Post by blackcrowheart on Nov 16, 2005 18:25:11 GMT -5
American-Indian traditions survive; stereotypes irk
By Gary Pettus
gpettus@clarionledger.com
Clarion-Ledger file photo
American Indians today confront persistent stereotypical images even while passing on to their children their tribes' customs, languages and traditional dances, such of this one, performed last year at the annual Choctaw Indian Festival near Philadelphia.
Heritage event
What: Basket-making, bead-making and other demonstrations by the Mississippi Band of Choctaws
When: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday
Where: The grounds of the Natchez Trace Tupelo Visitor Center, the Natchez Trace Parkway, milepost 266, north of Tupelo
How much: Free
Details: 1-800-305-7417
As the student dropped to the floor and crossed her knees, Joseph Bohanon, a college professor and member of the Oklahoma Choctaws, heard her say it: " 'I'm sitting like an Indian.'
"She could have said, 'sitting cross-legged,' " says Bohanon, faculty adviser for the American Indian Student Association at the University of Southern Mississippi. "But she chose 'like an Indian.' This is society's way, and they don't realize there's anything wrong with it."
The image of the American Indian — the arrow-slinging, buffalo-hunting, bareback-riding warrior who sits cross-legged in tepees scowling and grunting — endures in a nation that observes American Indian Heritage every November.
Barbara Gauntt/The Clarion-Ledger
Navajo Sunni McMillian of Choctaw, whose husband is Choctaw, does beadwork during the final day of the Mississippi Choctaw Veteran's Day Pow Wow in Choctaw.
By the numbers
Number of federally recognized tribal governments in the United States: 563.
Number of American Indians in the United States (2003 U.S. Census Bureau estimate): 2,786,652.
Mississippi's American Indian population (2000 U.S. Census figure): 11,652, or 0.4 percent of the total population.
Population of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (the only federally recognized tribe in the state): 8,823.
Other tribes with a Mississippi history include the Acolapissa, Biloxi, Capinans, Chakchiuma, Chickasaw, Choula, Grigra, Houma, Ibitoupa, Koasati, Koroa, Moctobi, Natchez, Ofo, Okelousa, Pascagoula, Pensacola, Quapaw, Taposa, Tiou, Tunica and Yazoo.
States with the largest numbers of American Indians (2003 estimates): California, 413,382; Arizona, 294,137; Oklahoma, 279,559.
Largest tribes in the United States, by population (as of 2000): Cherokee, Navajo, Choctaw, Sioux, Chippewa, Apache, Blackfeet, Iroquois and Pueblo.
Southeastern state with largest American-Indian population (2000 U.S. Census): North Carolina, 99,551.
Estimated number of American-Indian languages: 150 in the United States and Canada, another 600-700 in Central and South America.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; Native Languages of the Americas; Bureau of Indian Affairs; Jim Barnett, historian with the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians; http://www.archaeolink.com; wikipedia.com
Aiming to celebrate the cultures and triumphs of American Indians and Alaskan Natives, it expanded in 1990 from Native American Awareness Week, which was authorized in 1976.
"But it seems we're stuck in the 1800s," says Bohanon, a professor in USM's social work department.
Generalizing about American Indians is like stereotyping the planets — the Choctaws are about as similar to the Sioux as Jupiter is to Mars. Still, each tribe is encircled by its own Van Allen Belt of radioactive issues, many of them shared: tribal sovereignty, health care, mental health, child welfare, gaming, substance abuse and more.
But the issue of American Indian identity persists as one of the most highly charged.
One sticking point is icons and imagery linked to the 19th century Plains Indians: nomads and tepees and bison herds, says Greg O'Brien, a USM associate professor and an expert on American Indian history.
O'brien
"That's the fault of Hollywood and the media in general. It's hard to overcome that image in the mainstream American public."
Settled communities and tilled soil — not nomadic behavior — marked many southeastern tribes, including the Mississippi Band of Choctaws. With 8,800 members, it is the only federally recognized tribe in the state.
