The Media's Portrayal of Native Americans

"Reel Injun," Directed by Neil Diamond (2009)

In the documentary "Reel Injun," directed by by Neil Diamond, he focuses on the worlds misunderstandings and stereotypes of Native Americans through cinema.  Mr. Diamond begins the film by talking about the silent movie era all the way through to present day cinema.  We see throughout his storytelling, the way that Native Americans have been portrayed and often referred to as "drunk Indians" or "savages" in movies (Reel Injun).  The director truly makes us as viewers realize that we as non-Native people, have assumed or currently assume how they lived and what they wore because that was all derived from films that we watched as a child.  We viewed Native Americans through our pre-conditioned lenses fogged by the stereotypes we came to learn through various media.

Movie Show in "Reel Injun" (2009)

The impact of films and other media that helped to create the stereotypical image of Native Americans have also begun to infiltrate other areas of our culture.  Sports for example has contributed toward the continuation of certain stereotypes of the Native people through the names of sports teams and logos depicting their images (Washington Post).    

Washington Red Skins Logo (2019)
College Football Team

Recently, the Washington Red Skins have absurd a great deal of criticize for continuing to the name "Redskins" for their football team.  Many advocates of Native Americans have protested vehemently to the Redskins and the NFL in hopes that the name would be changed to something non-offensive.

Moreover, movements such as those against the NFL as well as new films and media that more truly depict this mistreatment of Native Americans are serving a crucial role in our society today.  The renewed spotlight is a call to action for all of us to re-examine our biases and prejudices towards Native Americans and the role they played in the history of America.  It is time we re-examine the pain and suffering that we inflicted not only in years past, but even today because we have continued to carry harmful stereotypes throughout our culture.  We need to bolster our collective efforts to rid society of such hurtful, condescending nor misleading caricatures. 

Annotated Bibliography

Blackistone, Kevin, "Native American activists continue their fight against Redskins team name," The Washington Post, posted on September 17, 2019.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/native-american-activists-continue-their-fight-against-redskins-team-name/2018/09/17/4438443c-ba86-11e8-bdc0-90f81cc58c5d_story.html?utm_term=.297cedd3819b

PBS Staff, "Reel Injun: On the Trail of the Hollywood Indian," PBS, accessed on April 28, 2019. 
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/reel-injun/