Representations of Native Americans in U.S. culture? A case of omissions and commissions

ABSTRACT

In settler colonial societies, colonizers often omit contemporary Indigenous Peoples from representations, while controlling signifiers of indigeneity to legitimate their interests (e.g., stereotypes). Both omissions and commissions, including stereotyping, are central to oppression experienced by contemporary Native Americans. We employ a sample of over 5,500 non-Native survey participants to examine the extent of omissions and commissions in recalled representations of films and television shows with Native American characters and famous living and deceased Native Americans. Then, we analyze the content of the most commonly recalled representations. We find that many participants are unable to recall representations of Native Americans, especially contemporary representations. The most commonly experienced representations involve stereotyping, as well as little content that is not stereotypical. We discuss the implications of our findings, and situate them in the context of settler colonialism in the United States.

KEYWORDS:

• American indians
• colonialism
• mass media
• popular culture
• stereotypes

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Philip J. Deloria, Jeffrey Montez de Oca, and Elizabeth M. Morgan for their assistance on this research project.

Disclosure Statement

We have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Notes

¹ There are a variety of terms, with various justifications, that we could use to refer to American Indian/Native American Peoples. We use the term ‘Native American’ because it references both Indigeneity and present-day United States territory. When our point includes Indigenous Peoples outside the borders of present-day United States, we use the term ‘Indigenous’ rather than ‘Native American.’

² By cultural hegemony, we mean that the dominant group exerts the most control over the dominant culture within a society, including dominant group omission and biased representations of subordinate groups, resulting in widespread belief in ideology that renders the status quo as natural, which ultimately benefits the dominant group (Hall, 1977).

³ The authors of this article, in order of authorship, identify as a sociologist who is a White American; a media communication scholar who is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation; an Indigenous studies anthropologist who is of Eastern Cherokee descent; a social and developmental psychologist who is a Black American; and a social psychologist who is a citizen of the Tulalip Tribes. These aspects of the authors’ background informed the selection of our research topic, survey questions, data analysis, and concerns about our findings.

⁴ There are over 550 federally-recognized Native Nations, as well as state-recognized and unrecognized Native Nations. Among these Nations, there are many different cultures. However, Hollywood often conflates these cultures, drawing from multiple cultures and from inaccurate imagined aesthetics and behaviors to create a generalized ‘Native American culture.’

⁵ That mainstream U.S culture often leaves unchallenged questionable individual claims to Native identity likely contributes to misunderstandings among non-Native people that undermine the right of Native Nations and communities to control Native identity. When Native Nations cannot control public perceptions of Native identity, this can reduce their power to achieve their goals (Garroutte, 2003; McKay, 2021; Mihesuah, 1996; Sturm, 2010).

Additional information

Funding

The data discussed in this paper is derived from studies funded by a $65,000 grant from the Reclaiming Native Truth Project, managed by First Nations Development Institute and Echo Hawk Consulting, and funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. These studies were led by Stephanie A. Fryberg (University of Michigan), and involved Arianne E. Eason (University of California at Berkeley) and Laurel R. Davis-Delano (Springfield College).