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The White Man's Indian: Stereotypes in Film and Beyond. PUB DATE Jan 97 NOTE 9P.; In: Visionquest: Journeys Toward Visual Literacy

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The White Man's Indian: Stereotypes in Film and Beyond. PUB DATE Jan 97 NOTE 9P.; In: Visionquest: Journeys Toward Visual Literacy DOCUMENT RESUME ED 408 950 IR 018 363 AUTHOR Vrasidas, Charalambos TITLE The White Man's Indian: Stereotypes in Film and Beyond. PUB DATE Jan 97 NOTE 9p.; In: VisionQuest: Journeys toward Visual Literacy. Selected Readings from the Annual Conference of the International Visual Literacy Association (28th, Cheyenne, Wyoming, October, 1996); see IR 018 353. PUB TYPE Reports Evaluative (142) Speeches/Meeting Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS American Indians; *Cultural Images; Film Production; *Films; *Labeling (of Persons); Popular Culture; Role Perception; *Social Bias; *Stereotypes IDENTIFIERS *Native Americans; Visual Representation ABSTRACT Before the invention of film, a stereotypical perception of Native Americans was embodied in art, fiction, and entertainment. Stereotyping of Native Americans can be categorized under three major themes: (1) the history of Native Americans compressed and portrayed under a single period of time;(2) Native cultures interpreted through white values; and (3) the grouping of the more than 600 different Native American societies under one general category. Because of its ability to present moving images, film played a major role in perpetuating the stereotypes of the Native Americans as riding horses, screaming, killing, and scalping people. Film, like any other form of art, reflects the culture of the society and at the same time, contributes to that culture; it embodies the society's values, beliefs, and social structure and assists in transmitting culture to mass audiences. Myths and stereotypes about Native Americans are alive today because television and film, as media with mass appeal, perpetuated misconceptions. The representation of Native Americans in films was mostly restricted to one genre, the Western. As a type of American mythology, the Western profited on the myths which it perpetuated. A Senate subcommittee in 1969 conducted a survey which found that white society characterized Native Americans as lazy, drunken, and dirty, which was concluded to be based on a history created by the white man to justify his exploitation of the Native American. In order to restore the Native American's image, the myths and stereotypes on which America was built need to be confronted. (Contains 39 references.) (AEF) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** The White Man's Indian:Stereotypes In Film And Beyond by Charalambos Vrasidas Abstract The image of Native Americans had been established long before filmwas invented, and with a few exceptions, it has remained the same since then.Film, because of its visual nature and mass appeal, played a major role in perpetuating the misconceptions aboutthe Natives. Some of the most popular images were the bad Indian, the good Indian and thenoble savage. One of the methods that white society employed in an effort to isolate the NativeAmericans and make them a weak minority in their own homeland, was stereotyping.Stereotypes were created for three main reasons: (a) to confirm the superiority of Western civilization,(b) to perpetuate the myths on which the American nation was built, and (c) to offer entertainment through literature, art, and film. Stereotypes Were very entertaining, and therefore,profitable. Coming to America Pearce (1967)putit, "Americanswere When thefirstEuropeanscameto coming to understand the Indian as one America they found a rich continent with a radically different from their proper selves; lot of resources. Here they wanted to create they knew he was bound inextricably in a a society similar to that in their countries in primitive past, a primitive society, and a Europe.The only obstacle to their plans primitive environment, to be destroyed by was the indigenous people.In the view of God, Nature, and Progress to make way for the European settlers the Native Americans the Civilized Man" (p. 4). were hinderingprogress(Pearce,1967). The Whites tried to civilize them and make Images and Stereotypes Before the them conform to the Whites' culture and Invention of Film values. Whites tried to educate the Natives, Lippmann (1961) defined stereotypes as change their religion, and steal their land. "pictures in our heads" (p. 3).Before we Efforts tocivilize the Natives were not see and experience the world, we take from successful.Therefore, the only way for society pre-defined images of the world in white society to solve its Native American theformofstereotypes. Stereotypes, problemwastodestroy theNatives according to