Reel Injun Analysis

Native American’s for many years now have been viewed as lone warriors or squaw, some people don’t even know that they still exist! People just think of the Native American people in storybook tales and nothing more then that. The Native Americans have been living in the United States for awhile now and were the first ones on the country’s soil. They were here way before Christopher Columbus and the other European Colonists even discovered America and they are still present in the U.S. They were the country 's foundation before the 18th century. However, the media plays a major role in the misrepresentation of the Native Americans and refuses to reveal the hidden truth about them and their culture. Native Americans are seen as “savage people” and always have been since the first settlers arrived to America. This is not how all Natives are but that 's how the TV and media have shown them. The media today consists of a huge diversity of different things. This is because the United States is known as the melting pot country and today 's society doesn 't understand the real history of the Native American people. They are easily one of the top most underrepresented cultures and people in the media in today’s world. This is why there are stereotypes of them throughout the media. Native Americans are stereotyped in many ways such as in movies, tv shows, books, etc. They are also stereotyped in

Throughout the 1930’s, all the way to about 1960, Dartmouth’s portrayal of the Native American had become accepted as fact, and engrossed into the everyday culture of the school. From large, extravagant murals, inaccurately representing Native Americans, to football chants and screams that mocked the Native American culture, the duration of the Dartmouth Indian mascot was long, and tells an interesting story about the attitudes that prevailed over the decades. It also provides insight as to why Dartmouth College currently has no official mascot, and probably never will again.

Recently, the use of controversial words has become a heavily debated topic and has gained international attention as seemingly truthful statements to some, cause insult to others. The Times article "Why 'Redskins' Is a Bad Word", by acclaimed linguist and professor John McWhortor, was published around the time the use of the word Redskin was being debated. In the article, McWhortor aims to clarify the condemnation of the word Redskin, by suggesting that the offence does not stem from the literal definition of such words, but instead the negative and often derogatory connotations the words have. McWhorter begins by introducing the recent discussions surrounding the use of the word Redskins, especially the actions taken by Californian schools

The film, Reel Injun reveals a distortion of the way Hollywood sees Native American life through comedy and the real way Native Americans live which changes according to the current times. Neil Diamond sets out on a journey across America to figure out where the incorrect image of Natives arose from, all signs pointing towards Hollywood. Dozens of films recreate the way Americans believe Natives live as savages and wear costumes and decorated headpieces with feathers, but Hollywood does not show the true spiritual side and the meaning of why they live the way they do as true to their own culture and assimilated to the American culture as well. US history negatively affects Native American live which lead to the image of Natives to be clouded by imagination through film, changed the way Natives viewed themselves and expect to live, and misshaped the view we now have for Natives.

Native American themed mascots such as Braves and Warriors should not be used due to the misrepresentation they give of Indians. There are many sports teams and schools that use Native American themed mascots. The use of these Native American mascots have created a lot of controversy among people. One side of the argument centers around the idea that Native American mascots are misrepresented and stereotypical. The other side talks about how Native American themed mascots are used to honor Native Americans. Native American mascots though are a misrepresentation of the Native American people. As stated in the article “Native American-Themed Sports Mascots are Racist and Reinforce Negative Stereotypes” former APA President Ronald F. Levant states that “These mascots are teaching stereotypical, misleading, and too often, insulting images of American Indians.” Teams such as the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, and different schools across are depicting the

Native Americans have been stereotyped for centuries, and will still be, due to how pop culture portrays them. It may seem odd, that one would see an Indian at a salon, or playing football at first, but it is a transaction to the integration into American culture. Indians have for the most part, been treated as second class citizens, and were boosted to become more “white”. They were used by scammers, represented in early moving pictures as savage men and traded around by recruiters. Although these unfortunate detours happened to Native Americans, it paved a path for further development. Their quality of life transformed, as they had easier modes of transportation, many young men grew to be educated and masters of their sports, and changes in how whites viewed them in

Movies have become an ingrained part of American society. Ever since the first motion picture cameras were made in 1890, the film industry has had a steady growth in overall popularity. Stereotypes have a variety of effects on people and have been around long before movies. Misrepresentation in films has been around for the last 50 years for Native Americans, but the effect has been much more impactful. All of the past actions and portrayals have had a lasting effect on Native Americans throughout the country. With the importance of films/tv in the world today, stereotypes shown have made a negative impact on Native Americans everywhere.

