One Little, Two Little, Three Little Stereotypes: a History of Native Culture and Imagery in American Cinematic Cartoons
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ONE LITTLE, TWO LITTLE, THREE LITTLE STEREOTYPES: A HISTORY OF NATIVE CULTURE AND IMAGERY IN AMERICAN CINEMATIC CARTOONS By DUSTIN DEVORE Bachelor of Arts in History University of Tulsa Tulsa, OK 2002 Master of Arts in History University of Tulsa Tulsa, OK 2005 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY December, 2017 ONE LITTLE, TWO LITTLE, THREE LITTLE STEREOTYPES: A HISTORY OF NATIVE CULTURE AND IMAGERY IN AMERICAN CINEMATIC CARTOONS Dissertation Approved: William S. Bryans Dissertation Adviser L.G. Moses Committee Member Michael M. Smith Committee Member Douglas K. Miller Committee Member Stephen M. Perkins Outside Committee Member ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The journey to complete this dissertation was long and arduous, and would not have been possible without the help and support of many people. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Bill Bryans who took over as my committee chair and motivated me to complete this project. I would also like to thank Dr. L.G. Moses for inspiring me to write about a subject that I love. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Michael M. Smith for his years of academic advisement. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Stephen Perkins and Dr. Douglas Miller for serving on my dissertation committee and working with me to complete this endeavor. Finally, I owe my interest in popular culture in history to Dr. Andrew Wood at the University of Tulsa. I have had tremendous support from friends and family on this journey as well. Nothing in my academic career would have been possible without the help of my parents, Mark and Susan DeVore. I would also like to thank my brother, Daniel DeVore, who helped me through hard times by always reminding me that I was good enough to achieve my goal. I also would like to acknowledge my colleagues at Oklahoma State University: Natalie Panther; Jeremy Tewell; and Kristen Burton, provided me with valuable insight into the dissertation process. In addition, my friends Dustin Brown, Erik Chillingworth, Charles Heatherington, Becky Batow, Corey Adams, Nancy Kilmer, Russell Reeves, and Maggie Cooper were instrumental in helping me through the rough patches throughout iii the entire process. I cannot state enough how much all of these people helped me on this journey. I am forever indebted to all of them. 1 1Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University iv Name: DUSTIN DEVORE Date of Degree: DECEMBER, 2017 Title of Study: ONE LITTLE, TWO LITTLE, THREE LITTLE STEREOTYPES: A HISTORY OF NATIVE CULTURE AND IMAGERY IN AMERICAN CINEMATIC CARTOONS Major Field: HISTORY Abstract: The first depiction of Native Americans in American cinematic animation appeared in 1924. Over the course of the near one hundred years since that first depiction, federal Indian policy and the portrayal of Indians in popular culture changed. The paternalistic assimilationist views of the early-and mid-twentieth century gave way to tribal self-determination in the late-twentieth century and into the twenty-first. In addition, attitudes toward the portrayal of minorities in popular culture progressed in the United States during this period. As these changes occurred, animation underwent transitions in style and content. The ages of animation include the Silent Age (1906- 1928), the Golden Age (1928 – 1960s), the Dark Age (mid-1960s – early-1980s), the Renaissance Age (mid-1980s – mid-1990s), and the Millennium Age (1995 – present). The animation industry is dominated by white males; as such, the portrayal of Native Americans in cartoons lacks Indian agency. The result is the creation and perpetuation of stereotypes that have lasted for nearly one hundred years. Indians in cartoons range from mindless villains, to noble savages, to shrewd casino executives bent on getting revenge against the white man. The power of these stereotypes is multiplied by the broad audience that cartoons reach that includes children who view these images during their formative years. The purpose of this study is to chronicle the history of Native American depictions in animation, analyze how and why they changed, and evaluate their impact on American attitudes toward Indians. This study expands the field of popular culture studies on Native American imagery by focusing on a neglected medium in historical scholarship. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1 II. CHAPTER I: ESTABLISHING THE ANIMATION GENRE AND EARLY NATIVE AMERICAN STEREOTYPES ON FILM.............................................................16 III. CHAPTER II: FROM VILLAINS TO DUPES: NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF ANIMATION ........................................................................36 IV. CHAPTER III: NATIVE AMERICANS IN LOW-BUDGET DARK AGE ANIMATION ........................................................................................................74 V. CHAPTER IV: THE EVER-LINGERING SAVAGE IN RENAISSANCE AGE CHILDREN’S ANIMATION ..............................................................................115 VI. CHAPTER V: PRIME-TIME TIPIS: NATIVE AMERICANS IN ADULT- FOCUSED RENAISSANCE AND MILLENIUM AGE ANIMATION ............156 V. CHAPTER VI: THE VANISHING NATIVE AMERICAN IN THE MILLENIUM AGE OF ANIMATION .......................................................................................205 VI. CONCLUSION....................................................................................................221 VI. REFERENCES ....................................................................................................227 vi INTRODUCTION For generations, American popular culture has included constructed portrayals of Native Americans and their culture. The stereotypes and historical misrepresentations perpetuated by these portraitures has not gone unnoticed by academics. However, most of the research conducted on the portrayal of Native Americans in American popular culture during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries focuses on live-action depictions in cinematic or televised Westerns. With few exceptions, the study of constructed Native American identity overlooks the animation genre. This is a woeful shortcoming. Animation is one of the most prolific mediums of popular culture in post-nineteenth century America. It dominates movie box offices, fills countless hours of television, and seeps into areas of American life beyond simple entertainment. The first animated cartoon to introduce Native American characters was the 1924 short Alice’s Wild West Show, and since those first Native Americans graced the screen, animation has continually struggled to provide accurate or positive portrayals of Native 1 Americans.2 This study explores the history of Native American depictions in American animation from its earliest incarnations into the twenty-first century, and examines how cartoons have created and reinforced stereotypes and historical fallacies. The format of this study is chronological, based upon the commonly used ages of animation. These include: the Silent Age, Golden Age, Dark Age, Renaissance Age, and Millennium Age. 3 As with many topics in history, these eras have somewhat amorphous periods of existence. Respectively, the ages run from 1906 to 1928, 1928 through the late-1960s, the early-1960s to the mid-1980s, the mid-1980s through the 1990s, and post- 1995 to present. The examples of Native American depictions selected from each of these ages are limited to mainstream cartoons intended for mass consumption. As a study of popular culture, this study relies on selections meant for a broad audience that adhere to the cultural norms of the age in which they were produced. This process only minimally affects the Millennium Age, when the proliferation of computers and the internet allowed independent animators to produce works that reached a more niche audience. The selections included are not comprehensive but do offer a complete understanding of the stereotypes and cultural interpretations of Native Americans in animation over the entire history of cartoons in the U.S. In instances where cartoons series are discussed, the individual episodes that illustrate that show’s treatment Native American characters and cultures serve as examples. 2 Alice's Wild West Show , by Walt Disney (Los Angeles: Disney Brothers Productions, 1924). 3 A single source citing all of these does not exist. Various authors cover these periods independently. The closest to provide a complete assessment of the ages of animation excluding the Millennium Age appears throughout Leonard Maltin and Jerry Beck, Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons (New York: New American Library, 1987). 2 In addition to the discussion of cartoons in each of the ages of animation, this study includes brief analysis of changes in federal Indian policy and major developments in Native American society throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. These policy changes and social developments are included to provide a broader context for general position of Native Americans in American society in the periods discussed. What these changes demonstrate is that Native American issues are often more dynamic and complex than what finds its way into animation. Often in animation, as well as other mediums of entertainment, Indians are