Before I came into this class, I was only
exposed to Native Americans through cartoons and western movies. When I
thought of Indians, I thought of feathers, a dark tan, leather clothes,
face paint, and bows and arrows. When I was 6, I tried to be Tiger Lily
from Peter Pan. I remember trying to bend some branches into a bow and arrow
and sticking strips of sticky notes on my face for war paint. That was what
being an Indian was to me back then.
Then when Pocahontas came out, it reinforced my idea that Indians are one
with the Earth. The movie also depicted Indians as purely good people living
in their native land. It did not show Indians with wholly human characteristics.
They were mostly nice and understanding people in the cartoon, which makes
them unreal. Furthermore, the Indians from Dances with Wolves best
demonstrated the non-cartoon Indians that I envisioned when thinking about
American Indians. Although I learned about Indians in schools, we did not
really cover them fairly. Everything we learned was stereotypes. I knew
about the land issue, but not the details of the struggle. Neither did I
know about the injustices of the laws regarding America's natives. I did
no know about all the oppression or years of struggle that Indians had to
endure to achieve what they have today. I always thought of Indians of living
in the forest and being one with the wilderness. The images of Thanksgiving
always include Indians in my mind. I think of the Indians introducing corn
to the Pilgrims during the first Thanksgiving. When I was in elementary
school, I had a picture book about the first Thanksgiving. I distinctly
remember the classical scene with pilgrims and Indians eating together on
a table covered in white cloth. The Indians and Pilgrims were drawn in the
action passing corn and mashed potatoes to each other during the meal. Moreover,
in first grade, we had a teepee that the children took turns sleeping in
during nap time. I remember being really excited when it was finally my
turn to sleep in it. The most recent Indian character that I have seen on
television is John Redcorn from King of the Hill. He mentioned
land rights and the cruel injustice of the laws concerning the property
of Native Americans. In short, everything I knew about Indians was either
from entertainment or very typical portrayals from text books.
Then when Pocahontas came out, it reinforced my idea that Indians are one with the Earth. The movie also depicted Indians as purely good people living in their native land. It did not show Indians with wholly human characteristics. They were mostly nice and understanding people in the cartoon, which makes them unreal. Furthermore, the Indians from Dances with Wolves best demonstrated the non-cartoon Indians that I envisioned when thinking about American Indians. Although I learned about Indians in schools, we did not really cover them fairly. Everything we learned was stereotypes. I knew about the land issue, but not the details of the struggle. Neither did I know about the injustices of the laws regarding America's natives. I did no know about all the oppression or years of struggle that Indians had to endure to achieve what they have today. I always thought of Indians of living in the forest and being one with the wilderness. The images of Thanksgiving always include Indians in my mind. I think of the Indians introducing corn to the Pilgrims during the first Thanksgiving. When I was in elementary school, I had a picture book about the first Thanksgiving. I distinctly remember the classical scene with pilgrims and Indians eating together on a table covered in white cloth. The Indians and Pilgrims were drawn in the action passing corn and mashed potatoes to each other during the meal. Moreover, in first grade, we had a teepee that the children took turns sleeping in during nap time. I remember being really excited when it was finally my turn to sleep in it. The most recent Indian character that I have seen on television is John Redcorn from King of the Hill. He mentioned land rights and the cruel injustice of the laws concerning the property of Native Americans. In short, everything I knew about Indians was either from entertainment or very typical portrayals from text books.