Marger (1994), are erroneous, (Berkhofer,1978; Deloria, 1989; Pearce, overgeneralized images of groups of people 1967). It was alright for Europeans to whichserveasthebasisforseveral become savages in order to save civilization; prejudices. Inmulti-ethnic societies, a white civilization that was opposed to the stereotypingisoneofthetechniques Natives values and beliefs. employed by the dominant group in order The differencesbetween Western and to maintain its dominance over subordinate Native Americancivilizationsplayeda groups. significant roleintheevolution of the Lippmann (1961) claimed that relationship between the Whites and the stereotypes serve as the defense of our indigenous people. "Indianness" and status insociety. More specifically he civilization were, according to the Whites, postulated thatstereotypes are "the two conceptsopposedtoeachother projection upon the world of our own sense (Berkhofer,1978). NativeAmerican of our own value, our own position and our cultures were more based on simplicity and own rights .... They are the fortress of our mystery, rather than on abstract scientific tradition, and behind its defenses we can knowledge. As Deloria (1989) stated, "the continuetofeelourselvessafeinthe westernhemisphereproducedwisdom; position we occupy" (p. 96). According to westernEuropeproduced knowledge" Lippmann(1961),anyattackonthe (p. 11). According to European Americans, stereotypesislikeanattackonthe whitesuperiority,religion,andmoral foundations of our status in society, on our systems should have prevailed over the values, and on our whole belief system. Native Americans and their culture.Whites Before the invention of film, a soonrealizedthatitwas impossibleto stereotypical perception of Native civilize the "savages." As Roy Harvey Americans was embodied in art, fiction, and U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research andImprovement "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) 63 This document has been reproducedas received from the person or organization Alice D. Walker originating it. Minor changes have been madeto improve reproduction quality. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions stated in this BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." document do not necessarily represent nffirinl fIPPI nnoilinn entertainment events (Barnett, 1975; share his belongings with the settlers, was a Berkhofer, 1978; Stedman, 1982).For a brave warrior, lived with simplicity, and longtime,whitesocietytreatedNative close to nature.Usually, good were those Americans as objects of entertainment. An Natives that gave up theirculture and exampleofsuchtreatment was the identity and became "white."The noble attachment of Sitting Bull to the Buffalo Bill savage image of the Natives appeared in the Cody Wild West Show (Churchill, Hill, & captivitynarrative becausewhite society Hill, 1978). Stereotyping and the creation realized that it was responsible for the fact of myths was an approach employed by that the Natives were gradually becoming white society for justifying the stealing of extinct (Barnett, 1975).The image of the land from the Natives. bad Indian and the noble savage were Slotkin(1973)arguedthat"printed usually in coexistence. literature has been from the first the most Churchill et al.(1978)identified three important vehicle of myth in America" major themes under which stereotyping of (p. 19). Themes of Whites fighting against Native Americans can be categorized. The the "red devils" and usually first theme was, "the Native as a creature of outperformingthemwereessentialfor a particular time," mainly between 1800 and confirming the superiorityof white 1880 (p. 47). This meant that thousands of civilization.In fiction, Native American's yearsofhistoryandcivilizationwere inferiority and savagery were constantly usually compressedtounderasingle juxtaposed to the white man's superiority. century.This period was a time during AlwaystheWhitesoverpowered the which -the Natives werefighting for their "savagery" and prevailed over the Native lives and their land.For the Whites, this Americans. period was a time of their victory over AccordingtoBarnett(1975),Cotton savagery;it was the time of victory of Mather's (1699) Decennium Luctuosum is Western over Native American civilizations. an example of early Americanfiction in The second theme was "Native cultures which Native Americans are misrepresented interpreted through white values" (Churchill and stereotyped.Mather's main focus was etal.,1978,p.47). Whiteshada thecaptivitytheme underwhich white completely different culture. Tryingto settlers were captured by the Natives. In the interpretNativeAmericancivilizations book, Native Americans were paralleled through western culture's values can only with wild animals and demons with
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