Reel Injun and other Native Responses to "Indians" in Mass Media

Reel Injun is a new documentary film that explores the phenomenon of the Hollywood Indian. For over 100 years, Indigenous North Americans have appeared in more than 4000 films.  Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond explores the many depictions of Indians on celluloid and its impact on every filmgoer's understanding or misunderstanding of Native people.

I caught an abbreviated hour long version of Reel Injun on Independent Lens- the award-winning public television series that highlights new drama and documentary films.  I was very impressed with the film and its humorous and poignant insights into the Hollywood Indian.

The most impressive part of the film is its portrayal of Native actors and filmmakers in the earliest days of cinema.  From the silent era through the first talking films, Native people had a surprisingly active role in film production.  It seems only when the studio system became dominant that real Native people took a backseat role (if not wholly disappeared).






Reel Injun proves that one of the most effective ways to examine and question Indigenous depictions in mass media is with mass media itself!  And so long as there have been these Indigenous depictions, so have there been Indigenous people ready to counter them.  Here are a few of those:



Eska Water's new ad campaign: "Eskan Warriors"

Mohawk activist Clifton Nicholas expresses his dismay over a new ad campaign for Eska Water.  It depicts a fictional band of "Eskan Warriors."  According to Nicholas, these ads depict a negative portrayal of Native people even if it is a fictional generic "Native" group.




Time for "THE INDIANS SHOWBAND" to retire!

The Irish showband "The Indians" who perform in stereotypical Indian garb and perform songs like Wigwam Wiggle and Squaws along the Yukon have met their match online.  A protest group on facebook is calling for the group to retire saying they make a mockery of native culture through their stereotypical representation of Native Americans.
 
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=110714922354367

Here's Wigwam Wiggle:





AIM Santa Barbara takes on The Dudesons

Way back in May 2010, I broke the story about the new MTV show The Dudesons and their tasteless depiction of American Indian culture in the episode Cowboys and Findians.  Here is part one of a three part series of young AIM activists discussing their concerns about The Dudesons.





Ask an Indian: Cultural Appropriation

Simon Moya-Smith is an Oglala Lakota Sioux journalist and activist who describes himself as a "rug lifter" trying to reveal the many American Indian issues swept under the rug.  He blogs over at http://iamnotamascot.blogspot.com/ where his passionate commentary is always good for a hearty laugh and thoughtful reflection.  Here he is decrying Native appropriation while window shopping.




The Stream - Don't Trend on My Culture - Adrienne Keene

Adrienne Keene is a Cherokee blogger and activist who analyzes a constant stream of Native cultural appropriation over at her blog http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/.  Thanks to her prodigious efforts at tracking this phenomenon, she is making appearances in more mainstream media such as this interview on The Stream on Al Jazeera English.





Dr. Greene's AB-original Pain Reliever

And finally here is Oneida actor Graham Greene with a humorous take on Native appropriation in marketing.  Enjoy!






Additional reading:

Reel Injun Discussion Guide

Hollywood's Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film. Edited by Peter C. Rollins and John E. O'Connor.  University of Kentucky Press (2003).

From Drawing on Indians:

Drawing on Indians: The Wacky World of TV Tropes

Forget Avatar: 10 Compelling Films of Real-Life Indigenous Struggle


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Going Native in Ireland Part II

It's one thing to find a single product in a store that appropriates Native culture but to find an entire business...

Meet Apache Pizza!

Ireland's most popular Native American themed dine-in and carry-out pizza restaurant!

This popular pizza chain with over 40 locations throughout Ireland left me scratching my head just like the Irish Indian Chief Headdress.

Some of the menu highlights include:

• WIGWAMMER pizza  (cause nothing screams woodlands tribes like double decker pepperoni!)
• CAJUN APACHE pizza (I've never had shrimp gumbo with fry bread, have you?)
• HIAWATHA pizza (which apparently is how they spell Hawaiian in Ireland)
• BACON APACHE pizza (cause everything is better with bacon?)
• GERONIMO pizza (how timely of them)

Here is the full menu and a few screenshots:

(

And what themed restaurant is complete without over-the-top decoration (click on the images to enlarge)

 

(but mankind really had to pee and couldn't afford a slice!)

And if you can't make it to the restaurant, just order carryout!

PIZZA BOX (front)

PIZZA BOX (back) featuring:

TEN NATIVE AMERICAN COMMANDMENTS

They even sell licensed merchandise and other novelty gifts such as the Apache Novelty Arrow, Apache Fun Feathers, and Apache Feather Headdress.

"King of your tribe?, then prove it with a feather headress."

Someone care to explain to me what Native Americans and the Apache in particular have to do with pizza?

What's that, absolutely nothing.

Indeed, Native American culture is a pretty odd choice for a pizza chain in the emerald isle, but then again considering the cultural phenomenon that is the "Indian" I'm sadly not surprised by this.

This chain is the epitome of "drawing on Indians" because it is so completely detached from real Native culture and instead dives head first into the stereotypical soup of the "Indian".

It has all the best known elements: a chief head with war bonnet, Hiawatha, Geronimo, a special Indian connection to the natural and spiritual world (though I personally prefer my Native wisdom from tribal elders, not from the back of pizza boxes).

I'm assuming the founders of Apache Pizza were enchanted with the stereotypical Indian of American frontier lore and decided it would make a great memorable pizza mascot.  Thus was born "Big Chief" (he's named in one of the radio adverts) and Apache Pizza!

I was originally going to "go easy" on this company and simply decry it for its clear stereotypes of Native Americans but then I heard the radio adverts.

