What does it mean to be a an American?
That question is sure to elicit varying answers from each person you ask. Whether your parents moved here or you are a seventh generation citizen of The United States, how you identify yourself as an American may be based on your family upbringing, how extensively you travel or how you see yourself in the context of the world. You man even identify solely with the city or state you live in, more so than The United States as a whole. It is a very personal view and one that isn't often discussed in a casual setting. We Americans have an unsaid understanding that each individual has the right to feel anyway they like about how they view themselves and this extends to how we assimilate into the vast landscape that is America.
The land of the cultural melting pot contains all customs and civilizations of the world. Our unifying culture if you think about it, really is Pop Culture. I haven't yet visited a country that didn't try to
emulate American Pop Culture in some way shape or form. Perhaps it is because it transcends the standard social division in a traditional society which consists of communities and families bound by religious, social, economic or blood ties. Anyone can pull on a pair of jeans and jump right into the popular culture of American Consumerism! Yet Pop Culture cannot fulfill deeper meaning in ones life. It cannot continuously sustain the sense of oneness and well being I believe an individual ultimately seeks in the pursuit of happiness.
Our Pop Culture has shaped the image we have of the first Americans that lived on this land. The mystery, beauty, rituals and spirituality of the first indigenous peoples fascinates us. Symbolically, they stand as a strong people, close to the earth. That is why I believe Native American's have held such interest for photographers and film makers since the mediums were born. The desire to captured our Native Peoples initially to explore and understand their culture from an anthropological perspective, sadly gave way into exploiting and portraying our Native American brothers and sisters in demeaning and subservient roles. We were just too ignorant and greedy to realize the true riches which laid inside their knowledge.
In 1883 William Fredrick Cody started his Buffalo Bill's Wild West sideshow, which traveled throughout the US and Europe for over 10 years. It instilled a negative image of the Native American with its finale which featured a "reenactment" of an Indian attack on a settler's camp, with Cody himself portraying General Custer.
Thomas Edison's movie production studio Black Maria (or the Kinetographic Theater), actually filmed Pueblo Indians in 1894 and created several short films which were to be seen on the early Kinetoscopes. Unfortunately, the way it was edited, it promoted a demeaning and negative stereotype that would set the standard for future films featuring our Native friends.
Photographers such as Edward Sheriff Curtis, who through funds set up by J.P. Morgan set out with good intentions to record a quickly disappearing culture and produced an anthropological study in a 20 volume catalogue of over 1,500 images of Native Americans from 80 different tribes between 1906 and 1915. Yet, he also created a silent film in 1914 with the sensationalised title of "In the Land of the Head-Hunters" which was a fictionalized account of Native Americans in the Kwakwaka'wakw tribe from the central coast of British Columbia, Canada, in order to pay his debts.
As for me, I distinctly remember as a child of the early 70's seeing the "Keep America Beautiful" commercial which featured Iron Eyes Cody crying as people polluted the earth. It was a campaign that started on Earth Day in 1971 and certainly had a huge impact on my generation. I don't remember a time I didn't recycle! I'm not saying one little commercial changed America's view of the stereotypical image of Native American's but it did strengthen the image of the Native American as being more wise than our modern day society.
In his upcoming movie "The Lone Ranger", Johnny Depp seems to be trying to undo one of the most famous American Indian stereotypes of all time. He says: "I started thinking about Tonto and what could be done in my own small way too.. 'Eliminate' isn't possible - but reinvent the relationship, to attempt to take some of the ugliness thrown on the Native Americans, not only in The Lone Ranger, but the way Indians were treated throughout (the) history of cinema, and turn it on its head". Plus he's made him look HOT! Hello...
My thoughts on this all started when I remembered shooting these photographs I had taken of my friend Tony "Papa Bear" Martinez, who is indeed a Native American Indian, here in the Hollywood Hills. His ultra smooth demeanor and laid back style reminded me to stop and take a look at the moment. To stop and listen and look without doing or becoming. He was a great teacher to me and is truly a gifted storyteller. I thought it would be interesting for others who don't live in Los Angeles to realize that even in this Metropolis, there is still the land and the trees and those of us who look for it will find it in the crazy chaos of the American Pop Culture landscape.
Julie Pavlowski Green
April 20, 2013
Great article. I too grew up in the 70s, and the commercial of the crying Indian, the image of the Native American is stamped forever in our memory. I believe that most Americans know that Native Americans are the soul of our country, even though Natives weren't really represented truthfully most of the time in Cinema. What we yearn for, or should yearn for, is a reconciliation, with races, be it the African Americans, or the Native Americans. Hopefully we will get there, but, the conversation seems stuck at an angry point of what the "white" race did... I'm hoping we can move on from that in this new century, because it does belong in the 19th century. To keep being angry and fanning the flames of the ugliest and most shameful stories of our history is not telling the whole story. At some point, we have to realize that there was a war in the beginnings of this country, with Native Alliances with the British, French, Spanish, and warring continuously amongst the tribes. When English homesteaders came ala Plymouth rock, at first peacefully, but, later they would be intertwined with the aggressive fight for expansion in the West, and step into these territorial conflicts. It is very PC to broad stroke the whole history with white man/bad , natives/good, but, the historical facts are that much killing and injustice was done on both sides. Was the West, Was America not to be settled? Of course, the whole earth belongs to all people, it is our sad state that we cannot live peaceably with one another, just like the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. We can correct our mistakes by helping the Natives now on the reservations, and doing what we can to make sure we don't make the same mistakes, but, truthfully, a lot of natives are very angry still at "white" people, which prevents many times working together, and accepting new ideas.... On the "white" race... If we were to DNA test Americans that have lived here for a hundred years or more, like my family, there would be a mix of Native, African as well as European blood. That is America! I myself am part Choctaw. Your article is good because it provokes thought and discussion, and, on a lighter note, I look forward to seeing the Lone Ranger, esp because it was filmed here in New Mexico. Thanks again for the article.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughtful comments and insight. I was hoping that this article would spark a discussion, as we as Americans tend to shy away for this subject. Julie
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