NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN
a history of rich culture, powerful leaders,
and misconceptions
"It is difficult to be an actor regardless of who you are. But as far as facing adversity based on racial bias, I don't think there is any doubt that actors of a Native American ethnicity have faced an uphill struggle. We still face that uphill struggle."
--Tokala Cliffod, Native American Actor
MEDIA REPRESENTATION
In Hollywood, Native Americans-- especially women-- are rarely represented as anything but bloodthirsty savages or mystical spirit-healers. In very few movies are Native Americans portrayed as mutli-dimensional; usually, only flat, heavily stereotyped characters are seen in movies. Especially in old Western films, the stereotype of the savage was created, drawn most likely from portrayals of Indians in the early years of American colonization, where European assimilation and destruction was "justified" in the so-called uncivilized and/or brutal nature of Native Americans. Curiously enough, these extroardinarily racist stereotypes continued well into the twentieth century, with many Western style, Indian vs. Cowboy movies rising in the '40s and '50s. Even today, children can be seen dressing up as "savage Indians" for Halloween.
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In today's media, it's clear that more opportunities are being created for Native Americans in Hollywood and in press media-- but certainly, they are still very restricted by age-old stereotypes. Only recently has there been any change in Native American's roles in movies, and many Indian characters in movies are white-washed, as white people are being casted as natives in films. Although new movies-- such as Chris Eyre's 1998 Smoke Signals, which features an all-Native American cast-- are stepping forward and creating new mediums of representation, more and more whitwashing is occuring in blockbuster films simultaneously. X-Men Origins: Wolverwine, the Twilight trilogy, and Pan all feature Native American characters that are casted by people of white descent. There are plenty of Native American actors and actresses in Hollywood, but a lack of sensitivity has left the Indian population unrepresented.
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Despite a steady lack of Native American representation in the past few decades, it is clear that change is occuring. As Native American representation is more requested by Americans of all ethnicities, a wider portyrayal of Native American actors will certainly come to light. We, and the generations ahead of us, have a chance to bring Native American representation in the media forth.