 Apache- Wife

Apache Pizza is officially racist.  How else can you describe such an ugly stereotype as the tonto-speaking gruff-voiced Indian named Big Chief who literally says HOW every other word?!!!

Stuff like this is supposed to be a thing of the past but I suppose when you take centuries of ugly stereotypes and then move across the ocean to a place far removed from real Native people, this stuff does happen.  Sad.


Outraged?

Let em know:

http://www.apache.ie/customer_feedback.htm


For more European examples check out:

Glastonbury "Indians"

The Dudesons: A Retrospective

Going Native in Ireland Part I


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The Wacky World of TV Tropes

What makes all the mythical, romantic, and stereotypical notions about American Indians so potent and wide spread in modern America?

While there are many answers to this question, one of the most important is simply this: sheer and utter ubiquity.  In almost every form of popular media from television to film to literature to advertising, we are constantly being bombarded with the same creative devices over and over again.  Over time they work their way into our brains and take on a whole new life as tropes.

One of the best websites out there for understanding the power of popular media in shaping the American consciousness is TVtropes.org.  This website is a constantly expanding wikipedia style encyclopedia of tropes from creative works as diverse as video games, theater, music, and new media.  It's tongue and cheek brand of humor and casual tone certainly makes for some entertaining reading.

tvtropes.org

But what exactly is a trope you ask? Here is the working definition from the website:

"Tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not clichés. The word clichéd means "stereotyped and trite." In other words, dull and uninteresting. We are not looking for dull and uninteresting entries. We are here to recognize tropes and play with them, not to make fun of them."

The website includes innumerable examples relevant to Drawing on Indians and I have excerpted some of them here.  Be sure to click on the link and  scroll down to see just how ubiquitous these tropes are across the media world (and feel free to add any new ones):



Indian Burial Ground

"A common cause for supernatural goings-on in America, commonly seen in movies: A house is haunted or Cursed due to being built on an Ancient Indian Burial Ground. The disturbed spirits of the ancients of the land then enact their bloody vengeance against those who wake them by turning off the lights, making hooting noises, creating flies and maybe, if they feel up to it, killing people."

Noble Savage

"A character who is portrayed as nobler or of higher moral fibre than the norm, due to their race or ethnicity, which is that of a barbaric or savage tribe. (Often regarded as living the Good Old Ways). The savages in question are quite often American Indians, so you could probably call them Mary Sioux. Rare nowadays, except as a Sci Fi alien- though it has made something of a comeback with the idea of Magical Native American people being more in tune with nature than the greedy white people."

Going Native

"There are plenty of people who believe that modern life is rubbish and would like to escape it and go live off the fat of the land. The Going Native trope plays to this fantasy by having a character lifted out of his typical environment and thrust into a new one, only to become a part of that new world. "

Injun Country

"American Indians (also Red Indians, Native Americans, Amerinds, or First Nations) discovered America by walking across a gigantic land bridge from Russia into Alaska. For a few thousand years they just took up space until Europeans rode massive wooden buckets across the ocean and crashed into the eastern shore. After a friendly 'getting to know you' dinner party, the killing started, and lines were drawn between the Civilized World and Injun Country."

Magical Native American

"After centuries of various atrocities (smallpox, Columbus, Custer, the Trail of Tears) perpetuated against "the savages", white people finally came to realize that Native Americans have rich identities and cultures. Furthermore, Native American tribes have their own rich and varied beliefs, many of which hold close to the idea of the value of everything on the earth...Of course, many non-Natives, especially those Hollywood types, saw a complex faith with a focus on ritual and spirits and broke it down to "magic." So, whenever someone needs to bring in a spirit guide, or magical superpowers, they bring in the Magical Native American."

Badass Native

"Indigenous people tend to be, well, poor. Indigenous people also have a tradition of war, unlike the rest of the world. So of course they're badasses. No matter what era, you're in, if you live in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, or Australia, indigenous people will be badasses. Rarely seen in the rest of the world, though. The American version of the Badass Native has costuming and prop elements as well. Note that this is Always Male, will often be magical. Overlap with Noble Savage."

 Mighty Whitey 

"A common trope in 18th and 19th century adventure fiction, when vast swathes of the world were being explored and properly documented by Europeans for the first time, Mighty Whitey is usually a displaced white European, of noble descent, who ends up living with native tribespeople and not only learns their ways but also becomes their greatest warrior/leader/representative. Extra points if he woos The Chiefs Daughter along the way."

The Chief's Daughter

"Even in Darkest Africa, Injun Country, or the land of Wild Samoans, Everythings Better With Princesses. The Chief's daughter, in her Fur Bikini or Braids Beads And Buckskins, is often the first to greet or trust Mighty Whitey during his visit to the strange new land. She'll be inexplicably beautiful by Western standards with just enough racial traits to be exotic, and will be a Noble, Nubile Savage compared to the rest of her Barbarian Tribe, and a Friend To All Living Things."

Mayincatec

"Under Hollywood History, all historical Central/South American nations are lumped into one exotic and barbaric people: the Mayincatec, featuring aspects of the Maya, Inca and the Aztecs, plus many others. It's a salad of exciting bits from all their histories, with a topping of myth and fiction. And the dressing is blood."

Pocahontas

Want to see these TV tropes in action?  Well, there isn't a better example out there than the famously flawed 1995 Disney animated film Pocahontas.

