Images of Native Americans in Popular Culture 19th to 21st century Victoria X. Danner and Dr. JoAllyn Archambault

Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History

Noble Introduction Discussion • Origins: late 1700s. Native Americans have existed as part of the • Characteristics; tempestuous, pure-hearted, naïve, gentle, one with nature, submissive. As seen from the historic references and their modern American popular culture since its • Symbolizes nature worship, American romanticism and nostalgia for the Old West. counterparts, stereotypic motifs of Native Americans mainstream introduction in the 19th century. continue in our modern society. Familiar archetypes of As the imagery as been ingrained into the Native Americans still appear in popular culture. The Promo Boy Scouts of USA, 1943, Library of Congress The Lone Ranger, 1975, Library of Congress Elixir Feminae Partens, 1850, Library of Congress. Creek Indian Man’s Cure for Flatulence. 2002. V. Danner public imagination through media, art, and Sketch of Crazy Horse, 1934, Library of Congress !"#$%&'(")*&+#,-&./01("2&&34452&67&8#99*"&& Noble savage continues to be a prominently featured motif politics, stereotypic motifs have emerged as in popular culture as it changed mediums from documents typological models for the Native American in to collectible objects. Modern popular culture follows the the colonialist imagination which endure to tradition of the Noble savage and its symbolism of nature this day. The purpose of this project is to trace oriented wisdom that highlights society’s fascination with the most common depictions of Native what they think of as a simpler happier time. The Ignoble Americans in the past fifty years to their savage on the other hand, has disappeared in popular historic origins to further understand how culture, thanks to the Civil Rights movement and racial ethnic stereotyping endures and reforms acceptance. Only small artifacts from the early 20th meaning in a society. The Noble Savage is often portrayed in century can be found. Because modern Native Americans During the 1850s, a fascination with Native American popular culture as a side-kick or aide to the The Hornell Brewing Co. meant for their medicine developed. Native American “home are not often featured in popular culture, these old types White man, never a main character. Crazy Horse malt liquor to “celebrate the remedies” could cure everything from morning maintain their strength without new representations of Americas and the life of Crazy Horse”. They sickness to gas. modern Native Americans to counter or replace them. failed to recall alcohol’s role in the decimation Why Native Americans? of Native American culture.

L’Amerique, 1820, Library of Congress Kateri Tekakwitha, 2002, V. Danner Wenonah Chewing Tobacco, 1872, Library of Congress Natural American Spirit cigarettes, 2001, V. Danner Souvenir Totem Pole, circa 2001, V. Danner Souvenir of Canada Tipi, Japan, 1998, V. Danner After being sequestered onto reservations Why is it still around? or forced into hiding, Native American representation was left up to the Ethnic stereotyping becomes cultural when it is mass imaginations of the colonialists who produced and released to the public. Native conquered them. The Native American American stereotypic imagery continues to pervade became an ethnic blank slate upon which our society through subtle depictions where the colonialists imposed their own perceptions, meaning has been forgotten, but not lost. These values and ideals, using Native Americans stereotypic images are instilled into the public as cautionary tales or exotic commodities. imagination from an early age. Because of their Native American stereotypic imagery can be subtlety and consistency in the media, they are no divided into two main groups: Noble and The tourist industry is probably the biggest longer obvious. By default, people recall the Native Women were often used to symbolize a “tame” Native American usage of tobacco was very proponent of stereotypic Native American images as Ignoble. The Noble Savage is a submissive Americans of 19th century America because that is friend to Whites, symbolizing the beauty and New World and the spread of Christianity to the structured, used for social events and ceremonies. public demand for Native American objects remains ‘pagan’ peoples. They were innocent , virtuous After European settlement, tobacco became a main high. Tourists want their own piece of Native what they are exposed to. Colonialist ideas of Native purity of nature, wise but ignorant of and very eager to assimilate through marriage. commodity and the Native American was the face of America with disregard to accuracy or cultural Americans persist in our society but their origin is so modernity, and easily assimilated. The the tobacco industry. meaning. far removed that society rarely stops to question or Ignoble savage is animalistic, perverse, notice them. They are simply taken for granted and violent, corrupt and untamable. Native Ignoble the complex history behind them is overlooked. American stereotypic imagery is unique in that it is centered on a specific point in time • Origin, early 1700s (or earlier). – 19th century America. • Characteristics; violent, devious, perverse, promiscuous, unintelligent, a threat to colonialism. • Not as popular as Noble Savage, but still present in popular material culture into the1970s. References Christine Ballagher-Morris “Cultures for Sale: Perspectives on Colonialism and Self-Determination and the Relationship to Authenticity and Tourism” 2002. “A Scene on the Frontiers”, 1812, Library of Congress “The Two Vultures,” 1873, Library of Congress Ad for Fire Water liquor, 1935, www.flickr.com Cactus Planter, 1975, V. Danner Taken Captive by Indians, 1847, Library of Congress Book cover, 1999, Leisure Books Inc. Gretchen M. Bataille “Native American Representations: First Encounters, Distorted Images and Literary Appropriations” 2001. S. Elizabeth Bird Approach “Dressing in Feathers: The Construction of the Indian in American Popular Culture” 1996. George Pierre-Castle “The Commodification of Indian Identity” 1996. Andre Douglas Pond Cummings “ A Shifting Wind?: Media Stereotyping A total of 425 individual artifacts ranging in of American Indians and the Law” 2004. Leah Dilworth “Discovering Indians in Fred Harvey’s Southwest” 1996. Rayna Green “The Tribe Called Wannabee: age from 1975 to 2009 were analyzed for Playing Indian in America and Europe” 1988. Rayna Green “The Pocahontas this project. Each was examined for their Perplex: The Image of Indian Women in American Culture” 1975. Michael Harkin “Staged Encounters: Postmodern Tourism and Aboriginal People” portrayal of certain Native American 2003. Clara Sue Kidwell “Indian Women as Cultural Mediators” 1992. Molly archetypes that could be traced back at Lee “Appropriating the Primitive: Turn-of-the-Century Collection and Display of Native Alaskan Art” 1991. Klaus Lubbers, “Born for the Shade: Stereotypes of least 100 years. Each archetype had Captivity narratives gained popularity in the Native American in United States Literature and the Visual Arts assigned core traits that each object was Each European group that settled America had a Depictions of drunk Indians were prevalent in 1776-1894”1994. Victor Macaruso “Cowboys and Indians: The Image of the relationship with one or two tribes. During the early 20th century pop culture. Not as violent as the late 1800s and spawned an entire Indian in American Literature” 1984. evaluated by. The pieces shown here as American Revolution, Indians were seen as other Ignoble Savages, the drunk Indian was genre known as Native American well as the historical images were chosen cohorts of the British and threats to American lazy, perverted, and stupid. romances in the 1980s. Acknowledgements to exemplify the core attributes of the two freedom. main Native American motifs in popular I would like to thank the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for Death of Custer, 1905, Library of Congress “Billy the Biter,” 1881, Library of Congress this research opportunity, the National Science Foundation for funding, the culture. Native Americans were symbols of the primitiveness of the New World and all its dangers. Library of Congress, St. Mary’s College of Maryland and Dr. Julia King, the Department of Anthropology, my mentor, Dr. JoAllyn Archambault for her In shows like Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, Native Americans were indeed savage and insight and advice, and my family for their loving support and encouragement. threatened the innocent settlers. Native Americans were also portrayed as weak and cowardly in publications such as Puck. Violence towards Native Americans was romanticized and justified by the media.