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The White Man's Indian
Term Paper ID:42323
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Essay Subject:
This paper provides a discussion of the dualistic image of the Native American constructed ...... More...
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3 Pages / 675 Words
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Paper Abstract:
This paper provides a discussion of the dualistic image of the Native American constructed by white Americans that Robert F. Berkhofer maintains continues to persist in modern culture and artistic expressions in The White Man’s Indian. Examples to support his theory are provided.
Paper Introduction:
The White Man\'s Indian Despite their widely diverse cultures in The White Man\'s IndianRobert F Berkhofer argues that white euro-Americans i e whiteAmericans tended to homogenize Indian tribal groups into images of TheIndian and along a dichotomy of good bad that existed since AmerigoVespucci first described them in these two categories The whollyconstructed image of The Indian by white Americans ranged from theclassic images of either noble savage or bloodthirsty savage Whateverimage was constructed Berkhofer argues they always served the needs bothintellectually
Text of the Paper:
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From war chants and tom-a-hawks to fans dressed in war paint, negative images of "The Indian" abound. The White Man's Indian Despite their widely diverse cultures, in The White Man's IndianRobert F. Berkhofer (7) argues that white euro-Americans (i.e. Ward Churchill (372) finds these images so potentially destructive ofNative culture that he argues they represent a violation of the Genevaconvention, which makes it "a crime against humanity to create conditionsleading to the destruction of an identifiable human group." Not until the195 s, according to Berkhofer (66), did a focus on "cultural pluralism" andunderstanding each culture only relative to its own cultural history beginto take shape in professional literature, which may explain why such imagesof Native Americans continue to endure. InOregon, the noble savage Indian is portrayed in commercials describing howhis reservation's casino profits are benefitting the environment. In so doing, an entireculture of tribal nations that varied widely were reduced to stereotypicalconstructions of good (noble savage) or bad (bloodthirsty savage) byethnocentric white Americans who posited such images on Native Americans tojustify their own treatment and behavior toward them. culture and artistic expression. Highly popular, the advertisement alsoconveyed the bathos of the Indian, that of a doomed civilization. "Crimes Against Humanity." Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology. As Dr. Richard Lapchick,professor of cultural anthropology at Northeastern University, asks, "Couldyou imagine people mocking African Americans in black face at a game? The White Man's Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present. Margaret Anderson and Patricia Hill. whiteAmericans) tended to homogenize Indian tribal groups into images of "TheIndian," and along a dichotomy of good/bad that existed since AmerigoVespucci first described them in these two categories. From Chief Osceola, the Florida State Seminoles' mascot, whorides a horse onto the field before each game in full Indian headdress andwar paint, to the names of football teams like the Washington Redskins, theimage of the bloodthirsty savage still exists. The whollyconstructed image of "The Indian" by white Americans ranged from theclassic images of either noble savage or bloodthirsty savage. 366-373."Native American Mascots Big Issue in College Sports." Tolerance.Org: A Web Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, 9 May. Despite the noble savage image persisting in films like Dances withWolves, many images and signifiers of Indians in modern culture show the"bad" Indian. New York: Vintage, 1979.Churchill, Ward. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1994. We see ample evidence of Berkhofer's contention that images of "TheIndian" still play out in popular culture and artistic expression. Berkhofer's White Man's Indian demonstrates how colonial orimperialistic cultures often construct images of the "other" in order toserve their own perceptual and practical needs. This analysis willreflect on the persistence of these ethnocentrically constructed images of"The Indian" and how they play out in popular culture and artisticexpression. Yetgo to a game where there is a team with an Indian name and you will seefans with war paint on their faces. Whateverimage was constructed, Berkhofer argues they always served the needs, bothintellectually and materially, of white Americans. Works CitedBerkhofer, Robert F. Ed. Is this not equivalent to blackface"(Native 1)? Ironically,Berkhofer maintains Indians in modern culture have also viewed themselvesas a homogenized group in order to achieve their own political and socialagenda, co-opting the view of white Americans for their own ends. 2 8 . Showing just how true Berkhofer's contention is that the good/badimage of "The Indian" exists to this day, we need only look at other groupslike Jews, African Americans, or homosexuals to see that only NativeAmericans are still subjected to such widespread and negative stereotypingin U.S. 2 1, 17 Nov. Native Americans continue to beportrayed in ways that perpetuate negative images in ways that none ofthese other minority groups would tolerate. Asimilar separation is used from the Indian and his tribe, as he is shown innature, alone, wearing Western clothes in a manner similar to thedescription of Iron Eyes Cody in the "it's a crying shame" pollutionadvertisement (Berkhofer 19). Education is supposed to promote equality, tolerance, andgreater sensitivity toward diverse groups, but schools earn millions ofdollars in ticket sales, merchandising, and broadcast rights to gamesfeaturing such team names, mascots, and images.
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