Destructive Now and Before: Stereotypes out of American - Essay Example

Corey Aguayo Your 20 May Native American Stereotypes – As Alive and Destructive Now, as Before. Since the discovery of North America by the Europeans, the Native Americans have found themselves in a very precarious and isolated position. They were maliciously slandered against by the Europeans, perhaps in an effort to cover up the injustice committed to the former by the latter, and were never held in much esteem. Even today, when racism and most of the racist terminology has been eradicated from the public sphere of the United States, the Native Americans find themselves to be the only group of people who are exempted from this basic right – to be protected from racism and racist slurs. Whether it is the noble Indian, who is at one with nature and loves mother earth, or the ignoble one, who is a murdering savage lusting for blood, the lazy Indian, who gets handouts from the governments for no work, or the drunkard, who spends all his earned money on alcohol, Native Americans have much to deal with when it comes to stereotypes. In this paper, it will be attempted to discuss as to just how much truth there is in these statements, and just how giving and generous the US government has been with the Indians. Moreover, the systemic genocide, both cultural and physical, will also be broached upon, along with how the stereotyping of Native Americans is perpetuated through popular media, and its effects on the Native American population. For the stereotyping of the Native Americans, we have to go further back into the history of the United States, and the first interactions of the Europeans with the untamed (stereotype) Natives of North America. The early settlers who came here, found themselves on land that was rich in productivity, yet was inhabited by men who did not exploit the riches and were content on living their lives simply as hunter-gatherers. This aspect of the Native American personality was never understood by the Europeans (even today it is not completely understood), who held the Christian worldview of all nature being under their service, open to be exploited and utilized to the maximum to gain riches. This first impression, sadly, has lasted till now – undermining the other characteristics of the Natives that the Europeans, indeed, found endearing; the hospitality of the Natives, their honesty, and their penchant for helping was, sadly, always overlooked. What is more, even if they were acknowledged, they were taken to be as hope for their redemption, which somehow always equaled the Natives leaving their own culture and religion behind and transforming themselves into good Christians, fashioned after the European model. Vicar Alfred Gurney in his book A Ramble through the United States in 1886 puts forward just such a sentiment when he said “And of all savages the red man, perhaps, demands the greatest patience, courtesy, and forbearance. Not yet have we learnt to put in practice the divine method, though the experience of ages demonstrates the futility of every other, of overcoming evil, not with evil, but with good” (qtd. in Mieder). There were constant attempts “by the Puritans to Christianize the Indians through ‘praying towns,’ reservations created by Massachusetts Bay officials where converts were expected to learn English customs and trades” (“Noble and Ignoble.”). With the onslaught of the Europeans, who were constantly immigrating in great numbers to North America, the Natives found themselves to be outnumbered, thus the hosts were now in the minority. What is more, they were seen to be a threat to the expansion of the European settlements, as with the greater number of Europeans, the settlements needed to expand too, which was not possible with the land under Native American control. The status quo regarding the land and the rights thereof that had been maintained through treaties thus became quite hard for the Europeans to maintain, as they now needed to expand. This resulted in a systemic effort on the parts of the settlers to get the assistance of the military to take over lands of the Natives, all the time under the pretence of the Natives having broken the treaty. The resulting Native hostility was often presented as justification for the actions, or even as a precursor, albeit falsely. Since the whites “had print to state their case, while the Indians had none to tell their story or defend them” (Schmidt, “Savage Indians”). The same article also points out that “all massacres of Indians by the whites were accomplished by treachery in times of peace, while all Indian massacres of whites were in time of war, to resist invasion. At present, I know of no exception to this rule. (Many supposed massacres by Indians are now known to have been the work of whites disguised as Indians.)” (Schmidt, “Savage Indians”). Thus, to justify their own actions, the settlers, and their army, used and propagated the image of the “Savage Indian” who was blood thirsty and was not averse to killing children and women. The fact that the Natives had been forced to go the warpath, by the army itself was conveniently swept under the rug. As was the fact that Native American genocide was actually encouraged by those in power; “Andrew Jackson, founder of the modern Democratic Party and greatest Indian killer of all American Presidents, urged United States troops "...to root out from their dens and kill Indian women and their whelps” (qtd. in Schmidt, “Savage Indians”). The Indians were considered savages, with the European model far superior to them, in the eighteenth century, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, wrote “In the savage, the organs of generation are small and feeble. He has no hair, no beard, no ardour for the female. Though nimbler than the European, because more accustomed to running, his strength is not so great. His sensations are less acute; and yet he is more cowardly and timid. He has no vivacity, no activity of mind. ... It is easy to discover the cause of the scattered life of the savages, and of their estrangement from society. They have been refused the most precious spark of Natures fire. They have no ardour for women, and, of course, no love of mankind. ... Their heart is frozen, their society cold, and their empire cruel.” (qtd. in Schmidt, “Savage Indians”). The Europeans saw the Natives as heathen, who they could not tame, and thus the latter needed to be eradicated, or at least subdued. This theme can be found in many a publication and correspondence: for example, Francis Jennings, cites a letter of Washington, in which the latter wrote that Indians had “nothing human except the shape,… the gradual extension of our settlements will as certainly cause the save, as the wolf, to retire; both being beasts of prey, tho’ they differ in shape.” (qtd. in Schmidt, “Savage Indians”). Coming from one of our founding fathers, this quote brings to light just how much the stereotyping of the Native Americans was perpetuated, and how much suffering caused to them as a consequence – because of course policies were adopted that did eradicate the Native Americans to a large degree. The Wounded Knee Massacre would be just such an example, where around 150 Lakotas were killed, most of them women and children, as a consequence of one of them not letting go of his firearm, and where the person responsible, Colonel James Forsyth, was exonerated. The genocide of the Native Americans, irrespective of which tribe they belonged to and whether they ever helped the settlers and the army or not, was perpetuated through various such means. After overpowering them forcibly, the settlers sent the Native Americans to reservations, which were basically some areas of land that were meant to be “reserved” for the Indians only, where they could continue to live without any interference from the settlers; the whites that is. On these lands, the conditions were really atrocious for the Natives, with little to no farming possible, the hunter gatherers faced extreme poverty and hunger. The living conditions were so bad that the Indians died in great numbers at the reservation due to hunger and cold. With their numbers constantly decreasing, the Natives found themselves to be even more vulnerable than before. At the reservations, on top of all these difficulties, the Natives found a new way to escape from the squalor and misery that now surrounded their lives: liquor. The Native Americans were not new to fermented drinks as such, as some of the tribes used fermented drinks and even some hallucinogens, albeit their use was reserved for ceremonies and rituals, and they were, therefore, much protected and controlled. The consumption of liquor in everyday life, and that too hard liquor, was a new thing for the Natives, albeit a small minority had drunk it while on expeditions with the white settlers and/or their army when they served as their guides. The settlers were quick to see the susceptibility of the Natives to alcohol, and they used it to their own advantage. At the reservation all of the population was exposed to alcohol, with often the Natives being given liquor in exchange for their goods, for instance pelts and/or other commodities. Thus, another stereotype was born: the drunk Indian. It did not matter that the settlers were the one who enabled the Natives in their habit, and that they were the ones who perpetuated the stereotype, what mattered was that this was taken as another justification for North American land being taken away from the Natives; after all, how could a drunken sloth be given such a responsibility? Perhaps, we can blame the intolerant attitude of our founding fathers (and the other settlers) to the atmosphere they had then; their worldview was very restricted and they did not have enough wherewithal to tackle such matters owing to the rampant ignorance and vulnerability of the people to believe in such tales. However, it is sad to know that such stereotypes were exploited and perpetuated even in the twentieth century, and even exist to this day. With the advent of new technologies in the media, like radio, films and, later, television, this typecasting was further exploited by the production of such shows and movies which represented the Natives in their stereotypical attire, behaving in their typical fashion (or what was thought to be their typical fashion). If we were to see the Natives through the eyes of the mass media alone (perhaps excluding the newspaper), “we would see the noble "Red Man," the faithful Tonto-like companion. On the other side we would see the "Indian" as a savage pillager. We would see his primary occupation as plunder; his principal recreation as overpowering and torturing the innocent, particularly women and children. We would see him as the devil incarnate, as strange, romantic, dangerous, and deceptive; as a virile barbarian. Paradoxically, the Savage Sinner portrayal is contrasted with the Native American as a misunderstood but well-meaning child, or as a Tonto figure, serving his white master in the preordained task of westward expansion—the savage giving up his life for a new and better world for us all. Another image shows the "Indian" as the first ecologist, crying over our destruction of the