Stereotypical Native Americans
Stereotyping is a common practice in today's society. What happens when you use stereotypes is you draw on preconceived notions about certain racial or ethnic groups to define a person or group of people. These preconceived views may not be entirely true. Many races and ethnic groups are often hurt by these stereotypes. An example of a racial stereotype is that all Latin Americans are gang-bangers and drug addicts. This is not entirely true. Though Hispanic members of society may be involved in these activities, so are other ethnic groups. Latin Americans have also gone on to become more productive members of society. These preconceived notions often take form on the media, and stem from there out into society, defining our "people". Smoke Signals is the first real movie in today's society that accurately depicts the lives of Native Americans and addresses the stereotypes that come to mind when a person thinks of the Native American culture. This story, produced by Sherman Alexie, is a tale about a young man's journey to another state to gather the remains of his long estranged father. This tale travels along with Victor Joseph and Thomas
Rausch, David A. and Blair Schlepp. Native American Voices. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books. 1994. 151-158 Drinking problems among these indigenous peoples may arise from being over-stressed, and extreme depression. This is often not because they want to, but because they feel they have nowhere else to turn. This can be shown in the movie. Arnold Joseph and his family are quite poor and struggle to make ends meet. They have very little money, and there is not much that they can do about it. Arnold fills his boredom and depression with alcohol. Stereotypes of indigenous peoples are prevalent in the media. Most often, the stereotypes that we formulate in our minds are what we decode from the media. It is wondered whether American and Canadian films of the past two decades that feature Indian subjects accurately represent Indians realistically or simply ideological needs of "non Indians". It is known that Native Americans may experience biased type-casting treatment throughout the media, politics, and society. (Appleford 105) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Native Americans are so often seen as the deviant in the media. They are seen as stoic, and totally against the white man. If anyone was to be racist, than they would be it. But that does not mean that they are. They are like everyone else on this earth. They seek shelter and food. They long for happiness and joy. Yet the Native American population is the most ignored, misunderstood group of people in this entire world. While others are reeling over victories won by their respective minority groups (social equality, civil rights, etc.), Native Americans are struggling not to be erased. Very little is known about these indigenous people. They are seen as one group, but really are made up of a multitude of diverse "nations". However, because of recent economic events, the Coeur d'Alene Indian reservation is not an prominent economic one, and this is often shown in the movie. These unfortunate economic events may play a part in the portrayal of "alcoholism" in Smoke Signals. Most Native Americans are known to be poor. According to Winds of Renewal. the "average income ...on reservations is less than $5000." There is a serious lack of government support for these Indian reservations, and not much can be done to improve their own economic sta
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1592
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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