The Indian mascot was originally designed to render tribute to Native Americans, not as a racial symbol. In the past forty years, changing the name backfired, and citizens began taking offense to the name because they felt like the name represented the color of Native American’s skin. Nevertheless, many fans, including Native Americans, do not consider the name or the mascot to be degrading or racial. Fans of the Washington Redskins participated in a poll that reveals, “77 percent reject changing the name” while in another poll “71 percent of NFL fans did not find the Redskins name offensive” (Lingebach 2). Clearly, from the results of the two polls, many fans would be unhappy if the Redskins’ name were to be changed. Also, if any professional sport teams were forced to change their names, it would have a huge negative impact on commercial products. Lingebach addresses in his article how “in another sign of support, the majority of Washington, DC fans would not purchase new team merchandise if the Redskins changed their name” (qtd. in Lingebach 2). If Native Americans and most of the National Football League fans infer that the name is not derogatory, the Redskins should not have to change their name. The Kansas City Chiefs have been lucky enough not to face the same issues as the Washington

Proud To Be (Mascots),” produced by the National Congress of American Indians, convinces the audience of the importance and necessity of changing the mascot of the Washington Redskins to something not offensive or racist towards Native Americans or any other group. Throughout the video, rhetoric provides levels of techniques in language and imagery in order to persuade the audience. The intended audience, mainstream American football fans, and their relationship with the speaker establish what group of people the ad needs to convince for the mascot to change. The video’s use of ethos, pathos, and logos through one word descriptions and images serve as the most effective visual rhetoric to the argument. Music, diction, imagery, suspense, and

“I’m not the Indian you had in mind” challenges the widely accepted image held by society of what an Indian should look, act, and essentially be like. The short video starts out with a man dressed in casual business attire carting out a life size statue of the stereotypical Indian. He takes the statue, dressed head to toe in what society expects an Indian to look like including a traditional headdress, tomahawk, long hair and clothing then places it next to a television. The man, along with a woman dressed in a blazer and pencil skirt and another man in what society would define as casual clothing, go on to tell the stories of what society believes true Indians are.

The United States of America is a land of freedom, a land of equality, and opportunity. We value independence and should look to exercise this in every form, as a nation. We must stay united and show respect to one another. This means we should not disregard ones ' ethnicity and culture, and use names in which are offensive towards their culture, in order to promote any sort of activity. This is aimed mainly at sports teams that carry racially inappropriate names. Couple teams that carry names that are very offensive to the natives are the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Blackhawks, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Chiefs, and arguably the most popular of them all, the Washington Redskins. These teams carrying such names bring offense to all the native

Tim Gautreaux used his flair for writing short story narratives to reflect Cajun culture in Louisiana. This essay explicitly focuses on analyzing his works: “Floyd’s Girl” and “Easy Pickings” and how they convey the same root message: cultural preservation. Gautreaux’s emphasis on religion, food, language, community cohesion, and devotion to the land of Louisiana all serve to endorse cultural preservation amongst Cajuns. In addition, his ability to present Cajuns and Southern-Americans as polar-opposites stresses an “us versus them” framework, which discourages assimilation into American culture. The polarization between the two is emphasized by his representation of Southern-American people as belligerent aggressors, who are prone to stealing due to their low appreciation for hard work, as opposed to Cajuns who are portrayed as non-threatening and value hard work. Ultimately, it

The Washington D.C football team has started a controversy with many people that are from the American Indian background. The “indian” sports mascot, logos, or symbols show an image of the Native American people that is not true.

"The team and its leaders are so obsessed with clinging to a dictionary-defined racial slur that they are willing to abandon their hometown and local fans in order to continue degrading Native Americans," said Joel Barkin, spokesman for the grassroots campaign. "Now that Bruce Allen has been relieved of day-to-day responsibilities as general manager he must have a lot of free time on his hands to double down on this racist moniker and try to figure out what to do about Native Americans returning donations from the team. Unfortunately, Bruce Allen, team owner Dan Snyder and the Washington team fail to understand that you cannot buy acceptance of continued racism. The Washington Redskins football team through the years has been put under increasing pressure to change its name in order to stop causing offense to Native

Have you ever been offended by a name that someone has called you? More likely than not, the answer to this question is yes. This is the stand that some Indian tribes and the government are taking on the use of Indian names and mascots in sports. This controversial topic has been discussed and argued over for at least the last decade, if not longer. People are starting to wonder if using these kinds of names are appropriate or offensive to the tribe the team is named after. The debate raises this question: should Indian names and mascots be allowed in sports?