Anthropology chair leads faculty forum
Speaking at the Faculty Forum on Nov. 1, Chair and Professor of Anthropology Greg Reinhardt discussed American Indian stereotypes presented in his upcoming book, “Depicting Indians.”
“Indians—in italics, I mean—is not from Native American, or American Indians. That is too broad,” Reinhardt said. “Indians means the ideas that we portray them as now.”
Associate Provost Mary Beth Bagg said that Reinhardt did not disappoint her.
“It was a really well thought out and interesting presentation,” Bagg said. “It causes us to step back and think about others.”
In Reinhardt’s book, he assesses the different representations of Indians.
“We don’t view them as real people, we view them as mystical beings, noble savages, threatening, loving and selfless,” Reinhardt said. “But they are people.”
Reinhardt said that in his 500-page book, he has a chapter devoted to each of the ways people degrade the idea of Indians.
He addressed everything from the idea of clothing and the military to how they are used in comic book cover art.
Reinhardt said that stereotypes about the clothing of Indians portray them with headdresses, wraps around their loins, dresses and tops for the females.
Reinhardt said that these are not true, and that, in actuality, Native Americans dress exactly as we do.
In discussing the military chapter, Reinhardt said that sometimes Indians are portrayed as peaceful beings, while at other times portrayed as warriors and savages.
“Half of them [pictures] that came from this time seems realistic; the other, cartoons,” Reinhardt said. “In the military now, even the Marines have a little Indian statue that they take with them when they are deployed.”
Greg Reinhardt spoke on Nov. 1 about Native American stereotypes as presented in his upcoming book. Photo by Kyle Weidner
Reinhardt said that starting in the 1930s, Indians began appearing on the covers of comic books, ranging from villains to heroes to European Americans.
In the Confusing Identities chapter, Reinhardt addresses how Indians are portrayed in any animal, and any shape or size.
“There are some penguin Indians and centaur Indians,” Reinhardt said. “It confuses the identity of what an Indian, or the idea of an Indian, is or entails. Even White Indians, where celebrities dress up as Indians even though they do not have any native blood, but they claim to relate to them.”
“We also have this stereotype of Indians using broken English,” Reinhardt said. “It is a continued stereotype that never ceases to amaze and confound me and will not go away.”
The final chapter of Reinhardt’s book is called End of the Trail and Back Again. Reinhardt said that the title and the way the items were presented are both symbolic.
According to Reinhardt, these stereotypes simply exist out of racism.
“If it were any other group, this would not happen,” Reinhardt said. “But because it is Indians, who cannot get their voice heard, it does.”