One of the best critiques is from regular TVtropes.org contributor The Nostalgia Chick.  Her silly comments and sharp wit add a touch of humor to what could otherwise be a very dry subject.  She also created a video critique of Pocahontas which you will find below:



Part 1 of 2:




Part 2 of 2:  (scroll ahead to 3:38 for the most disturbing Disney movie line ever)




To conclude as only The Nostalgia Chick can:

"And hopefully now we're all a little less educated on our own history. And the movie leaves us with questions like, 'Why are there moose in Virginia? Where did all those majestic cliffs go in the interim 500 years? Why doesn't listening with one's heart bridge language gaps anymore? Why does Pocahontas lack a real nose — was she really fathered by Lord Voldemort?' Really, it's best not to think about it — the great mouse in the sky certainly doesn't want you to."

For more on Pocahontas, check out this previous post:

Portraying Pocahontas: or the Not-So-Modern Origins of the "Sexy Indian Princess"


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"My Indian name is..." T-shirt Holiday Shopping Reminder

T-shirts with supposedly funny or witty tag lines that are in fact utterly demeaning are nothing new.  Take the following examples:

Source: My Indian Name is...T-shirt

What is new is seeing a prominent government body call these things out for what they are...


The Michigan Department of Civil Rights released the following holiday shopping reminder on December 15:

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights reminds both retailers and shoppers that what may be funny to one person, can be offensive to another. We ask that companies refrain from selling, and that shoppers refrain from buying such items. Of particular concern are items of clothing emblazoned with messages intended to be fun, that are in fact no more than bad jokes told at the expense of others.

We ask that anyone who has already bought such an item for themselves, or who receives one as a gift, consider the effect it will have on others before wearing it in public.

One particular line of products being promoted this season is the “My Indian name is...” t-shirts and related items. While such a shirt could be worn with pride by an American Indian who has been given such a name, this clearly is not the intent of those marketing these items. Companies are suggesting such “Indian” names as “runs with beer,” “drinks like fish,” “chief of remote,” and “bets on horse.” At best, this trivializes a proud tradition of America’s Native peoples. In many instances it also promotes inaccurate and unacceptable stereotypes.

And, of course, this is by no means a uniquely American Indian issue. Too often, individuals wear something on a shirt that they would never say out loud in public. Ethnic jokes are no more appropriate when worn in public than they would be if piped in on a public address system. “Humor” that denigrates or maligns people has no place in society.

Whatever one thinks of this sort of humor, there is one inescapable fact. Many people, particularly those targeted by the message, find it to be offensive. No considerate person would promote or purchase such items for wear in public.

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights simply asks that, in this season of peace, joy, and goodwill, everyone take care to ensure that their holiday cheer is not achieved at the expense of others. After all, the spirit of the season demands no less.

Thank you Michigan Department of Civil Rights for having the political guts to put out this statement and tell it like it is.

I do have one question though: Why do they keep insisting you have to be the target of the message to be offended?  I'm offended and I'm not Native.

It's also strange that they went with a "psuedo non-apology apology" reasoning for why these t-shirts are wrong.  I don't really "find it offensive" but rather think the t-shirt is itself offensive.  They seem to think it's the act of being offended that makes it wrong and not the inherent message of the t-shirt.

So does that mean if I wear it in private and not out in the public it is no longer offensive?  I suppose the Department doesn't want to get too involved in dictating personal behavior.

Then again, the problem with such a t-shirt is that it does have an impact on the non-Indian wearer.  It reinforces common stereotypes about Indian people.  It also trivializes a very serious and often misunderstood custom.  Yes, it is just a t-shirt, but all these subtle negative messages over time build up and have very real consequences.

Source: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/127103/

Image: Bob King / Duluth News

Here's the contact info if you want to fire off an angry e-mail:

http://www.personalcreations.com/CustomerService-ContactUs.aspx

For more on Indians and clothing check out:

Indians and Knights T-Shirt

For another perspective check out this Newspaper Rock post:

Zazzle's "Indian name" t-shirts

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Portraying Pocahontas: or the Not-So-Modern Origins of the "Sexy Indian Princess"

One of the single most pervasive and harmful facets of the 500 year history of "drawing on Indians" remains the sexual objectification of Native women. It's an important issue that can often be lost in the sea of appropriation and faulty information that sadly marks the modern state of Native representation in the wider American culture. But it's an issue that rears its ugly head every October 31st.

"Sexy Indian Princess" anyone?

This issue is in fact part of a larger trend that extends beyond Native communities. Throughout American history, women of color have always been treated as the racialized sexual other for the white male majority.

As Whitney Teal writes in her article One Woman's Costume is another Woman's Nightmare at the Women's Rights section of Change.org:

Consider the "Chiquita Banana" stereotypes of Latinas, oversexed black Jezebels, or the seemingly pliant and sexually subversive Japanese geisha. All of those stereotypical costumes correlate with a tame, sexually pure image of white women, like the European colonist with her full-length skirt, the Scarlett O'Hara on the plantation. Of course, there are also sexy stereotypes for white women, but most aren't ethnicity-specific and most people don't routinely lump all white women into one category.

The fact that Native women are most commonly assaulted by non-Native men is not surprising to me, but does add a historical slant to the idea of how harmful cultural appropriation can be for women. Historically, men have used the implied "natural" sluttiness of women of color as justification for rampant rape or not-really-consensual relationships with women of color, particularly Native women who came into contact with colonists.

Many modern issues for American Indians have roots that run deep in American history. This issue is no different. Reading various articles and comments about this matter, I was reminded of a particular chapter in a particular book that shows just how far back this problem goes.

Camilla Townsend is a history professor at Rutgers University where she specializes in first contact interaction between Native people and Europeans. In 2004, she published Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma which discusses the earliest interaction between the English colonists and the Indians at Jamestown.

