The portrayal of Indigenous people of the Americas in popular culture has oscillated between the fascination with the noble savage who lives in harmony with nature, and the stereotype of the uncivilized Red Indian of the traditional Western genre. The common depiction of Indigenous Americans and their relationship with European colonists has changed over time. Today indigenous Americans are fully modern peoples who retain much of their cultural beliefs and traditional practices.
In 1851, Charles Dickens wrote a scathingly sarcastic review in his weekly magazine, Household Words, of painter George Catlin's show of American Indians when it visited England. In his essay, entitled The Noble Savage,[1] Dickens expressed repugnance for Indians and their way of life, recommending that they ought to be "civilized out of existence". (Dickens' essay refers to Dryden's use of the term, not to Rousseau.[2]) Dickens' scorn for those unnamed individuals, who, like Catlin, he alleged, misguidedly exalted the so-called "noble savage", was limitless. In reality, Dickens maintained, Indians were dirty, cruel, and constantly fighting among themselves. Dickens' satire on Catlin and others like him who might find something to admire in the American Indians or African bushmen is a notable turning point in the history of the use of the phrase.[3]
Eastern European-produced Westerns were popular in CommunistEastern European countries, and were a particular favorite of Joseph Stalin. "Red Western" or "Ostern" films usually portrayed the American Indians sympathetically, as oppressed people fighting for their rights, in contrast to American Westerns of the time, which frequently portrayed the Indians as villains.
The concept of Native Americans living in harmony with nature was taken up in the 1960s by the hippie subculture and played a certain role in the formative phase of the environmentalist movement. The so-called Legend of the Rainbow Warriors, an alleged Hopi prophecy foretelling environmental activism,[4] became popular, with most proponents unaware that the story is untrue, written as part of an evangelical Christian tract, and an attempt to destroy traditional Native religions.[4]
In the US cultural mainstream, negative depiction of Native Americans came to be seen as racist in the 1980s, as reflected in the production of western films emphasizing the "noble savage" such as Dances with Wolves (1990).[5]
Comics
Native American characters in comic books and comic strips[citation needed] include Akwas, a comic strip about Native Americans created by Mike Roy, and Super-Chief, an Indian superhero created for DC Comics. In the 1990s, DC Comics superhero Hawkman (Katar Hol) was depicted as being the son of a Thanagarian man and a Native American woman named Naomi Carter.[6]
Italian comic books featuring Tex Willer prominently feature Native Americans in their pilota, starring from the first story, "Il totem misterioso" (lit.'The mysterious totem').
Since the 1980s, songs by non-Native musicians have drawn upon literature written by Native Americans to condemn the injustices committed by white people. Examples include "Run to the Hills" by Iron Maiden and "Creek Mary's Blood" by Nightwish which includes vocals from Native American musician John Two-Hawks.[citation needed]
In films such as Northwest Passage (1940), Native Americans are the villains, attacking White settlers, often at the instigation of unscrupulous White men. But there are many Hollywood films that offer a more sympathetic picture. Most of the John Ford Westerns show respect toward American Indians, and they are the heroes of such major films as Broken Arrow (1950) and Dances With Wolves (1990). Probably the most famous "Indian" in American popular media is the Lone Ranger's sidekick, Tonto, most famously portrayed by Native American actor Jay Silverheels.[citation needed]
Literature
Native Americans assumed a central role in American literary themes between the 1820s and 1830s. In this period, they were often portrayed by white authors as the soon-to-be extinct originators of an American nationhood that is to be assumed by white Americans.[7] The Indigenous identity was often presented as something that can be used by white Americans to distinguish themselves from the British, as in the Fraternal Order of Red Men or the Sons of Liberty at the Boston Tea Party.[8] Other works in what scholars call the "Indian hater" genre glorified white frontier settlers on genocidal rampages and provided literary justification for Indian removal policy of the period.[9] Some white authors in this period like John Neal challenged these trends. His novel Logan (1822) challenged racial boundaries between white and Native Americans.[10] His short story "David Whicher" (1832) reacted to the Indian Removal Act (1830) and popular literature that supported it by exploring peaceful multiethnic coexistence in the US.[11]
Rick, the protagonist of Simon Spurrier's novel, The Culled (2006, book 1 of The Afterblight Chronicles), belongs to the Haudenosaunee people and is guided through crises by the sachem. Another character, named Hiawatha,[12] saves Rick's life and advises him the Tadodaho have said Rick and Hiawatha are aligned.[13]
Throughout Sherman Alexie's poem, "How to Write the Great American Indian Novel" he states that all of the Indians must have tragic noses, eyes, and arms. Their hands and fingers must be tragic when they reach for tragic food. Natives are portrayed with tragic features because it resembles their tragic history.[14] "The hero must be a half-breed, half white and half Indian, preferably from a horse culture. He should often weep alone. That is mandatory". Males are depicted as being the strong warriors. Males are also often depicted as wearing headdresses in popular culture. "If the hero is an Indian women, she is beautiful. She must be slender and in love with a white man". In popular culture women are depicted in a sexualized form. Women are depicted as not portraying strength. However, Native American women are very strong. They picked berries and looked after the kids.
