Native Americans have always been interpreted as “savage beast”. We are told the stories of the Europeans coming to America and their encounter with the Native by teachers, movies, and history books. When looking at the art of people “interpreting” the Native American the idea is still quite similar. Horatio Greenough work, Rescue, shows the common idea seen by most. In the image there is a Native American woman cradling her baby. Her focus is only on the child. Her body language suggest a protective nature; as if the child was almost harmed and had the thought of no seeing the child ever again. Greenough is saying that the Natives are extremely protective of their own kind. Center in the image is a struggle between two men. One of the men being White, while the other is Native America. The White male has subdue the Native in a restraint. The Native has an ax in one hand and the other is covered in cloth. He is wear minimal clothing, while the White male is fully clothed. The idea that I’m getting from Horatio’s work is that the Native American male had intentions on hurting the Native America woman and child. That is what the ax was for. The White …show more content…
Spacing incorporates the sizes of objects and placing. This image gives us three focal points. Each one is presented at a different level than the next. The center focus point has the Native partially down on one knee, looking up at the other man. The male hold the Native is larger than all the other figures. It almost seems like there is no struggle on his part. The woman to the left is crouching down; making herself look smaller. The way Greenough set this piece up was to show his view of strength. The figure with the most strength would be the male holding the Native. The male Native is show as small and lacking muscles, which shows that Horatio thinks they are weaker. The woman is portrayed as weak and scared; most likely reflecting
Alexie's poem "How To Write the Great American Indian Novel" blends several dilemmas at once. Underlying to the poem and the act of writing the `Great American Indian Novel' is the awareness in all Colored people of a catch-22: that they are seen solely as a reflection of how White America views them. In the case of the Native American they are either seen as a less-than-articulate `Noble Savage'/ mystic, a caricature who greets white men with a monosyllabic `How', or a brute savage/ reservation drunkard. Likewise, the Native American is expected to feel shame for the stereotypes that have been thrust upon him; regardless of whether individuals of the dominating culture take stock in the accepted stereotypes or not, the Native American still feels critical eyes on him always, and senses the act of be labeled. If he tries to configure himself into the dominating culture, and comply with the set standards of Whites he is then seen as a `a credit to the race', an `apple Indian`, and a `sellout`, poorly imitating White culture without truly fitting in. Similarly, any Native American who does not try to comply with the standards of White culture is at risk of playing into the brutish, reserv...
The nineteenth-century, a period of expansion in the eyes of the Americans; fostered an increase in preexisting feelings of superiority over the indigenous peoples of America. They were referred to as “Indians” or “savages.” The Euro-American belief of distinction between the “civilized” and “savages” were accentuated in the universal law of progress, and law of vices and virtues, leading to the emergence of the famed myth, the “vanishing” Indian, which enforced the Euro-American notion of the Native American population dwindling into nothingness (Ferdinando). The eighteen-hundreds marked the rise in naturalistic literature integrating the myth of the vanishing Indian into popular culture.
During the journey to the New World, many Europeans explored this unknown place and viewed the Native Americans as savages, but the Natives were much more different than they thought. In each text, La Relacion, Plymouth Plantation and Iroquois Constitution, they had significant views of the Native Americans during their journeys in the New World. Not only did they have different views in their stories, but they also connect in certain aspects. In early Native American literature, Native Americans are portrayed as being peacemakers, resist violence and avoid being enemies, helpful, helps the ones in need, and compassionate, feels sorrow and sympathy to the ones who goes through the most pain.
When reading Benjamin Franklin’s essay “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America,” it was interesting to see the similarities and differences of perceptions between the Indians and the white English in America. Franklin takes an outside look on the perceptions of the Indians by analyzing various observations he’s made or witnessed and comparing them to the norms of the white English society. Clearly the two are very different in their cultural beliefs, and this essay helps bring these differences to light while making the point that Indians are anything but “savages.”
Although Francis and Cedar are far from the being a native, they earn the scepter of narration trough their connection through language, view of history and inner struggle. On the other hand, since the Gordian Knot of native identity is so complex that even the most skilled ethnographer would fail to define what does it mean to be a “true” native american. Therefore, claiming that there is only one reliable native perspective not only seems oversimplistic and exclusionary. As in the Case of and Francis, the interaction with a native culture not only provides sufficient authority to share the story but also provides the reader with a revolutionary perspective. A perspective that shines a new light on the jewels of the literary treasure box, and helps to value and appreciate the native culture from a different viewpoint. It helps the rather realizes, that “native perspective” not necessarily have to be nationalized or politicised. That true native works of literature, authentic treasure boxes, can be valuable in
Many school children celebrate a cliché Thanksgiving tradition in class where they play Indians and Pilgrims, and some children engage in the play of Cowboys vs. Indians. It is known that some died when colonization occurred, that some fought the United States government, and that they can be boiled down to just another school mascot. This is what many people understand of the original inhabitants of America. Historical knowledge of these people has been shallow and stereotyped. The past 150 years has given birth to a literate people now able to record their past, present, and future. Native American literature, as it evolves, defines the Native American culture and its status in the world, as an evolving people, more so than any historical account can.