Before I even read the book, I fully expected to learn about this early interaction and see how it set the stage for Native-Western encounters in the ensuing 400 years of American history. What I did not realize was how important the previous 100 years were for the English colonists who left England that fateful December of 1606. Long before they set foot in the muddy tidal flats of the James River, these earliest “americans” already had an idea of Native women fixed fast in their minds.

The motley band of one hundred and forty four Englishmen who landed in Virginia in 1607 were far from uneducated. The history I learned growing up had me believe that these English gentlemen shunned hard work in favor of fruitless gold prospecting, all while stumbling about and starving in this "savage new land." While it is true they faced many obstacles, they at least had done the required reading before they left.

The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation (1589)

Indeed, it is the overview on New World literature available to the English colonists that makes Professor Townsend's book so compelling. It is in her description of these sixteenth century works that the origins of the “sexualized Indian” becomes so abundantly clear.

She writes of lurid tales of an exotic land spreading throughout Europe within the first few years of Columbus' arrival in the Americas. From the earliest illustrations, America was routinely depicted as a naked Indian woman, a metaphor not lost on the Spanish conquistadors who conquered the “virgin” lands of the New World. Even the English described the Indians in and around the failed Roanoke colony as sweet and welcoming, “devoid of all guile and treason.” (p. 28)

These works inspired hundreds if not thousands of Englishmen to risk their lives and money to journey to this land of “opportunity.” Native women were portrayed as not only accessible but willing. It was seen as practically divine mandate that these Englishmen sow their seed in the new world both literally and figuratively.

As Townsend writes:

“There is no question that John Smith and his peers- those who wrote such books, and those who read them- embraced a notion of an explorer as a conqueror who strode with many steps through lands of admirers, particularly admiring young women... the colonizers of the imagination were men- men imbued with almost mystical powers. The foreign women and the foreign lands wanted, even needed, these men, for such men were more than desirable.” (p. 29)

European men fabricated the “New World” into a perfect masculine fantasy where savagery and sexuality mingled together in a myriad of tantalizing forms.

As the title of Townsend's book suggests, a certain young Indian girl entered the equation as soon as the Englishmen arrived. Today, she stands tall as the embodiment of the sexualized Indian princess who threw herself upon the white man John Smith in order to save his life. It is also a story that bleeds more fiction than fact.

Townsend brilliantly puts Pocahontas, the woman and the myth, in their historical context:

“Pocahontas, we must remember, was a real person. She was not always a myth. Long before she became an icon, she was a child who walked and played beneath the towering trees of the Virginia woods, and then an adult woman who learned to love-- and to hate-- English men. Myths can lend meaning to our days, and they can inspire wonderful movies. They are also deadly to our understanding.” (ix-x)

The tale of Pocahontas and John Smith came to prominence thanks to Smith's publications. He happily describes the young thirteen or fourteen year-old Pocahontas in alluring terms, “nubile and sexy” joined by other naked young women. (p. 74)

The Abduction of Pocahontas (c.1618)

In reality, she was a mere ten or eleven years old. A young girl who tried to live an ordinary life in extraordinary times.

All of the depictions of Pocahontas and Smith since their real-life encounter have only served to transform the historical reality of statutory rape into something not only palatable but pleasing for readers and movie audiences alike.

One only needs to look at the more modern depictions of Pocahontas to see this myth in action:

"Pocahontas" (c.1848)

"Pocahontas" (c.1883)

Pocahontas (1995)

The New World (2005)

A young attractive teenage girl tantalizing the white man.  Not the normal eleven year old girl of history.  In essence, the myth and not reality.  And sadly a myth with very real consequences even today.

Reading the various articles about sexual violence against Native women, the countless problems with sexy Indian costumes, and the historical insights on Pocahontas really made me sit up and think this Halloween.

I hope it does the same for you.



For more information:

Native American Women and Violence at NOW

Indian Women as Sex Objects at Blue Corn Comics

Pocahontas Bastardizes Real People at Blue Corn Comics

The Pocahontas Myth at Powhatan Renape Nation

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Lenawee, Tecumseh, Indians: Drawing Three Deep in Michigan

Q: What sports do Indians play?

A: Soccer, basketball, volleyball, and track!

Well, at least according to this driver:

(click image to enlarge)

I snapped this quick photo many weeks ago while cruising along the highway on my way to Metro Beach to see the voyageur encampment (read about that adventure here: Tim the Fur Trade Reenactment Indian)


The stickers support the young athletes at Tecumseh High School located in the small town of Tecumseh, Michigan.  A better look at the logo can be had at the Tecumseh Indian Fan Club website:

http://www.tps.k12.mi.us/web/our_schools/tms/fanclub/index.htm

Indian mascots remain today throughout our country as one of the most visible forms of drawing on Indians.  They range from the generic Indians to specific tribes like the Chippewas or Seminoles to more "descriptive" terms such as Warriors or Redskins.

They can also tie into much older examples of drawing on Indians.  Take this line from the Tecumseh Public Schools website about the history of the town:

"Tecumseh was one of the first settlements of the Michigan Territory, and the first in Lenawee County. It was first platted in 1824 by Musgrove Evans. Evans was deeply impressed with the culture and beliefs of the Native Americans of the area and named the settlement after the great Shawnee Chief, Tecumseh."

Thus a possible origin of the Indians mascot but the Indian borrowing goes back even further.  Tecumseh is located in Lenawee County which owes its name to the work of one Henry Schoolcraft, famed ethnographer of Michigan's Indian peoples.  According to the Michigan DNR website:

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, author and Indian agent, mixed words and syllables from Native American, Arabian and Latin languages to make up Native American-sounding words for some of the 28 counties set off in 1840. They include Alcona, Allegan, Alpena, Arenac, Iosco, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Oscoda and Tuscola.

 and Lenawee specifically is...

