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Czech and German “Indians” Vs. Cultural Appropriation 2020

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Czech and German “Indians” Vs. Cultural Appropriation 2020 Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Martin Slezák Karl May’s Legacy: Czech and German “Indians” vs. Cultural Appropriation Master’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D 2020 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D, for her advice and undying patience, as well to many people close to my heart for supporting me during the process of writing this thesis. Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Infatuation with the “Indian” ................................................................................................ 5 2. Indianthusiasm in Czech and German Contexts ................................................................. 13 3. Cultural Appropriation vs. Cultural Appreciation................................................................ 20 4. Winnetou meets the “Indian” ............................................................................................. 29 4.1. The Legacy of Winnetou .............................................................................................. 29 4.2. A Quest for an Approval .............................................................................................. 38 5. Between a Rock and a Hard Place ....................................................................................... 48 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 66 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................. 70 Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 77 Resumé (Czech) ........................................................................................................................... 78 Introduction The phenomenon of “Indian”1 hobbyism is surrounded by controversy among both the academics and Native people2, themselves. It is an act, in which non-Native people get together and imitate Native cultures by wearing the traditional clothing, performing sacred rituals, and recreate traditional ways of life; simply put, they “play Indians”. The general premise towards hobbyism is that it is a form of cultural appropriation. This thesis aims to look into the phenomenon of hobbyism and show in what ways it impacts the contemporary Native people and whether it is a case of cultural appropriation or rather a harmless form of cultural appreciation. It explores the complexity of the issues with hobbyism such as commercialization of Native cultures, commodification, various opinions on hobbyism from hobbyists themselves, scholars, and Native people. In addition, it also highlights the differences in the two styles of hobbyism where one focuses on authenticity with which the hobbyists display their devotion to Native cultures, whereas the other is more focused on the commercial approach. Contemporary Native people face a lot of struggles, which are the result of over 300 years of colonialism, cultural genocide, assimilation, and systematic racism. With 6.79 million population which is about 2% of the entire US population according to the US Census Bureau of 2020, and 1.67 million of population of Canada accounting for a 4.9% of population, according to the Census of Population of 2016, the perception of Native peoples is infested with stereotypes. The stereotypes are very much imbedded in the mainstream society and are one of the reasons that diminish the chances of Native 1 The term “Indian” refers to the stereotypical image formed by various media that people, especially in Europe, have of a Native person. 2 In this thesis the term “Native” refers to both Native Americans in the US and First Nations and Métis of Canada. The term “Indigenous” is not used because it covers wider range of people whom the Indian hobbyism, which is the main topic of this thesis, does not involve. 1 peoples to gain a voice in today’s world as well as cultural sovereignty. The media, especially the film industry and popular dime novels have vastly contributed to the constructions and continuation of these stereotypes. The phenomenon of hobbyism has not only elaborated on some of the core images from these media, but it might also be one of the contributors of perpetuating these stereotypes further and even though some of the images are hundreds years old (such as Natives living in teepees, wielding bow and arrow, etc.), I dare say that majority of people in Europe still believe them to be the true representation of a contemporary Native person. There is almost no representation in history books when it comes to contemporary Native peoples (not to mention that the overall representation of Native cultures is lacking). Hobbyism (and the media mentioned earlier), promotes the traditional way of life and stereotyped images, which could potentially cause even more prejudice and hardships for Native people and to really become visible to the Europe’s public eye than it already has. Michael Roberts, a Tlingit who leads the Colorado-based First Nations Development institute, states that “‘there’s a real invisibility when it comes to Indian people,’ ‘We don’t show up in the media, we don’t show up in textbooks, we don’t show up in everyday conversation. Folks don’t know Indians or anything about Indians’” (qtd. in Ahtone). Along with the invisibility, the stereotypical images that are still promoted by the media, as well as the Native paraphernalia, such as costumes, headdresses, etc. enforcing the sense that Natives belong to the past, because there is only the representation of the past, and not the present. In addition, some representations might be altered or completely fictional, which then takes away the authentic meaning behind them and takes away Native people’s control over their own culture. On the other hand, some Natives see hobbyism as a positive thing that might spark more interest in the culture among non-Native people, so that they could eventually start to educate themselves and learn more about 2 the contemporary issues. In this way, Natives could gain more support in their efforts to achieve equality and recover from years of oppression and systematic racism. It is important to research the key aspects of hobbyism, particularly those which criticized the most, so that the challenges they pose could be altered, or even completely removed. Even though the hobbyists themselves do not want to cause any harm intentionally, they cannot ignore the potential damage they might be causing to contemporary Natives by relegating them to the past. The thesis is a cultural study and the sources and examples for analysis are taken from documentaries, literature, movies, academic work, media and even from a Native play The Berlin Blues by Drew Hayden Taylor. The topic of this thesis is built around the idea of comparing two styles of hobbyism portrayed in documentaries Searching for Winnetou (2018), directed by Drew Hayden Taylor, an Anishinaabe playwright, author and journalist, and If Only I Were an Indian (1995), directed by John Paskievich, an Ukrainian-Canadian director. The documentaries portray two different approaches to hobbyism, creating a big enough parallel between them for the main argument of this thesis. Among other sources, this thesis draws on the academic work of Michael Brown, in Who Owns Native Culture?, Katrin Sieg, in Ethnic Drag: Performing Race, Nation, Sexuality in West Germany (Social History, Popular Culture, and Politics in Germany), and György Ferenc Tóth, in From Wounded Knee to Checkpoint Charlie where the authors delve into the phenomenon of hobbyism, cultural appropriation, and commodification of Native cultures. By analyzing key issues such as cultural appropriation, commodification, commercialization, etc. in hobbyism in both documentaries is followed by a closer examination of these issues, offering different opinions and perspectives from both Native Americans and academics concerned with the topic of hobbyism. 3 The first chapter provides some background information to hobbyism in Germany and the Czech Republic, identifying the key characteristics of hobbyism and motivations for participating in hobbyism. The background information is followed by an explanation of the term hobbyism and by introduction and categorization of the main hobbyist groups in the second chapter of the thesis. The third chapter then analyzes and compares the concepts of cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. By providing practical examples, in which the question of whether it is a form of cultural appropriation is rather ambiguous, the chapter is trying to highlight the complexity of the discourse of cultural appropriation. It also provides a rough summary of how contemporary Native people have tried to reduce the extent of cultural appropriation in the past, by pushing for legal protection of their cultures. The fourth chapter examines in detail the two documentaries, Searching for Winnetou and If Only I Were an Indian. It explores the content of both documentaries, with focus on the motivations
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