Universe, or an all-knowing woodsy Christ figure: the red-skinned redeemer.” (Strickland). We cannot deny that either way, the Native has been wronged; whether it is the negative typecasting or the positive stereotyping, the Native American is basically pigeonholed into some role that he has to play in order to justify his nativity. The negative stereotypes of his tell us that the Native will be a drunkard, who will be happy getting some government handouts instead of earning his keep like the rest of us are supposed to be. The romanticized version of the Native, whereby he is completely in tune with nature and is one with everything around him, is perhaps just as damaging, because it reduces the real Natives who do not follow this stereotype into inauthentic versions of their authentic stereotype. The Native finds himself in a position whereby he always has to justify his actions, one way or the other. He is other found to be perpetuating the myth by his lifestyle, or going against it; he cannot find any escape from the typecasting, no matter how much he tries. The television and the movies keep coming up with the mythologized versions of the Native Americans; whether it is Cheyenne Autumn of 1964, where by the way Navajos were casted to play the roles of the Cheyenne (after all, one Indian, is as good as another), or Dances with Wolves of 1990, or the Last of the Mohicans of 1992, or the Pocahontas of 1995, Hollywood keeps churning out these stereotypical Indians again and again, causing, sometimes, indelible impressions to be created in the minds of the mainstream populace. Thus, the Natives find racist attitudes everywhere, due to the stereotypes that Hollywood has helped perpetuate (though not create). Everywhere they turn, they find a stereotype facing them, which try as they might, the Natives cannot shake off. To further this argument, let us look at what sort of “homage” is paid to them by way of another cultural activity of the United Sates, sports. Here, the Native Americans find themselves, their names and their symbols used in sports, as team names, mascots and logos. Some of these logos and mascots have become cultural icons, with teams and fans dancing mock Native American styled dances and chanting such mock chants. The Cleveland baseball team has used another term for Native Americans as their name, Indians. Moreover, the team has also used a caricatured Native American as their team mascot: Chief Wahoo. Chief Wahoo is a caricature made on a white background; with his complexion a deep red (no surprise there); straight black hair parted right in the middle, and a hawkish nose, Chief Wahoo is wearing a white headband with a turkey feather stuck in it. This caricature is a classic example of how images are used to perpetuate cultural myths. The “Indians’” Chief Wahoo has all the classic stereotypical physical characteristics of a Native American. What is more, he has a foolish, toothy grin plastered on his face, which urges the onlookers not to take him seriously. An affiliated baseball team from Kinston also takes the name “Indians” for itself. There too, the mascot is a stereotypical, caricatured Native American. Tom E. Hawk (yes, a banal reference to the tomahawk, a traditional Native American axe), appears in a lot of games to bless the team and greet the fans. The mascot is again completely painted red, has long straight black hair, which he has tied in two plaits, a hawkish nose and he wears a whole head dress of turkey feathers. The only difference is that he carries a weapon (a bow and arrow, with a ball skewered into the arrow); however, he also has a huge, foolish smile that insists on his simple minded friendliness. Both these images are offensive to the extreme to anyone with sensibility; as Pewewardy states, there is no connection between Native American warriors, a sacred tradition – warriors were considered to be blessed through sacred religious ceremonies in most Native American traditions, and their status as warriors was also revered – and the “hoopla of a pep rally, half-time entertainment, or being a sidekick to cheerleaders” (Pewewardy). Additionally, this has reduced the Native Americans to people of mythology; Native Americans are not viewed as people who live, walk and talk amongst us, but rather as people from the old years who can be romanticized about, as they no longer exist. The Native American is, thus, made fun of under the guise of “homage.” He is portrayed as a simple minded, primitive, savage who is quick to foolishly smile at everyone, and his religious symbols and rites are reduced to mockery. If it is, indeed, in good humor that these Native American images have been used in American sports or as “homage” to them, then perhaps it is time that people of all races and creeds be made to join in on the fun. For Churchill, the fact that most people would balk at the idea of having a team named “Niggers” or “Kykes” or “Dykes” or “Shylocks”, clearly suggests that taking stereotypical terminology about a certain race and bringing it into the public forefront, by naming sports teams, mascots and logos after them, is clearly not a “good humored homage”, meant to honor the race. The fact that it would be any different for the Native Americans is really surprising. The stereotyping of Native Americans has damaged their perception, both in the eyes of others and themselves, and this stereotypical mythology perpetuated about the Native Americans reduces them as sub-human, or extinct, in the perception of people. All this engenders a sense of inferiority in the Native Americans, especially the younger generation; the Native