From a Native American word meaning "man," either from the Delaware "leno or lenno" or the Shawnee "lenawai."

Here is a map of Michigan listing all the county names and a short list of other Michigan counties with "Native American-sounding" names:

(Click to enlarge and see all the counties)

Alcona:

Believed to have been made up by Henry R. Schoolcraft with "al" from the Arabic for "the," "co" the root of a word for "plain" or "prairie," and "na" for excellent; thus the word is interpreted as "excellent plain."

Arenac:

A name made up by Henry Schoolcraft, it is a combination of the Latin "arena" (sandy) and the Native American "ac" (earth). The combined words mean "sandy place."

Iosco:

This was a favorite name used by Henry Schoolcraft for Native American boys and men in his writings. He interpreted the word to mean "water of light."

Kalkaska:

This word was a Henry Schoolcraft creation, originally spelled Calcasca. One suggestion is that this is a play on words. Schoolcraft's family name formerly was Calcraft. The Ks may have been added to make the name appear more like a Native American word.

Leelanau:

Created by Henry Schoolcraft (Ottawas and Ojibwas did not use the letter L), who gave the name "Leelinau" to some Native American women in his stories.

Oscoda:

This Schoolcraft creation is believed to be a combination of two Ojibwa words, "ossin" (stone) and "muskoda" (prairie).

Wow!  Three layers of drawing on Indians all located in one small Michigan town.

Americans have always been obsessed with giving things Indian names.  At least twenty-one states draw their names from Indian origins and the list of counties, cities, and towns that do likewise goes on forever.

I believe that this process of Indian place-naming ties into broader issues of myth-making and identity in American history.  From the earliest days of our young Republic, Americans have used the Indian as a proxy to authenticate their claim to this landscape and define themselves as Americans.  Indian place names inherently bring with them all the popular notions and qualities of "Indianness"- the same qualities we want in ourselves and our land.

The same is true with mascots.  People choose Indian mascots not because they are "honoring Native Americans" but rather to invoke that very essence of Indianness (or at least one version of it).  That means strength, honor, pride, and a "savage" nature perfectly suited for the football field.  The problem with these mascots is that they perpetuate one-dimensional stereotypes and undermine the ability of American Indian Nations to portray accurate and respectful images of their culture, spirituality, and traditions.

For more on Indian place-names check out:

The Penobscot Building

For more on Indian names in consumer culture check out:

Pemmican Brand Beef Jerky: Part II

For more on Indian mascots check out:

Mascot Indians

Indians and Knights T-Shirt

Sometimes I don't have to look very far to find interesting examples of "drawing on Indians".  Case in point is the following t-shirt my brother was wearing last week:

(Click to enlarge)

The full text on the shirt reads:

"Nature is at work. Character and destiny are her handiwork.

She gives us love and hate, jealousy and reverence. All that is ours is

the power to choose which impulse we shall follow.

Strength

&

Honor

Tankfarm"

The analogy between Indians and Knights is a new one for me but not at all surprising.  In the popular American imagination, both are highly romanticized chivalrous warriors of some distant long ago past.  But apparently we have to choose between the two.

I'm going to channel the fashion designer to figure this one out.  I'm guessing the "Knight" represents "strength" since he is covered in heavy armor.  That means the "Indian" represents "Honor" since he is wearing only his skin.

So then we have to choose between the two.  Will we choose the protection of the Knight or fight honorably like the Indian?   But what, I don't get any other choices?  Can't I be a ninja or a pirate or a cowboy?

This shirt stands as another fine example demonstrating how people envision and understand Native peoples.  The classic image of the Plains warrior on horseback is the go to symbol for "honor".  It reinforces the false notion that somehow honor is inherent to the "Nature" of Native Americans.  It's noble savagery through and through.

Then again, if recent examples have proven anything, many fashion designers don't actually put too much thought into the meanings of images but rather just go for the "look."  I imagine the weekly meeting at the design studio went something like this:

"Haven't you heard, the tribal look is totally selling with our young hipster clientele so we better put some Indians on t-shirts stat!  I don't care if it doesn't make any sense!  If it's savage it sells!"

How do I know?

Check out their website: http://www.tankfarmclothing.com/

And their latest design:

 (Source: www.tankfarmclothing.com)

My brother's t-shirt is a great example for one other reason: I bought it for him!  It was the Christmas holiday maybe three or four years ago.  I knew my brother needed t-shirts so I bought a few he might like at the local T.J. Maxx.

At the time, I thought absolutely nothing of the image on the shirt.  Like the fashion designer behind it, I thought it looked "cool."  Just goes to show how much I've learned in the interim.  Remember, if you don't stop to look around every once in a while and ask critical questions, you might just find yourself wearing a t-shirt with an "Indian" on it!


For more on "Indians" and clothing check out my post:
Selling Blue Jeans with Indians

For more on "Indians" as a hip fashion trend check out my posts:
Hipster Indians
Glastonbury "Indians"

Some more "Indian" t-shirts from the newspaper rock blog:

Lucky Brand sells "White Lightning" t-shirt
Indian skulls in headdresses
T-shirt shows skull in headdress
"Ur-A-Nole" t-shirt

And for real Native fashion check out the wonderful:
Beyond Buckskin blog

1930 Newsreel Mocks Indians

Check out this black and white newsreel from 1930.  The description from the website seems innocent enough...

"A 1930 newsreel of Calvin Coolidge at the dedication ceremony for the dam named after him and he smokes a peace pipe with a Pima chief and an Apache chief after a meal on top of the dam."

