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BOB — University of Nebraska Press / Page 17 / / So You Want to Write about American Indians? / Devon Abbott Mihesuah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 [First Page] [17], (1) Lines: 0 to 34 ——— -3.69977pt PgVar ——— Normal Page PgEnds: TEX [17], (1) chapter two Stereotypes and Other Mistakes For readers who are well aware of Native history and culture, reading a book replete with stereotypes is unbearable. Imagine how modern-day Natives feel when they read that their ancestors were “savages,”“ignorant ,” or “heathens,” or the countless other unsubstantiated stereotypical claims made by writers in thousands of books, essays, magazine articles, and children’s stories. How do you think Native children endure classes taught by teachers who are woefully ignorant of tribal life but assert that Indigenous peoples are inferior to whites and continue to equate tribes with animals? To make certain that your work is honest (you still have to verify the facts yourself),check your work carefully for the following stereotypes. Some are contained in the most popular movies about Native people and tribes that have emerged from Hollywood. If you have included these stereotypes, then you’re either aware of it and are using them to make money, or you aren’t aware that these images are stereotypes. Either way, your work needs revision. These stereotypes are covered more intensively in my book American Indians: Stereotypes and Realities (Atlanta: Clarity, 1996) in addition to Gretchen Bataille and Charles P. Silet, The Pretend Indians: Images of Native Americans in the Movies (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1980); Aelene B. Hirschfelder, American Indian Stereotypes in the World of Children (Metuchen nj: Scarecrow Press, 1982); and Raymond William Stedman, Shadows of the Indians: Stereotypes in American Culture (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1982). IndianWomen Are Princesses Thousands of Americans insist they have a“Cherokee Princess Grandmother .” The claims are so pervasive that Natives have a name for it: 17 BOB — University of Nebraska Press / Page 18 / / So You Want to Write about American Indians? / Devon Abbott Mihesuah stereotypes and other mistakes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 [18], (2) Lines: 34 to 48 ——— 12.00046pt PgVar ——— Normal Page PgEnds: TEX [18], (2) cpgs (Cherokee Princess Grandmother Syndrome). There were and are no “Indian princesses.” This image was created by Europeans who, upon encountering Natives in the New World, desired to speak with kings. Tribal leaders were often seen in a comparable light and their daughters soon became known as princesses. This image also encompasses the stereotype of the “Indian maiden” as beautiful and willing to leave her tribe in order to marry any white man who came along. If you have a female player, make certain she is not overly beautiful, willful, or lustful. If she does marry a white man, then include the rationalization for the union in clear terms. Sexual attraction is not the only reason most people get married, and that holds true for both Natives and whites. Indian Women Are Squaws If a Native woman is not beautiful and attracted to white guys,then she is the ugly,violent squaw who kills her enemies with more ferocity than her male counterpart. If you include a female such as this,then you had better include a justification for her behavior. If she is defending her land, tribe, and family, then she has good reason to behave in an angry fashion. Native Women Are Unimportant Women were and are active in every aspect of their tribes. Traditionally, women were powerful and respected. In Iroquois tribes, for example, women controlled the economy and the politics. Elder women decided when to declare war and when to stop it. They decided the fate of captives and they appointed the tribal leaders. In traditional Cherokee society, women decided how to punish transgressors. The problem for Native women came about with the invasion of missionaries, who preached that God is male and that men are superior to women. When white men started marrying Native women, European culture interjected itself into every aspect of tribal life, one result of which was the upheaval of traditional tribal gender roles. We have this stereotype...

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