Taos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos-speaking (Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico. The pueblos are one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States. This has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Blackface is the practice of non-black performers using burnt cork or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment.
Jay Silverheels was an Indigenous Canadian actor and athlete. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the Native American companion of the Lone Ranger in the American Western television series The Lone Ranger.
Harmony Korine is an American filmmaker, actor, photographer, artist, and author. His methods feature an erratic, loose and transgressive aesthetic, exploring taboo themes and incorporating experimental techniques, and works with art, music, fashion and advertising.
Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native American companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. Tonto has appeared in radio and television series and other presentations of the characters' adventures righting wrongs in 19th-century western United States.
Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be especially controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from minority cultures. According to critics of the practice, cultural appropriation differs from acculturation, assimilation, or equal cultural exchange in that this appropriation is a form of colonialism. When cultural elements are copied from a minority culture by members of a dominant culture, and these elements are used outside of their original cultural context – sometimes even against the expressly stated wishes of members of the originating culture – the practice is often received negatively.
War bonnets are feathered headgear traditionally worn by male leaders of the American Plains Indians Nations who have earned a place of great respect in their tribe. Originally they were sometimes worn into battle, but they are now primarily used for ceremonial occasions. In the Native American and First Nations communities that traditionally have these items of regalia, they are seen as items of great spiritual and political importance, only to be worn by those who have earned the right and honour through formal recognition by their people.
Wesley Studi is a Native American actor and film producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and awards throughout his career, particularly for his portrayal of Native Americans in film. In 2019, he received an Academy Honorary Award, becoming the first Native American as well as the first Indigenous person from North America to be honored by the academy.
LaDonna Vita Tabbytite Harris is a Comanche Native American social activist and politician from Oklahoma. She is the founder and president of Americans for Indian Opportunity. Harris was a vice presidential candidate for the Citizens Party in the 1980 United States presidential election alongside Barry Commoner. She was the first Native American woman to run for vice president. In 2018, she became one of the inductees in the first induction ceremony held by the National Native American Hall of Fame.
Proenza Schouler is a womenswear and accessories brand founded in 2002 by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. Based in New York City, Proenza Schouler is derived from maiden names of the two designers' mothers: Proenza is the maiden name of Hernandez's mother, and Schouler is the maiden name of McCollough's mother.
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.
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.
The Lone Ranger is a 2013 American Western action film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. Based on the title character of the same name, the film stars Johnny Depp as Tonto, the narrator of the events and Armie Hammer as John Reid, the Lone Ranger. The story tells through Tonto's memories of the duo's earliest efforts to subdue local villainy and bring justice to the American Old West. William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, Ruth Wilson, James Badge Dale, Tom Wilkinson, Helena Bonham Carter and Curtis Cregan are featured in supporting roles. This was the first theatrical film featuring the Lone Ranger and Tonto characters since William A. Fraker's 1981 film, The Legend of the Lone Ranger.
Native Appropriations is a blog that critically discusses the ways that Indigenous people are depicted in mainstream, Euro-American dominated, culture. Active since 2010, the website is created and maintained by Cherokee Nation scholar Adrienne Keene.
Blackface in contemporary art covers issues from stage make-up used to make non-black performers appear black, to non-black creators using black personas. Blackface is generally considered an anachronistically racist performance practice, despite or because of which it has been widely used in contemporary art. Contemporary art in this context is understood as art produced from the second half of the 20th century until today. In recent years some black artists and artists of color have engaged in blackface as a form of deconstruction and critique.
Native American fashion is the design and creation of high-fashion clothing and fashion accessories by Native Americans in the United States. This is a part of a larger movement of Indigenous fashion of the Americas.
Brownface is a social phenomenon in which a white or light-skinned person attempts to portray themselves as a "brown" person of color, but less overtly and with a lighter complexion than traditional blackface. This may include mimicry of North African, West Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Melanesian, Micronesian, Polynesian, Hispanic/Latino, Native American or other Indigenous groups, including olive-skinned Caucasians such as Southern Italians, Sicilians, Greeks, Arabs, Persians and/or ethnic identity by using makeup, hair-dye, and/or by wearing traditional ethnic clothing. It is typically defined as a racist phenomenon, similar to blackface.
The Kansas City Chiefs is one of the professional sports teams involved in the controversy regarding the use of Native American names and imagery, but received less attention than other teams until 2013 when fan behavior at games, including stereotypical headdresses, face paint, performing a "war chant" and tomahawk chop became more publicly known. Protests by change advocates intensified following the name changes of the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians. In addition, the Chiefs have been highly visible due to their participation in the Super Bowl in the 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023 seasons and widespread media coverage. Native American groups demonstrated outside the stadium hosting Super Bowl LVII.
Native Americans were involved in Wild West shows and vaudeville performances in the late 19th and early 20th century, often playing to prevalent stereotypes. Notable Native American vaudeville performers included Molly Spotted Elk, Will Rogers, Esther Louise Georgette Deer, and Lucy Nicolar Poolaw.