But go ahead and watch the video yourself:


http://thoughtequitymotion.com/video/clip/1617538_035.do?assetId=asset_9339994/clip_4171075


Here are the highlights from Patrick Bateman (I mean the narrator):

"by irrigating a million acres of land, it will save hundreds of Indians from poverty and suffering."

"See the Indians there.  They're from the Pima and Apache tribes who used to be fighting each other all the time."

"After dinner is always a good time for a puff so Mr. Coolidge smoked the pipe of peace and then handed it to the chief of the Pimas.  After he had a puff, he gave it to the Apache chief who came in his best Sunday feathers.  Looks like an old cigar store sign."

Anyone else want to strangle the narrator?

The narration effectively belittles the Indians into mere stereotypes.  It positions President Coolidge as the great leader of the American people, bringing civilization to those poor backward Indians.

And worst of all, despite the claims in the video, the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation on whose land the dam and reservoir now stand, remains one of the poorest in the country.

I imagine this newsreel was created as post-presidential propaganda for Mr. Coolidge.  It effectively draws on Indians to boost up his image and solidify his legacy as friend to the Indian.  But why it had to be so condescending is more a sign of the times than anything else.

Even more interesting is the keywords section on the website.  Click on "Search Related Keywords" and see how this video was classified.  Thankfully, Thought Equity Motion who hosts this video for educational and commercial purposes correctly chose these three keywords: sadness, propaganda, and spin.  Why sneaky is on there I will never know.

(source: Calvin Coolidge: A Patron Saint for the TEA Party)

Bonus Video:

Here's President Coolidge presiding over a Sioux powwow.  Coolidge claimed Indian heritage and was actually given the Indian title "Chief Leading Eagle."  Hence, the one line in the video:


http://thoughtequitymotion.com/video/clip/4932663342_169.do?assetId=asset_9340000/clip_15436424

And yes, he's wearing a headdress.  (which considering the context and the groups involved, actually makes sense for a change!)

Former WWE Superstar 'Tatanka' Talks about Being Professional Wrestling's "Real-Life Native American"

Chris Chavis is a professional wrestling superstar who is also descended from the Lumbee Native American tribe in North Carolina.  He began wrestling in 1990 and immediately made use of his Native heritage to create the wrestling persona "Tatanka."  More info can be found at his Wikipedia page and personal website.

Tatanka!!!

Here's a great interview with Chris on the Miami Herald website.  He was in town to wrestle at the Coastal Championship Wrestling indie show at the Miccosukee Resort & Gaming (a tribal casino outside Miami).  I've posted some of the highlights below but I recommend reading the full article to get his whole background.

Former WWE superstar Tatanka talks Native American

Q: What is the history of the Miccosukee, Seminole and Lumbee tribes getting along? Any battles?

A: No. No battles.  I have a contact list of all tribes throughout the U.S. (including Alaska) and Canada. People don't realize there are actually 1,838 tribes. Huge. There's approximately 600 in Canada, 425 in Alaska and and around 1,000 in the U.S. People don't realize that because TV has programmed people to see only the Apache, the Navajo, the Cherokee, and TV always depicted the Native Americans not in a proper way.

That's why it's good we finally have movies that came along -- like "Dances with Wolves" -- that really portrayed the Native Americans as they truly are. Not like the John Wayne movies.


Q: Did you have to overcome any stereotypes growing up?

We really didn't have to deal with that.  Thank God I came from an area where it was accepted. I went to high school and college in Virginia.

North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, those areas have a lot of native tribes. You got the Cherokees. You have the Lumbees, the Iroquois, a lot of different tribes. So it wasn't a thing people wanted to stereotype. It was more accepted.

The stereotyping, yea, you still have that, but I think it's more from some of the areas in the country where you have certain races of people who are very hypocritical or anti.



Q: Did promoters ever want to give you a different character than your real-life persona as a Native American?

A: ...They said, "There's not a lot of natives in the business, but the natives who have been in the business have done great. You can be who you are. You're the real deal. Let's just shoot with you." George Scott was a promoter who believed what you do has to be believable. He would call it a shoot.

So they loved that I was Native American.


...When I went to the WWF, [owner] Vince [McMahon] loved it. He's said, "I loved that you're truly native. We can go right to your tribe. We can do vignettes right at your tribe. They can check your name. We're going to start you as Chris Chavis because Chris Chavis is really Native American. They can find out Chris Chavis is a proud member of the Lumbee Tribe."

Chris Chavis posing with our troops

(image source: www.nativetatanka.com)

Comments:

Admittedly I don't know a whole lot about this "sporting theater" known as professional wrestling or even "Tatanka" the wrestling legend but I watched enough as a kid to know I don't much care for it.

Professional wrestling has never been known for its subtlety or nuance.  It's essentially a testosterone fueled sideshow with crazy characters and even crazier bodies.  (hairless, tanned, and oiled up like they should be...dammit!)  Then again as Chris Chavis demonstrates, it is also a forum for expressing your identity and heritage (albeit through an over-the-top wrestling persona).

Chris is also uniquely qualified to speak on this issue of Native representation in the media and popular culture since he literally was the face of Native America for countless young wrestling fans across America.  I don't know his character Tatanka or his routine to comment on specifics but I suspect it may be a mixture of his personal heritage and culture with some Hollywood thrown in.

Why you ask?

When the event promoters and managers say, "You can be who you are. You're the real deal." I can't help but wonder if they're thinking in the back of their heads "Wow, a real Indian!  We don't have to parade around those fake Indians anymore!"  From the promoters point of view, Chris brings the tantalizing qualities of his authentic native heritage to a public that time and time again has proven its insatiable thirst for the exotic Indian on display.

