Native Studies 120 Unit 1 Stereotypes and Aboriginal

Native Studies 120 Unit 1 Stereotypes and Aboriginal Culture

Table of Contents • • • Stereotypes – A Review Creators of Stereotypes Positive and Negative Stereotypes What’s the Big Deal? Assignment

Stereotypes – A Review • It is assumed that you know, coming into this course, what a stereotype is. • In your notes, write the definition of this term. • In this course, we will build on this already existing knowledge that you have regarding stereotypes and look specifically at stereotypes as they apply to Aboriginal culture/people.

Stereotypes in a New Light • A generalized view of an entire group • Assuming that all members of a group same the same characteristics • Example? What is an example of a stereotype for each of the following…

Societal “Group” Stereotype (s) “They are all…” Female Model Hockey Player Politician Teenagers Newfoundlanders

Societal “Group” Stereotype (s) “They are all…” Female Model Hockey Player Politician Teenagers …flaky, anorexic, on drugs …jerks, unintelligent, promiscuous, “trouble, ” male …liars, “sneaky, ” male, corrupt …lazy, rude, “trouble, ” uncaring Newfoundlanders …drinkers, funny, friendly, “not so bright, ” accents, fishermen, unemployed

Creators of Stereotypes • Answer the following in your notes: – Where do stereotypes come from? – Are we born with them (i. e. are they innate? – OR – Do we learn them (do we acquire them through socialization? )

Answer • Stereotypes are learned through socialization; through being an active member of our society. • This may include messages we, as social beings (with particular emphasis on children here) receive from family, friends, institutions, and let’s not forget, the media.

Some Sources of Stereotypes • The Playground • Mass Media (film, advertisements, TV, magazines, etc. ) • Books • Mascots • Comics/Cartoons • Food Producers

The Playground • Most non-Natives form their first impressions of Native Americans on the playground. • "When little kids play cowboys and Indians, " says Robert Thomas, of the University of Arizona, "the Indians are always the bad guys. The cowboys win, the Indians get defeated. Children learn that Indians are bad. " "The Tonto Syndrome, " Scholastic Update, 5/26/89

Mass Media • The media—radio, television, film, etc. —is massive and powerful. • The messages dominate our thinking, particularly when the viewer has little or no opportunity for firsthand observation. • How many Americans see "Indians" anywhere but on the screen? And either way, who is able to distinguish fact from fiction? Strickland, Ph. D, Coyote Goes Hollywood, Native Peoples, 1/13/97

Richard Dix portrays Wing Foot, the noble hero in Redskin, a 1929 silent epic of an eastern educated Navajo, expelled from his tribe, discovers oil, stops a Pueblo attack and marries Corn Blossom, his beloved sweetheart from a rival warring tribe. Like most screen comics, silent star Harold Lloyd could not miss the chance to play a farcical Indian as in Heap Big Chief (1919). In slapstick and romantic comedies, the cinema Indians were absurdly portrayed.

Video Clips • You. Tube - Peter. Pan - Why The Red Man's Red • You. Tube - Pocahontas and John Smith - first meeting • You. Tube - Pocahontas: The Truth - VOA Story

In Books • No one book , line, or illustration is enough to create stereotypes in children's minds. • But if enough books contain these images— and the general culture reinforces them— there is a cumulative effect, encouraging false and negative perceptions about Native Americans. Council on Interracial Books for Children, Unlearning Indian Stereotypes

Sports Teams • Part of the problem, says Jacqueline Johnson, of the National Congress of American Indians, is the complete inaccuracy of most representations by sports teams. "You'll see icons or pictures that are not reflective of the people or cultures, " she says. "They become caricatures, and that's offensive in itself, as it would be to any other race if they were caricatured. " • "These names and images have a damaging effect on Native Americans because it freezes us in our past, it distills our humanity to a one-dimensional term, " said Joseph Gone, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan who once fought for the elimination of mascot Chief Illiniwek when he was a student at Illinois.

• "The mascot thing gets me really mad" Alexie says. "Don't think about it in terms of race. Think about it in terms of religion. Those are our religious imagery up there. Feather, the paint, the sun that's our religious imagery. You couldn't have a Catholic priest running around the floor with a basketball throwing communion wafers. You couldn't have a rabbi running around. "

Comics/Cartoons • Like fellow cartoonist Dan Piraro, Jim Unger loves depicting Indians as primitive people of the past. • As usual, these Indians are half-naked, carry bows and arrows, and have headbands with feathers. All that's missing are the painted faces and perhaps a chief in a headdress.

Food Producers • Corporations all over the United States that have named their companies with some sort of "Indian" name, and companies have created corporate logos and trademarks with an "Indian" theme in mind. • From the ridiculous photos on the door of the trucks of the "Navajo" trucking company depicting a Native woman in stereotypical "Indian princess" garb, and for some bizarre reason, with deep blue eyes, to the other "Indian princess" depicted on the "Land O Lakes" butter packages, stereotypical images of Native Americans are everywhere.

Positive and Negative Stereotypes • There are two types of stereotypes: – Negative, and – Positive

Negative Stereotypes • Negative Stereotypes – the assumptions or generalizations made that directly imply negative feelings/thoughts. Example: • 1. “All Native people have the same history, heritage and culture. ” – For example, many people think that all Native people create Totem Poles, when they are actually only associated with Native people in the Northwest U. S. and Southwest of Canada (B. C. )

Positive Stereotypes • Positive Stereotypes –assumptions or generalizations made that some do not think are negative, but which in fact are. – – – – Good trackers & hunters Conservationists – live in harmony with the environment Spiritual Knowledgeable about animals, plants Brave – will fight to defend lands, families, values Excellent horse trainers Excellent makers of pottery, rugs, baskets Storytellers

What’s the Big Deal? • Stereotypes can be internalized by a group of people to whom they are seen to apply; it becomes part of their own personal identity, – “I guess this really is who I am and what I’m like” • Stereotypes can be self-fulfilling; you set out with low or negative expectations of yourself because – “that’s what’s people expect of me anyway. ”

• Stereotypes can be so deeply embedded in a culture that almost all people see them as simple truth. – “Well, that stereotype is true though. ” – “Yeah, sure, but some stereotypes exist for a reason. ” • May lead to discrimination - unequal treatment of people because they are members of a particular group. – Ex. Not hiring an Aboriginal person because “they are all lazy. ”