolina, 1940-1941". The Mississippi Quarterly. 1 (60): 33–39.
  44. ↑ Glassberg, David (1990). American historical pageantry : the uses of tradition in the early twentieth century. Univ. of North Carolina Pr. ISBN   978-0807819166. OCLC   246734754.
  45. 1 2 3 Kozol, Wendy (2005). "Miss Indian America: Regulatory Gazes and the Politics of Affiliation". Feminist Studies. 31 (1): 64–94. doi:10.2307/20459007. hdl: 2027/spo.0499697.0031.104 . JSTOR   20459007.
  46. ↑ "Saskatchewan athlete wins at national Judo competition". Saskatchewan Indian. 12 (7): 38–39. September 1982.
  47. ↑ "Miss Indian World Application" (PDF). www.gon.wpengine.com. Retrieved December 15, 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  48. ↑ "Miss Indian World Past Winners". www.gatheringofnations.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  49. ↑ "Milestones Calgary Stampede Indian Princess". www.Facebook.com. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  50. ↑ "Calgary Stampede Indian Princess". www.csroyalty.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  51. 1 2 Jourdey, Susan L. "The Expectations of a Queen: Identity and Race Politics at the Calgary Stampede". www.academia.edu. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  52. 1 2 "2015 Calgary Stampede Indian Princess Application" (PDF). www.indianvillage.ca. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.