American Indian Stereotypes Summary

Americanization: The Creation of the Indian Stereotype In Fall 2015 I took an American Indian Studies course, at first I was not thrilled since history courses are not my best subject. However, there was something different about this course that was intriguing. I began to find it appealing due to the information and history that was provided. In my perspective I found a connection with my culture and some of the suffering American Indians went through. As our course continued I was fascinated with the history of Americanization and the process that took course. Many American Indians endured much suffering and were deprived of their culture. Many were separated from their loved ones or had someone pass away due to diseases and battles. Women …show more content…
“I have seen probably all of the pictures which are suppose to depict Indian life, and not one of them is correctly made… I have gone personally to directors and stage managers and playwrights and explained this to them, telling them that their actions do not play the part as it should be played… but the answer is always the same, ‘The public doesn’t know the difference.’ ” (Bear 285). In other words, in this section the author states that the interpretation of Native Americans created by the American movie industry rejected the factual interpretations of Indian life and helped implement the stereotypical Indian images used in the western media. Hollywood also presented formidable problems and challenges for Native Americans because studio practices were particularly hard on Indian actors; they obtained small roles and played extras. Starring roles were obtained by non-Indians, even when the script called for Indian characters” (Rosenthal 338-340). By acknowledging that the Hollywood industry utilized non-Indians for Indian roles, it is reemphasized by the two authors that the American culture, that was not previously acknowledged by Hollywood, accepted the stereotypical compositions of the noble warrior Indian that wore headdresses and was in touch with nature and spiritual ancestry. Given that the American Indian generation sought to escape the economic struggles of the reservation life, the acceptance of the roles which epitomized the Native American stereotypes increased the generalizations accepted by the general population. In other words, some products of the stereotypical Native American person introduced to the general American population were consisted with the young