Bohanon is connected to that tradition: At the bidding of the U.S. government, his Mississippi Choctaw ancestors moved to Oklahoma in the 1800s, as did members of other southeastern tribes.
"There are traditions, practices and customs in my tribe that I hold dear, and I don't like the idea of anyone taking them and misusing them," Bohanon says.
"So, whenever our image is connected to something else — fierceness, warrior, mean-looking — that isn't us.
"Sometimes people don't realize how degrading it is to see some of these things. Like when people clap their hand over their mouth and make that sound: 'woo woo.' I don't think that even comes from Indian people. I believe it comes from the movies."
Sometimes, the image comes from schools.
"The only thing many kids can relate to is this idea of buckskin clothing, living in wooden houses or tepees," says LaDonna Brown, who, as a park ranger with the Natchez Trace Visitor Center in Tupelo, educates grade-school children about Mississippi's Indian heritage.
"And, when I ask the kids what they think happened to the Chickasaw Nation, many times they say, 'they've died out. They're extinct.' " Brown is a member of that tribe.
Stereotypes abound
Stereotypes and misconceptions are rooted, too, in college and pro sports teams: The Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Washington Redskins, Florida State Seminoles and on and on.
" 'Redskins' is one of the worst terms," Bohanon says. "It is not being used as something positive."
In the Major Leagues, fans of the Atlanta Braves rally their team by hacking the air with the "tomahawk chop."
"And there's the look (caricature) of the Cleveland Indians," Bohanon says. "How are we going to get away from that image?
"Some people who don't want to change say it's honoring the Indian people, and they may be really sincere. But, looking at our side of that, it does no honor when your logo image is the Cleveland Indians or Washington Redskins, or when you have a mascot who is dancing but is not an Indian, just a performer."
Cautionary tales
The NCAA is grappling with this, too. In August, the governing body for college athletics forbade schools that use "hostile and abusive" American-Indian imagery from hosting post-season contests, and it banished American-Indian mascots, logos and nicknames from post-season competition.
The ruling affects the Mississippi College (Choctaws) in Clinton and Alcorn State (Braves) in Lorman.
Chief Phillip Martin of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians did not comment for this story, but has said that teams can call their mascots whatever they want, so long as it casts a favorable image.
While some NCAA schools have changed their mascots, others have been allowed to keep theirs, including the Florida State Seminoles.
"The (tribe of) Seminoles support using that mascot," Bohanon says. "That's their choice. History is important with the university and that tribe. But I don't like some of the things that are stereotyped. The drums, the songs, aren't all appropriate."
Nor is it fitting to label tribes primitive because they had no written language, says Jim Barnett, historian with the state Department of Archives' Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.
"What they lacked in a literary tradition they more than made up for with the oral tradition. Their history, genealogy, etc., were handed down by talking and listening. The younger generation would have had to listen very closely to what the older generation had to say.
"Our society lacks those listening skills because we don't have to pay attention. I can daydream when you're telling me something, because I can look it up later."
It's vital to all Americans, not just American Indians, that these traditions survive, Bohanon says. There are lessons, and cautionary tales, for everyone.
"Because we didn't turn our backs on our ancestors. Because we've been through many times of war, disease, and we're still here.
"Because we survived."
