Misrepresentation in the Film Industry: The Appropriation of Indigenous Culture

The idea of equal representation is becoming an exceedingly traversed issue in modern Western society. There has never been more interest in seeking and lobbying for fair and truthful representation for both underrepresented and misrepresented populations than in our current social climate, predicated on inclusion and equity. This newfound surge for equal representation can easily be seen through a statistical analysis of the ethnicity of lead actors in the United States film industry over the last decade; as of 2020, the distribution of lead actors from minority groups compared to white lead actors is reported to be approximately 39.7% to 60.3%, nearly four times the representation for minority groups recorded in 2011 (Navarro, 2021).

While the fight for equal representation resides in the public spotlight, the film industry’s knack for misrepresenting cultural groups continues to slip under the radar unnoticed. This misrepresentation is clearly evident through the portrayal of Indigenous roles in both past and present cinematography. In the past, Indigenous peoples were labeled as uncivilized and manic savages, often compared to beasts as opposed to human beings. Thomas King argues that this negative misrepresentation can be dated back to when the Puritans crafted their own narratives about Indians to prevent them from interfering in their acquisition of new land: “William Morrell…imagined Native people as dangerous…Nathanial Saltonstall…liked Indians to wolves…Adrianus Smoutuis summed up the feelings that most colonists had for Indians when he described them as ‘savage and wild, strangers to all decency… uncivil and stupid as garden poles’” (King, 2010, p. 62-63).

In past American films, Indigenous peoples were mainly cast for two roles: the faithful and subservient sidekick, who’s sole purpose was to aid the white protagonist or the wild and violent savage who filled the role of the antagonist. Casting them in this way led people to believe that these narratives were commonplace and therefore must be true; Indigenous folk could either act as submissive subhumans or crazed beast men and nothing else. An example of the sidekick misrepresentation is depicted by the character Tonto in the movie series “Lone Ranger” where the “noble savage” aids the white lead actor willingly (Cultural Appropriation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, 2020, para 22). Films that portrayed Indigenous peoples in this light contributed to the creation of the stereotype that still follows and haunts them today.

Despite the West’s gradual increase in support for underrepresented groups in the film industry, our society has much ground to cover if we are to truly live by the values of equity and inclusion that our current social climate leans towards. Regarding films including Indigenous actors and themes, I think King would argue that more effort needs to be placed in incorporating Indigenous perspectives and knowledge throughout the film making process. Just casting Indigenous actors in films is not enough; these actors need to have the creative freedom to evaluate and revise their role in films to better represent both themselves and their identity as an Indigenous person to help break the stigma surrounding past Indigenous roles in films.

For more information on Navarro’s study, click on the link here.

For more examples of stereotyping and appropriation of Indigenous culture in Canada, visit the Canadian Encyclopedia at their weblink here.

I agree with Clay's point that the way Indigenous people are portrayed in films has led to the formation of a stereotype that still follows them today. Growing up, I remember a common game we played at recess and birthday parties called Cowboys and Indians. In this game, the cowboys would round up all the Indians and bring them to jail. As a young child, I did not see anything wrong with this game as it played along with the ideas I had seen in Westerns I watched with my Grandfather. In these tv shows, the Indigenous people were portrayed as the villains who lived in an uncivilized society and prevented the advancement of society. In these movies, mothers could be seen gathering their children and rushing indoors when Indigenous people came to the farms or entered town. Despite growing up in a town that borders the largest reservation in Canada and seeing firsthand that the population was not relatable to how it was portrayed in media, my view remained that of the westerns I watched. As I got older and moved into upper elementary, I began to take note of the inconsistencies between what I saw on TV and what the Indigenous communities were really like. To this day, we still see cases where Indigenous cultures are misrepresented or where aspects of their culture are appropriated in an attempt to portray the Indigenous people. This inappropriate and often unacknowledged use of Indigenous culture's customs, practices, and ideas paints an irreversible picture that is adopted into societies' already tainted understanding of Indigenous peoples.

Brian Young, a Navajo actor and filmmaker, discussed the appropriation and misrepresentation of Indigenous peoples and culture in his article "Why I Won't Wear War Paint and Feathers in a Movie Again." Young calls attention to the fact that some of the things used to portray Indigenous people, such as wearing war paint and feathered outfits, go against Indigenous culture and beliefs where such outfits are not casually worn and are treated with respect only worn for specific purposes. By taking these cultural traditions and popularizing them to define a people, we are turning their culture, traditions and beliefs into a joke. Today children are seen dressed up as Indians for Halloween, wearing mass-produced costumes that make light of something that should not be taken lightly or even worn by non-Indigenous people. Continuing down this popular path of cultural appropriation and creating jokes out of aspects of Indigenous culture, we are not rectifying how Indigenous people are viewed. Instead, we are cementing these cultural stereotypes and making it harder for Indigenous communities to break free of the stereotypes society and film has given them.

https://time.com/3916680/native-american-hollywood-film/

Clay this post is extremely thoughful and well put!

I would like to add that even though we as a society are making some of the right steps as to bring proper representation into our media the stereotypes have slowly evolved with it. In the past the stereotype was that Indigineous people were seen as lower than human or "savages" but in the present, even though our understanding has become more clear on right and wrong the we still seem to put a label on Indigenous people that does not accurately reflect their culture or values. Time and time again, especially in southern Alberta, we tend to hold judgements about those who live alternate lifestyles from that of our own. Some of these preconceived notions are that Indigenous people are alcholics and live a less than ideal life with harsh living conditions. I would like to attribute this to the film industry's "progressive movement" toward proper representation and how misguided it can and has become. Even in regular media that reports news they shed light on problems that occur within indigenous commmunites through a eurocentric lens that solidifies these stereotypes held against Indigneous groups.

Even in my own life, I have heard words that only serve to bring Indigenous groups down through racism and hatred. The film industry does not serve to challenge this issue as King has expressed this idea of how silly it is to have someone who grew up in a eurocentric experience to try and represent Indigenous people. When one has grown up in a eurocentric landscape they have a tendancy to misrepresent cultures that do not belong to them and this has severe impacts as media is one of the number one influences on people in present day. Every day we consume media of all types and it is this media that we base our judgments off of. This causes an effect where even though we are becoming more culturally aware we still are comitting the same mistakes but they are in a different disguise. At the end of the day the eurocentric film industry struggles to provide proper representation of indigenous culture as they still fall into stereotypes to this day even though they are not the exact same as the past stereotypes.

To wrap this reply up, I would like to say that the whole reason this happens is due to the fact that in the entertainment industry their number one focus is entertainment. To achieve this they must make sure the audience knows what they are looking like which gives them a large incentive to lean on stereotypes of specific groups of people. Sadly, even though they present themselves as being progressive we must take a look through a critical lens to make sure that the misrepresentation and appropriation of Indigenous culture does not go unnoticed. It is time for change and change starts with the media we consume.

This is a great topic as the film industry has continued to poorly cast people in roles to fit a stereotypical model with the belief they are doing the right thing and being more inclusive. Unfortunely, with the world pushing for more inclusion, the lack of education of specific topics still exists and people are being casted in roles to look a certain stereotypical way because they either look the part or the industry doesnt actually put the effort in to learn. This is a common theme when casting people with disabilities with the prime example of "Drake" finding his claim to fame when playing a person with cerebral palsy on the show Degrassi. The film industry could have easily found a person with cerebral palsy to play the part but there are many assumptions that people with disabilities would not be able to physically or cognitively endure this type of role. This is more common then most people believe and there is still a long way to go before roles are portrayed properly for socieity to see. Thank you for bringing up this topic as I hope it starts a conversation between the readers.