MISLEADING stereotypes are one of the most pervasive issues concerning racial and ethnic relations. It is most disheartening when one finds that his culture is hardly taken seriously and, worse yet, even may not be seen as legitimate.
Many racial and ethnic groups in America and around the world strive to defeat these stereotypes, as well as to fight for their cultural validity and for the recognition of their worth as individuals in a functioning society. Yet many Americans today, as concerned as they may seem to be with racial and ethnic tensions and political correctness, seem to have forgotten about an integral slice of the American racial pie - the Native Americans.
Stereotypes abound that render deeply negative connotations or are complete misrepresentations of Native American culture. Many of these stereotypes are, unfortunately, depicted in the Hollywood film industry, which is most influential among the vast majority of Americans who are not well-versed in Native American culture. Anyone who has seen plenty of Westerns would be quite familiar with the typecast of the Native American found in these films, though misleading stereotypes can be found in other film genres as well. If one relied on Hollywood for information about the Native American individual and culture, then he would think that all Native Americans of the Western Frontier era were bloodthirsty savages out to ravish and kidnap white women and that they constantly were involved in war with rival tribes.
Of course, when it came to battling the white man, the cowboys and soldiers always represented what was right and what could be expected of the "good American," while the Native Americans showcased barbarism and the ills of humanity. They all lived in tipis, wore huge feathered headdresses and knew how to paddle a canoe. The effects of these stereotypes have been enduring - many people still believe all Native Americans live on reservations, when actually the majority do not; have access to a free college education; or are working within the casino industry.
These stereotypes about Native Americans are alive and well in the film industry and within society itself, yet many people refuse to acknowledge this pervasiveness as destructive. Individuals would never dream of being so inflammatory and politically incorrect as to make grossly stereotypical assumptions about other ethnic and racial groups - they would not say, for example, that blacks eat fried chicken while they cash welfare checks; that every Latino is here in the United States illegally and performs manual labor; that Asians are excellent at complex mathematics but not at driving a car down the road; and that the average Caucasian person is somehow especially racist in comparison to someone from another ethnic or racial group. If it is not tolerable to say any of these things about other racial or ethnic groups in our society, it begs the question: Why is it tolerable to say that Native Americans constantly smoke a peace pipe and cannot handle their firewater? Why are these perceptions of Native Americans not seen as harmful to how our society views racial and ethnic relations?
Recently, the American Indian Student Union held a film screening to bring to light the issue of cultural stereotyping, specifically within the Hollywood film industry. Our group showed the social and cultural documentary produced by PBS, "Reel Injun," in early February to showcase this issue to the University and Charlottesville communities. The documentary was very thoughtful and thoroughly discussed the issue of negative stereotypes and their damaging impact on the Native American community at large. "Reel Injun" also mentioned a few films that work to present a more culturally accurate depiction of Native Americans. Students may be interested in seeing some of these films, such as "Smoke Signals" (1998), "The Fast Runner" (2001) and "Christmas in the Clouds" (2001), just to name a few.
Fortunately, there was an extremely large turn out for the event, and this gives us hope that the issue of prevailing negative stereotypes of Native Americans in Hollywood and in American society is one that is no longer as obscure and is becoming present in many minds outside the Native American community. The dynamic discussion found within "Reel Injun" and among the community members after its showing also gives our group hope that maybe Hollywood and society are capable of moving toward a culturally accurate awareness of Native Americans, with these negative stereotypes being gainfully destroyed and harmful perceptions trampled.
Heather Ferguson is the AISU Representative in the Minority Rights Coalition. The MRC column appears bi-weekly on Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily.
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