Portrayal of Native Americans in Film Essay -- Native American Stereot

When Columbus first set foot in the New World, he believed that he had arrived in the islands just off the coast of Cipango, known today as China. Thinking this, he called the people that he met Indians, as they lived on the islands that he falsely believed were the Indies. The term Indian spread back to Europe, as did the term Indies, and to this day, Native Americans are known as Indians, and the Caribbean islands are referred to as the West Indies. The Indians populated a much greater area than Columbus could have imagined, covering the land of two Continents. The Native people of these lands, known already by a term in their languages that roughly meant "the people", were now thrown into one large group called Indians, which stretched nearly pole to pole. The Indians were an invented people. The place they inhabited was not the Indies, and their culture varied from tribe to tribe. The Indian in film is also an invented population of people. No distinction between reality and the imagination are made in these movies. The portrayal of the Native American, and the Native American ways of life were displayed incorrectly in film, and warped the image of the Native American in the eyes of all Americans, especially their descendants. The movies studied vary, from those dealing with Columbus' first encounter with these fascinating people, up through to the end of the 19th century. The films viewed include: 1492 (1992), Christopher Columbus (1985), Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), The Last of The Mohicans (1992), Apache (1954), Dances With Wolves (1990), Crazy Horse (1996), A Man Called Horse (1970), A Man Called Horse III (1982), Soldier Blue (1970), Buffalo Bill and The Indians (1976), and Black Robe (1991). Th... ... L. Native American Images and Stereotypes. 1996. http://www.millersv.edu/~columbus/search/papers/garner ~1.html Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com Last of the Mohicans, The. Dir. Michael Mann. With Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeline Stowe. 20th Century Fox. 1992. 122 min. Mission, The. Dir. Roland Joffe. With Jeremy Irons and Robert Deniro. Warner. 1986. 125 min. Pathfinder, The. Dir. Donald Shabib. With Kevin Dillon and Graham Greene. Leather Stocking. 1996. 84 min. Soldier Blue. Dir. Ralph Nelson. With Candice Bergen and Peter Strauss. AVCO. 1970. 114 min. Spence, Lewis. Myths and Legends of the North American Indians. London: George G. Harrap & Company, 1914. Tecumseh. Dir. Larry Elikann. With Jesse Borrego. 1995. Wilson, Samuel M. Hispaniola: Caribbean Chiefdoms in the Age of Columbus. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press,1990. Portrayal of Native Americans in Film Essay -- Native American Stereot When Columbus first set foot in the New World, he believed that he had arrived in the islands just off the coast of Cipango, known today as China. Thinking this, he called the people that he met Indians, as they lived on the islands that he falsely believed were the Indies. The term Indian spread back to Europe, as did the term Indies, and to this day, Native Americans are known as Indians, and the Caribbean islands are referred to as the West Indies. The Indians populated a much greater area than Columbus could have imagined, covering the land of two Continents. The Native people of these lands, known already by a term in their languages that roughly meant "the people", were now thrown into one large group called Indians, which stretched nearly pole to pole. The Indians were an invented people. The place they inhabited was not the Indies, and their culture varied from tribe to tribe. The Indian in film is also an invented population of people. No distinction between reality and the imagination are made in these movies. The portrayal of the Native American, and the Native American ways of life were displayed incorrectly in film, and warped the image of the Native American in the eyes of all Americans, especially their descendants. The movies studied vary, from those dealing with Columbus' first encounter with these fascinating people, up through to the end of the 19th century. The films viewed include: 1492 (1992), Christopher Columbus (1985), Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), The Last of The Mohicans (1992), Apache (1954), Dances With Wolves (1990), Crazy Horse (1996), A Man Called Horse (1970), A Man Called Horse III (1982), Soldier Blue (1970), Buffalo Bill and The Indians (1976), and Black Robe (1991). Th... ... L. Native American Images and Stereotypes. 1996. http://www.millersv.edu/~columbus/search/papers/garner ~1.html Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com Last of the Mohicans, The. Dir. Michael Mann. With Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeline Stowe. 20th Century Fox. 1992. 122 min. Mission, The. Dir. Roland Joffe. With Jeremy Irons and Robert Deniro. Warner. 1986. 125 min. Pathfinder, The. Dir. Donald Shabib. With Kevin Dillon and Graham Greene. Leather Stocking. 1996. 84 min. Soldier Blue. Dir. Ralph Nelson. With Candice Bergen and Peter Strauss. AVCO. 1970. 114 min. Spence, Lewis. Myths and Legends of the North American Indians. London: George G. Harrap & Company, 1914. Tecumseh. Dir. Larry Elikann. With Jesse Borrego. 1995. Wilson, Samuel M. Hispaniola: Caribbean Chiefdoms in the Age of Columbus. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press,1990.