Americans, just like mainstream America, come to believe the stereotyping of themselves. Not only do they feel that their people are just how the stereotypes tell them they are, but they also feel a sense of inferiority when it comes to their own culture and religion. Through the derision and the stereotyping, they find it hard to actually see the meaning behind them sticking to their culture and thereby causing more derision to be directed against them, or so they think. This brings us to the cultural genocide of the Native Americans. The Native Americans have been made to let go of their cultural identity by the constant stereotyping and racism, which, as we saw in the case of sports logos etc., is sometimes even disguised as homage or a way of honoring them. The Native Americans were segregated, and left on their own, at the reservations; it was not until 1920s that they were given the right to hold American citizenship. However, once they were assimilated, and also allowed to come off the reservation, they discovered, to their dismay, that they could not hold on to their own culture in order to be fully assimilated. Many Navajos, for instance, grew outside the reservations and were so anglicized, that they did not even speak their own mother tongue. Such Native Americans grew up feeling different and inferior, as they did not fit in anywhere; they were outsiders amongst the mainstream population, being neither black nor white they were not accepted as part of any of these two main groups of Americans, and they were outsiders amongst their own people, as the latter did not feel any sense of affinity with them, often considering them strangers, thus at par with the white man. The physical and cultural genocide has been perpetuated since the inception of our country, and it still continues to this day, maybe it is because we still need to justify our ancestors actions, or that we feel this will help alleviate our guilt, or because we do not feel that our shoddy attempts at “homage” offends the sensibility of the Native Americans, or maybe, and it is most likely, it is because the Native Americans do not have a strong public voice whereby they can register their protest and make their voices be heard. However, the fact remains the same that we are constantly surrounded by the stereotypes of the Native Americans, as, indeed, are they, and these stereotypical images cast a certain shadow over the reality of the Native Americans and their lives today. We seem to forget the murderous acts of our founding fathers and their cruelty, yet we hold on to the stereotypical Indian savage, who murders for no reason, and it is just as insulting today, as it was in 1863, when in 1863 ‘President Lincoln at a conference with Native leaders from the Southern Plains presented the leaders with Presidential Peace Medals. Attempting to persuade the Native leaders of the superiority of White society he lectured them with the words, "We are not as a race so much disposed to fight and kill one another as our Red Brethren.” (Schmidt, “Savage Indian”). We have forgotten the bloodshed in our own history, just like Lincoln had forgotten “that over 300,000 men had died in the Civil War up to that point in time” (Schmidt, “Savage Indian”). In this day and age, we should be informed and enlightened enough to know that the invective of “the only good Indian is a dead Indian” was as baseless and untrue then, as it is today. Perhaps the history books will never get unwritten, and no one would be inclined to come to terms with the fact that it was our founding fathers who were the aggressors and not the Native Americans, however, the least that we can do now would be to put an end to their stereotyping and, for once, realize that they are real people, just like all of us are, and not characters of folklore or romance: brave people which once existed on our great plains, but who then disappeared to die off silently. This is the least we can do for the Native Americans that not only live and walk amongst us, but are still continuing to grow. Works Cited Churchill, Ward. “Crimes Against Humanity.” First Nations Issues of Consequence. J.S. Dill, n.d. Web. 8 March 2010. Mieder, Wolfgang. “The Only Good Indian is a Dead Indian.” First Nations Issues of Consequence. J.S. Dill, n.d. Web. 20 May 2010. “Noble and Ignoble: The Development of Two Savage Stereotypes: 1665-1860.” The Authentic History Center. The Authentic History Center, 8 Sep 2009. Web. 20 May 2010. Pewewardy, Cornel D. “The Deculturalization of Indigenous Mascots in the U. S. Sports Culture.” The Educational Forum 66.Summer (1999): 342. Web. 8 March 2010. Schmidt, Robert. “Drunken Indians.” Blue Corn Comics. Robert Schmidt, 3 June 2001. Web. 20 May 2010. Schmidt, Robert. “Good-for-Nothing Indians.” Blue Corn Comics. Robert Schmidt, 2007. Web. 20 May 2010. Schmidt, Robert. “Indians as Welfare Recipients.” Blue Corn Comics. Robert Schmidt, 2007. Web. 20 May 2010. Schmidt, Robert. “Pocahontas Bastardizes Real People.” Blue Corn Comics. Robert Schmidt, 27 March 2000. Web. 20 May 2010. Schmidt, Robert. “Savage Indians.” Blue Corn Comics. Robert Schmidt, 2007. Web. 20 May 2010. Schmidt, Robert. “Stereotype of the Month Entry.” Blue Corn Comics. Robert Schmidt, 23 Oct 2002. Web. 20 May 2010. Schmidt, Robert. “Tonto and the “Good Indian”.” Blue Corn Comics. Robert Schmidt, 2007. Web. 19 May 2010. Strickland, Rennard. “Coyote Goes Hollywood.” Native Peoples Magazine. Media Concepts Group Inc., n.d. Web. 20 May 2010. “The Ignoble Drunkard: Indians & Alcohol.” The Authentic History Center. The Authentic History Center, 24 Oct 2008. Web. 20 May 2010. Read More