Hollywood Portrayals of Native Americans

First known depiction painted by Pinturicchio showing naked
                       men with feathered headdresses. One appears to be on horseback.

Dating back to when America was still the “New World,” incorrect and stereotypical depictions of Native Americans have been spread throughout. European writers could not and did not take the time to learn about the inhabitant’s cultures, but instead put them into one classification. They wrote not about the truth, but what they had expected to find: Savages. 

  Depiction of stereotypical actions of Natives 
       (rape, attacking, scalping, killing).

Since the beginning of the motion picture revolution, Western films based on Cowboys (white men) and Indians have been very popular. The main problem with the earlier Westerns was the perspective taken on Native Americans. They were shown as the stereotypical savages whose only purpose was to attack and kill. Looking back, it is startling to think that people believed this stereotype, but in reality, most of the movie attenders were very poor, immigrants, or people from rural areas, who most likely had little experience or knowledge of Indians and nothing to compare the films to. 

  Scene in a Western film showing off the stereotypical "stoic"
               face and assumed decoration (headdresses and face paint).

The earliest Western films had no dialogue or sound besides music, so it was highly important for the actors to show emotion through facial expressions and body language. For example, Indians were shown with scowls and war paint on their faces, to show they were stoic and tough. Music also played a key role in the portrayal of Native Americans. Any time Indians were shown or discussed, the music would change from an uplifting song to a beat of war drums. The mood of the actors would change and instill fear in the audience. 

Photograph of a man filming an attack on 
             a Native American village in Indian Wars.

William Cody’s Indian Wars was one of the most influential Western films of all time. Cody received massive support from the government in making this movie. The United States was on the verge of World War I, and it was important to raise morale and recruit new soldiers, so battle scenes were shot in a way to show American soldiers as heroes. The government wanted the movie to look as realistic as possible, so Troops and equipment were sent by the Secretary of State, General Miles himself agreed to be in the movie, and so on. All this, shining light on the white man, while Native Americans continued to be shown as bloodthirsty savages. A disturbing fact about this is: the government had such a positive reaction to the film and thought the U.S. soldiers were painted so well, that they made it an official government document, even though it was untrue to the historical truth.

 

           Slowly but surely, the film industry began to change the way that they portrayed Native Americans in their films. Bloodthirsty, savagely background characters became less common, and Indians became more of a central part in movies. Their characters received decent dialogue without the standard grunts that were believed to be their native tongue.

            In 1954, Sitting Bull was shown. One of the scenes shows Indians conducting a raid on a train in order to get food, not just to kill. The men who were conducting the train tried to get the Calvary to fight the Indians, but the leader takes the Indians’ side and tells the conductors that they should not have been on the Native’s land and violated treaties. The movie also portrays an important American Colonel’s role as pretentious and always looking for a fight, similar to his actual personality. This was the end of the age of trying to make the white man look good. Sitting Bull is one of the most accurate films of all time in the aspect of showing Indians do not pick fights, but only attack when necessary. This was one of the first movies to have Indians played by actual Native Americans, defying the belief that Indians did not have the skills to perform well in speaking roles.

        In 1990, a fictional but historically accurate movie was released – Dances with Wolves. This film showed that Native Americans were usually the ones being persecuted by the settlers invading their land. White men became somewhat an enemy; this being one of the best examples of how far the motion picture industry has come from the beginning.

       Now, Indians are no longer portrayed as evil or risks to the safety of the white race, but as the oppressed people that they really were. Film no longer uses them as pieces to make white soldiers look heroic, but as an important part of the movies, portrayed as a peaceful and proud group. Along with this growth, however, in day-to-day life, the old stereotypes still seem to stick. This resulting in low self-esteem of Native American children. However, others tend to go along with it.

LeAnne Howe interviews Chief Henry Lambert.

Interviewer LeAnne Howe was amazed by “the stoic wooden Indians, cheesy dream catchers on sale in every store. Pocahontas dolls, the worst Hollywood stereotypes, all marketed by the Cherokees themselves.” She speaks with Chief Henry Lambert (to the left, wearing the headdress). He has no doubts about what the tourists expect, and he has no doubts about his own identity. “I didn’t have to play the part in being an Indian, I just dress the way people wanted me to dress so to capitalize on what they were showing American people on the movies.” 

Works Cited:

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Five Common Native American Stereotypes in Film and Television

The Pocahontas Paradox

Racism In Early American Film

Hollywood's Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film

Stereotypes

Stereotypes About Indigenous Peoples of North America

American Indians: The Image of the Indian

Commemoration vs. Exploitation

Stereotyping Indians in Film