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I M Not The Indian You Had In Mind By Thomas King

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“I’m Not the Indian You Had in Mind” is a story written by Thomas King, a Canadian Native American novelist. This analysis of King’s story will explore the problematic representation of indigenous people in films and media. Using the Critical Race Theory (CRT) point of view, this analysis will examine how Thomas King confronts stereotypes and calls attention to the ongoing struggles for proper representation of indigenous people.

Critical Race Theory, a framework developed by Kimberle Crenshaw in the 1980s, examines how race, racism, and society intertwine (Bhambra). CRT analyses on the basis that “race is a culturally invented category used to oppress people of color and the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist” (“Critical Race Theory”). Applying CRT to King’s story showcases the ways in which racism and racial stereotypes negatively affect Native Americans. …show more content…

In mainstream medias, Native American representation is romanticized, portraying them as: “the warrior in the video store / the movies that we all adore / the cliches that we can’t rewind” (King, lines 9-11). In these lines, King shows how stereotypes minimize the complexity of indigenous cultures and instead reinforces the superficiality of an “Indian” identity.

A prominent concept of critical race theory is how white people interpret the world, believing that their view is at the center of the universe. The views of white people are what shape negative stereotypes and perspectives of other races and shove them onto other races. In this story, King shows how white people embody indigenous people as one stereotypical person, “I’m not the one you have in mind / I’ve seen him, I’ve seen him ride,” which disregards their individuality (lines

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