In my opinion, Tatanka looks like a Native American mascot brought to life.  He has donned the customary plains headdress, warpaint, and even dances.  Then again, all professional wrestlers are forced into a character niche, often stereotypical, to fulfill the demands of the business.

Well enough from me.  I'll let this video do the talking:




The article/interview also has some interesting language.  Whenever someone refers to a Native person as a "real-life Native American" I can't help but shake my head.  It's pretty sad that people have become so used to fake Indians that the "real deal" is so amazing!

Pemmican Brand Beef Jerky: Part II

In early July, I wrote a post about a strange TV encounter:

A Tale of Pemmican, an Indian, and the World Cup

I saw a billboard for "PEMMICAN" at the World Cup in South Africa which prominently featured a stereotypical Native American image.  I soon discovered it was a brand of beef jerky marketed in the US.

Michael G. Farley, marketing manager at Marfood USA Inc. the American producer of Pemmican Brand Beef Jerky, wrote a response in the comments section of that post.  He also sent me a photo of the billboard I saw at the World Cup:

Click to make big!

(Image courtesy Marfood USA)

Here is his response to my original post in full:

Stephen,

First, thank you for noticing Pemmican at the World Cup. Indeed, it would have been a surprise to most. As you noted, Pemmican is owned by Marfrig Group Brazil, as are the Seara and Moy Park Brands which could also be seen in World Cup matches.

As a part of the FIFA World Cup sponsorship, the Marfood USA division of Marfrig Group was given the opportunity to include the Pemmican Brand logo in the three United States matches. The intent was not to make Pemmican an international brand or market Beef Jerky globally under Seara. It was an opportunity created by our Corporate World Cup sponsorship.

Marfood USA is an American company located just outside Detroit Michigan. To have Pemmican, our only brand in the US, on the world stage alongside much larger brands inside our company - and even larger ones outside, was important to everyone here at Marfood USA. We are a newly established company striving to play a more important role within Marfrig Group and the Beef Jerky category in the US.

Here is the important part:

The Native American association with Pemmican is an area we approach with careful thought and respect. If perceived as “drawing on Indians,” then we have failed.

The Pemmican Brand is over 40 years old and has strong meaning among core beef jerky users. It also happens to be the name of the Native American food source made popular by the Métis which eventually inspired the product we know today as Beef Jerky.

The Native American on the packaging is, and always has been, an important part of the brand. More importantly, it’s an important part of what the brand stands for. Pemmican Beef Jerky users are outdoorsmen. They hunt and fish and camp. They respect the outdoors, the freedom, and the tranquility it brings.

As you said, today’s beef jerky is different than original pemmican. The Tanka bar is a good product and with dried berries, closer to an original recipe. However, the tradition and continuing “the journey started by Native Americans” reference is not about the food - it’s about the great outdoors. It’s about the serenity of casting from the banks of the Au Sable, the workout of hiking the Cabin Creek Trail through the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the family together around a warming campfire under an uncountable number of stars.

We understand that Beef Jerky is like any other product; it’s produced for an audience and marketed. But we also believe there’s a significant disconnect between how Beef Jerky is marketed today and the heritage of where it all began: as a sustainable food source for those who respect, appreciate and spend time in the great outdoors. We’re simply trying to make our Beef Jerky the best choice for those who still understand that significance.

Thank you for the time to express our thoughts, and more importantly, thank you for the opportunity.

Michael G. Farley
Marfood USA I Marfrig Group

Comments:

First, it was never my intention for the phrase "drawing on Indians" to be inherently negative as Michael Farley seems to imply.  The blog title actually has double meaning.  It refers to first the cultural trend of drawing upon Indians, that is adopting items from Native culture or Native Americans themselves.  Second, "drawing on Indians" refers to changing or manipulating the original source material (as when an artist draws over an image) so that the items better serve their new purposes.

It is perfectly reasonable and acceptable that someone who is inspired by another culture draws upon that culture in any number of ways whether it's fashion, music, art, religion, language, or even food.  Most of the contentious issues occur with the second definition when individuals begin to change or manipulate Native elements to fit their own needs.  Too often, people see this new variation on the cultural element but falsely attach it to the original Native people or culture.

Second, Michael Farley notes the connection between beef jerky and the Native food pemmican.  Michael admits that the two foods are different but goes on to claim that Marfood USA is still "continuing the journey started by Native Americans."  How?  His answer- "it's about the great outdoors."

He writes that the Native American on the packaging is "an important part of what the brand stands for" that is the great outdoors.  His logic goes that "Pemmican Beef Jerky users are outdoorsmen" and will therefore be attracted by those other great outdoorsmen, Native Americans.  While I know many Native people who love the great outdoors, none of them look like this:

This is where I still find some fault with the product logo and the logic behind it.  If they wanted to represent the great outdoors on their packaging why not use a mountain range, a forest scene, a fishing pole?

Instead, the marketers chose one of the most potent images in American culture that denotes the outdoors- the Indian.  In choosing a classical plains Indian with war bonnet (as opposed to other Native cultures) they acknowledged the cultural power of the stereotypical "Indian" in American culture, of what a simple image means for so many people.

It is typical of the marketers to forgo the more logical connection to the Métis or the native people of the Andes (from whom we get the name jerky) in favor of this more salient image. The American public would never recognize a cartoon Métis person or Native South American.  I don't even know how you would draw that!  The point is neither of these two groups carry as powerful a meaning as the classic image of the plains Indian.

Third, why bother?  Aren't there more important battles to fight?  Aren't there more egregious examples of native appropriation in our culture?