In Vine DeLoria's story, "Indian Humor" he states that "It has always been a great disappointment to Indian People that the humorous side of Indian life has not been mentioned by professed experts on Indian affairs".[15] Native Americans are seen as always being serious and warriors. However, Native Americans are humorous and have a completely different side to them than most people think. Native Americans can be serious and warriors but they can also be humorous and comforting. Native Americans actually use humor to joke about their brutal history. It is their way of coping. The fact that they are willing to allow humor to joke around about their past and the killing of thousands of Native Americans proves that they are not savages. Instead, they are casual everyday people
Video games
A Lakota-Sioux warrior named Nightwolf debuted in the video game Mortal Kombat 3 (1995) and has been a recurring protagonist of the franchise. He is one of the few mortals who are spiritually aware, acting as a historian and shaman of his people.[citation needed]
In American Conquest (2003), various native tribes and empires during the colonisation of the Americas by Europeans are depicted.
In Red Dead Revolver (2004), the protagonist Red Harlow is half Native American on his mother's side.
In Gun (2005), the protagonist, Cole White, is revealed to be an Apache who was adopted as a baby by his stepfather Ned after the rest of his tribe was massacred.
In Prey (2006), the protagonist, Tommy, is a mechanic of Cherokee heritage, who is sick of life on the reservation and resents his heritage. In the beginning of the game, after a bar fight, the building is lifted up by a hostile alien ship, and he and his family are abducted. As the game progresses, he must fight to escape.
In Red Dead Redemption (2010), disaffected Native Americans form most of a gang led by Dutch Van Der Linde, a major antagonist of the game. A Native American called Nastas aids the protagonist John Marston in stopping the gang because while he shares their resentment for the government's treatment of natives he does not agree with fighting for Dutch nor his tactics. The prequel Red Dead Redemption 2 also features Native Americans in a more prominent role in the form of Wapiti Indians led by Rains Fall and including members such as his son Eagle Flies. Additionally a Van der Linde gang member and major character in the game Charles Smith is a half-Native American and later joins the Indians for sometime after he leaves Dutch and the gang due to the latter's deteriorating state.
In Grand Theft Auto V (2013), protagonist Franklin Clinton's best friend Lamar Davis claims to be of Apache descent.
In Infamous: Second Son (2014), the protagonist Delsin Rowe and his brother Reggie are members of a fictional Native American tribe called the Akomish.[17]
In Assassin's Creed: Rogue (2014), an Abenaki Assassin named Kesegowaase is a minor antagonist, the protagonist Shay Cormac also encounters members of the Oneida tribe.
In Western anthropology, philosophy, and literature, the noble savage is a stock character who is uncorrupted by civilization. As such, the noble savage symbolizes the innate goodness and moral superiority of a primitive people living in harmony with Nature. In the heroic drama of the stageplay The Conquest of Granada by the Spaniards (1672), John Dryden represents the noble savage as an archetype of Man-as-Creature-of-Nature.
Hiawatha is the largest city and county seat of Brown County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,280.
Hiawatha, also known as Ayenwatha or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he was born an Onondaga but adopted into the Mohawks.
George Catlin was an American lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the American frontier.
The Song of Hiawatha is an 1855 epic poem in trochaic tetrameter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which features Native American characters. The epic relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his love for Minnehaha, a Dakota woman. Events in the story are set in the Pictured Rocks area of Michigan on the south shore of Lake Superior. Longfellow's poem is based on oral traditions surrounding the figure of Manabozho, but it also contains his own innovations.
The Great Peacemaker, sometimes referred to as Deganawida or Tekanawí:ta was by tradition, along with Jigonhsasee and Hiawatha, the founder of the Haudenosaunee, commonly called the Iroquois Confederacy. This is a political and cultural union of six Iroquoian-speaking Native American tribes residing in the present-day state of New York, northern Pennsylvania, and the eastern portion of the province of Ontario, Canada.
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.
A Man Called Horse is a 1970 Western film directed by Elliot Silverstein, produced by Sandy Howard, and written by Jack DeWitt. It is based on the short story "A Man Called Horse" by the Western writer Dorothy M. Johnson, first published in 1950 in Collier's magazine and again in 1968 in Johnson's book Indian Country. The basic story was used in a 1958 episode of the television series Wagon Train, titled "A Man Called Horse". The film stars Richard Harris as the titular character, alongside Judith Anderson, Jean Gascon, Manu Tupou, Corinna Tsopei, Dub Taylor, and James Gammon.