These examples are merely a few in the attempts of Bonnin and Eastman to bring understanding and empathy to the Native Americans at the turn of the 20th century. The idea of a savage people that needed the help of the white man to have intelligence, religion, and identity were far from the heart of Native American culture. Eastman and Bonnin give us a rich text to bring the Native American struggles to light and help the reader to eliminate their prejudices.
Alexie Sherman is a Native American novelist born on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington. In his short story, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Alexie Sherman uses a character born in the same Reservation in Washington. This makes the author an authoritive figure and gives him more credibility for the arguments he makes in this short story. The title is allegorical, symbolizing white and Native Americans and their identities. The main argument that the author makes is the way Native Americans are or have been treated in our country, by our government, and its people. The typical stereo types that they have faced, how they are portrayed by most people. This essay touches on a lot of these issues. Flashback is
Overall, Pauline Turner’s critique on both films reveal that many of the same concepts people have about Native Americans are still present today. It outlines contradictions and it shares way to try and overcome such
In The White Man’s Indian, Robert Berkhoffer analyzes how Native Americans have maintained a negative stereotype because of Whites. As a matter of fact, this book examines the evolution of Native Americans throughout American history by explaining the origin of the Indian stereotype, the change from religious justification to scientific racism to a modern anthropological viewpoint of Native Americans, the White portrayal of Native Americans through art, and the policies enacted to keep Native Americans as Whites perceive them to be. In the hope that Native Americans will be able to overcome how Whites have portrayed them, Berkhoffer is presenting
In the short story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie, Jackson wanders from person to person and seems to have an unusual connection with those that are Native Americans. All of his ‘friends’ may fail him, but he never disowns them. Some may argue that he is simply afraid of people he can’t relate with, but it is evident that he merely feels a familiar bond with those he can relate with. This is also apparent in the poem “Capital Punishment,” when the cook feels sympathy for the Indian killer. Therefore, the story simply exemplifies the family bond Native Americans feel toward each other due to the prejudice that they feel from peoples of other races, and not a fear of people from other races.
When I first hear the word Indian or Native American I am instantly transported to the past where the whispery echo of pain filled cries and the shouts of angry men seem to weave in and out of time. Groups of Native Americans were forced away from their homes; their homes reduced to hot ashes and black smoke or more commonly taken over by European settlers. The Indians were pushed out of European society and were involuntary made to walk on the mixture of sharp stone and dusty paths that eventually ended in disease and was quickly followed by death. The thirteenth century to the nineteenth century were the hardest years in history for the Indian tribes with exploitation, foreign diseases, wars, forced displacements, famines, and mass massacres of the Indian tribes. This is where a lot of us think it ends and all the Native Americans now live on reservations, get tons of money from the government, and happily live their life surrounded by narcotic substances while drowning themselves in alcohol to better communicate with Grandmother Willow. I hope that this paper will show us how the Native Americans are very real and still existing in America today. I hope to break down the stereotypes set down by the American
In the short story “This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” by Sherman Alexie Native Americans are accurately depicted due to the author’s Native American heritage and his upbringing in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene Tribe. In the story, the character Victor needed help to retrieve his father’s remains, and his childhood acquaintance Thomas acting out of tradition says that he will lend him money (Alexie 245). The role of a Native American should be played or depicted by a Native American author or director, and that non-Natives should have extensive knowledge of the Native American culture before attempting to portray them.
Over the past week we have seen how Native Americans face the never-ending barrage of racial stereotypes and misconceptions. As well we have seen their cultures and traditions used and misinterpreted by people outside of their culture in an attempt to make a profit from these unique practices. Native Americans have been persecuted ever since White men stepped on to their land. As we will see in this paper Native Americans have been misconstrued as a savage group of feather wearing and horse riding Indians. In the end this paper will look into how Native American culture and identity have been taken advantage of by whites and transformed the many different tribes and their uniqueness into one large group full of many different stereotypes. It is through the false replication of art and artifacts as well as how Indians have been portrayed in
The history of Native Americans or American Indians are unique, tragic and at the same time full of optimism. It is unique because the Indians were the original inhabitants of the Americas and experienced all the stages of its colonization by Europeans, since the first colony in the seventeenth century and ending with the completion of the development of the western borders by the end of the nineteenth century. It is tragic, because the conflict between Indians and whites is a repetition of the experience of other nations of the world, the tradition which came into conflict with the expanding industrialized society. The story at the same time full of optimism, because the Native Americans although they are deprived of the nineteenth century much of their ancestral lands survived they were able to establish themselves in their political and economic rights, they have maintained their national identity and culture in spite of the invasion of modern civilization. That’s why their history, lifestyle and beliefs should not be forgotten!