Yes and yes.  But to quote Adrienne Keene from the Native Appropriations blog:

"I still think it is important to interrogate and re-examine images we take at face value, and problematize how seemingly simple and benign words can carry much deeper meaning."

The Native American on the Pemmican package is pretty mundane and not inherently negative.  What interests me is the deeper meaning that resonates in this simple image and what that means for our present society.

There are certainly worse stereotypes for Native Americans than the outdoorsy Indian stuck out on the 19th century plains in his war bonnet.  Nevertheless, every small example in our culture continues to affect the way we all relate to this group of Americans.

To sum up the message from the package and the letter:

'Pemmican Brand Beef Jerky is a simple traditional outdoorsy food, just like Native Americans are simple traditional outdoorsy people.'

If this at least makes you pause and think, I've done my job.


Links:

For a great overview of the "Plains chief" stereotype check out The "honor" of a Plains chief.  For a compelling Native account of running into these stereotypes check out Accosted by racist costumes.

ALSO: Find me on facebook!!!: search for "Drawing on Indians"

Wisconsin Orders First School to Drop its Indian Mascot under New Law

Breaking news from the world of Indian mascots!

Here's the headline from FOX 21 News Duluth/Superior:

Wisconsin officials issue first order against Native American mascot

On May 5, 2010 a new law went into effect in Wisconsin creating a legal avenue for individuals to challenge school mascots they deem racially offensive.  It states:

"a school district resident may object to the use of a race−based nickname, logo, mascot, or team name by the school board of that school district by filing a complaint with the state superintendent."

If the complaints are considered valid and the mascot or logos are considered race-based, there is a hearing in which

"the school board has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the use of the nickname or team name in connection with the logo or mascot does not promote discrimination, pupil harassment, or stereotyping, as defined by the state superintendent by rule."

If there is ambiguous evidence that the mascot or logos are race-based then:

"the school district resident who filed the complaint... has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the use of the nickname or team name by the school board promotes discrimination, pupil harassment, or stereotyping, as defined by the state superintendent by rule."

If the state superintendent rules it is race-based and offensive, the school district has 12 months to remove the offending mascot and name but can appeal for up to 12 more months.  Thereafter, the district can face fines upwards of $1000 per day for keeping the mascot past the allotted time.

The full text pdf of the law is available here:

http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/acts/09Act250.pdf

Comments:

I heard about this law back in the Spring and am finally glad to see it put into action.  I am so glad the law uses the term "race-based mascot" because that really is the crux of this issue- the wholesale appropriation of the name, images, and symbols of a distinct group of people (whether Native or not).

The law also seems to provide an exception for districts using specific Indian mascots named after and approved by federally recognized American Indian tribes.  I have mixed feelings about this but I suspect it might have been written into the law as part of some political deal-making.

I'm curious to see where this leads but as I always argue in this issue... mascots change, people move on, and the kids will have just as much fun in school!

Update:

Here's another news story about the community reaction:

http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/99348059.html

This pretty much sums it up:

"We've always been a close community and it's starting to separate. But, we'll get back to it. If (the Chieftains) stay, that's good, if they don’t, we'll be OK," says Brenda Hulett, a Chieftain alum.

and here is the offending mascot, the Osseo-Fairchild Chieftain:

For more on my personal thoughts and feelings regarding Indian mascots, check out these previous posts:

Clinton Redskins Demonstration- a narrative

April 29 Clinton School Board Meeting

Mascot Indians

An example of an offensive stereotypical Indian mascot still in use:

 

Selling Blue Jeans with Indians

Check out this re-post from the blog: Sociological Images


Vintage Levi’s Brochure Provides a “Round-Up of Western Indian Lore”
By Gwen

(click on any image to make it big!)

Rob Walker (author of the fascinating book Buying In: What We Buy and Who We Are) sent me a link to a post at Drinkin’ and Dronin’ of a 1954 Levi Strauss brochure about “western Indian lore.” It’s a nice round-up of stereotypes and appropriations of Native Americans. We start off with an angry, bare-chested (and Levis-clad) man with a tomahawk, shield, moccasins, and headdress; I’d guess he’s supposed to be a warrior doing a war dance:

Then some descriptions of items associated with different tribes and the obligatory broken English (“just want ‘um”) familiar to anyone who watched The Lone Ranger and paid attention to Tonto:

I have no idea how accurate their descriptions of “unusual Indian weapons” are, but the overall tone of the brochure doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.

And we have a lesson on “the Indian sign language,” the origins of which are “lost in the mists of time”:

Comments:

Well, at least they made an effort to identify individual groups- Arapahoe, Chippewa, Sioux, and Ojibway- rather than the standard "Indian."  I'll give 'em points for that.

Otherwise, this is a classic example of appropriating Native imagery and culture to sell a product.  What jeans have to do with Native Americans I have no idea.  My guess is that the marketers at Levi's simply wanted to ride the high tide of interest in "Cowboys and Indians" in the 1950s.

One thing in this brochure that still continues today is the use of the past tense:

"The Indian pictograph was used by the Sioux and Ojibway Indians"

"The war bonnet was the badge of the most skillful, most daring warriors"

"Although the origin of the Indian sign language is lost to the mists of time, most authorities agree it was the common language used among tribes of many different tongues, long before the white man came."

All of these examples place Indians and their culture in some far off mystical past- the type you can only read about in books or see at the movie theater.  The reality of course is that Indian languages (written and spoken) and war bonnets are still used today and cherished in their respective cultures but you'd never know that reading this brochure...

For more on Indians in advertising, check out these earlier posts:

A Tale of Pemmican, an Indian, and the World Cup

Electronic Handheld Island Indians