Charles Bird King was an American portrait artist, best known for his portrayals of significant Native American leaders and tribesmen. His style incorporated Dutch influences, which can be seen most prominently in his still-life and portrait paintings. Although King's artwork was appreciated by many, it has also been criticized for its inaccurate depictions of Native American culture.
James Young Deer, also known as J. Younger Johnson or Jim Young Deer, was actually born James Young Johnson in Washington, D.C. Although he was identified in the early Hollywood trade paper Moving Picture World as of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, his ancestry is of the Nanticoke people of Delaware. He became an early film actor, director, writer, and producer. He is believed to be the first Native American filmmaker/producer in Hollywood. Together with his wife and partner Lillian St. Cyr, Winnebago, the couple were labeled an "influential force" in the production of one-reel Westerns during the first part of the silent film era. Their films, along with several others of the silent era, were notable for portraying Native Americans in a positive light.
Kent Monkman is a Canadian First Nations artist of Cree ancestry. He is a member of the Fisher River band situated in Manitoba's Interlake Region. Monkman lives and works in Toronto, Ontario.
There are stereotypes of various groups of people which live within the United States and contribute to its culture. Worldwide, a disproportionately high number of people know about these stereotypes, due to the transmission of American culture and values via the exportation of American-made films and television shows.
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.
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 women in the arts are women who are from Indigenous peoples from what is now the mainland United States who are visual art professionals. Women in Native American communities have been producing art intertwined with spirituality, life, and beauty for centuries. Women have worked to produce traditional art, passing these crafts down generation by generation, as well as contemporary art in the form of photography, printmaking, and performance art.
Scholars have discussed the topic of racism in the works of 19th-century English author Charles Dickens, with increased focus in the 20th and 21st centuries. While Dickens was known to be highly sympathetic to the plight of the poor and disadvantaged in British society, like many other authors of the period he expressed attitudes in his journalism and works which have been interpreted as racist and xenophobic. Dickens frequently defended the privileges held by Europeans in overseas colonies and was dismissive of what he termed "primitive" cultures. The Oxford Dictionary of English Literature describes Dickens as a nationalist who frequently stigmatised non-European cultures.
Native Americans in German popular culture have, since the 18th century, been a topic of fascination, with imaginary Native Americans influencing German ideas and attitudes towards environmentalism, literature, art, historical reenactment, and German theatrical and film depictions of Indigenous Americans. Hartmut Lutz coined the term, Indianthusiasm, for this phenomenon.
The Indian princess is usually a stereotypical and inaccurate representation of a Native American or other Indigenous woman of the Americas. 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. This inaccurate portrayal has continued in popular animation, with characters that conform to European standards of beauty, 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." - a false narrative that did not even happen quite that way to the real child who inspired the Pocahontas stories. 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.
Hiawatha and Minnehaha are 1868 sculptures by Edmonia Lewis. They are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on view in gallery 759.
The Wanamaker expeditions were a series of three journeys led by Joseph K. Dixon to various tribes of Native peoples living in the US in the early 20th century. The three expeditions were primarily sponsored by department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker.
↑ For an account of Dickens' article see Grace Moore, "Reappraising Dickens's 'Noble Savage'", The Dickensian 98:458 (2002): 236-243. Moore speculates that Dickens, although himself an abolitionist, was motivated by a wish to differentiate himself from what he believed was the feminine sentimentality and bad writing of Harriet Beecher Stowe, with whom he, as a reformist writer, was often associated.
1 2 Tarleton, John (July 1999). "Interview with Michael Niman". John Tarleton. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2014. This work by a journalist is independent of the source, Niman, and is probably reliable.
↑ Goddu, Theresa A. (1997). Gothic America: Narrative, History, and Nation. New York City, New York: Columbia University Press. pp.57, 62–63. ISBN9780231108171.
↑ Nelson, Dana D. (1998). National Manhood: Capitalist Citizenship and the Imagined Fraternity of White Men. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. pp.92–94, 101. ISBN9780822321491.
↑ Watts, Edward (2012). "He Could Not Believe that Butchering Red Men Was Serving Our Maker: 'David Whicher' and the Indian Hater Tradition". In Watts, Edward; Carlson, David J. (eds.). John Neal and Nineteenth Century American Literature and Culture. Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Bucknell University Press. pp.209–211. ISBN9781611484205.
↑ Goddu, Theresa A. (1997). Gothic America: Narrative, History, and Nation. New York City, New York: Columbia University Press. p.63. ISBN9780231108171.
↑ Watts, Edward (2012). "He Could Not Believe that Butchering Red Men Was Serving Our Maker: 'David Whicher' and the Indian Hater Tradition". In Watts, Edward; Carlson, David J. (eds.). John Neal and Nineteenth Century American Literature and Culture. Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Bucknell University Press. p.209. ISBN9781611484205.
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