Notable American Indians
Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne chief, U.S. senator
Cochise, Apache chief
Crazy Horse, Oglala Sioux chief
Charles Curtis, Kaw, U.S. senator, vice president (1929-33)
Michael Dorris, Modoc (ancestry), writer
Erdrich
Louise Erdrich, Ojibway (ancestry), writer
Chris Eyre, Cheyenne/Arapaho, filmmaker
Geronimo, Apache, political leader
Graham Greene, Oneida, actor
Betty Mae Jumper, Seminole, Indian tribal leader and publisher
Means
Russell Means, Lakota, activist and actor
Billy Mills, Sioux, athlete
N. Scott Momaday, Kiowa/Cherokee; poet, author, scholar, painter
Osceola, Seminole, leader
Quanah Parker, Comanche, chief
Pocahontas, Powhatan, peacemaker
Pontiac, Ottawa, chief
Robbie Robertson, Mohawk, songwriter and guitarist (The Band)
Will Rogers, Cherokee, humorist
Sacajawea, Shoshone, interpreter
Buffy Sainte-Marie, Cree; activist, songwriter, singer and artist
Jay Silverheels, Mohawk, actor
Sitting Bull, Sioux, chief
Squanto, Pawtuxet, interpreter
Wes Studi, Cherokee, actor
Maria Tallchief, Osage, ballerina
Tecumseh, Shawnee, chief
Jim Thorpe, Sac/Fox, Olympian
Source: www.factmonster.com
By Gary Pettus
gpettus@clarionledger.com
Clarion-Ledger file photo
American Indians today confront persistent stereotypical images even while passing on to their children their tribes' customs, languages and traditional dances, such of this one, performed last year at the annual Choctaw Indian Festival near Philadelphia.
Heritage event
What: Basket-making, bead-making and other demonstrations by the Mississippi Band of Choctaws
When: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday
Where: The grounds of the Natchez Trace Tupelo Visitor Center, the Natchez Trace Parkway, milepost 266, north of Tupelo
How much: Free
Details: 1-800-305-7417
As the student dropped to the floor and crossed her knees, Joseph Bohanon, a college professor and member of the Oklahoma Choctaws, heard her say it: " 'I'm sitting like an Indian.'
"She could have said, 'sitting cross-legged,' " says Bohanon, faculty adviser for the American Indian Student Association at the University of Southern Mississippi. "But she chose 'like an Indian.' This is society's way, and they don't realize there's anything wrong with it."
The image of the American Indian — the arrow-slinging, buffalo-hunting, bareback-riding warrior who sits cross-legged in tepees scowling and grunting — endures in a nation that observes American Indian Heritage every November.
Barbara Gauntt/The Clarion-Ledger
Navajo Sunni McMillian of Choctaw, whose husband is Choctaw, does beadwork during the final day of the Mississippi Choctaw Veteran's Day Pow Wow in Choctaw.
By the numbers
Number of federally recognized tribal governments in the United States: 563.
Number of American Indians in the United States (2003 U.S. Census Bureau estimate): 2,786,652.
Mississippi's American Indian population (2000 U.S. Census figure): 11,652, or 0.4 percent of the total population.
Population of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (the only federally recognized tribe in the state): 8,823.
Other tribes with a Mississippi history include the Acolapissa, Biloxi, Capinans, Chakchiuma, Chickasaw, Choula, Grigra, Houma, Ibitoupa, Koasati, Koroa, Moctobi, Natchez, Ofo, Okelousa, Pascagoula, Pensacola, Quapaw, Taposa, Tiou, Tunica and Yazoo.
States with the largest numbers of American Indians (2003 estimates): California, 413,382; Arizona, 294,137; Oklahoma, 279,559.
Largest tribes in the United States, by population (as of 2000): Cherokee, Navajo, Choctaw, Sioux, Chippewa, Apache, Blackfeet, Iroquois and Pueblo.
Southeastern state with largest American-Indian population (2000 U.S. Census): North Carolina, 99,551.
Estimated number of American-Indian languages: 150 in the United States and Canada, another 600-700 in Central and South America.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; Native Languages of the Americas; Bureau of Indian Affairs; Jim Barnett, historian with the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians; http://www.archaeolink.com; wikipedia.com
Aiming to celebrate the cultures and triumphs of American Indians and Alaskan Natives, it expanded in 1990 from Native American Awareness Week, which was authorized in 1976.
"But it seems we're stuck in the 1800s," says Bohanon, a professor in USM's social work department.
Generalizing about American Indians is like stereotyping the planets — the Choctaws are about as similar to the Sioux as Jupiter is to Mars. Still, each tribe is encircled by its own Van Allen Belt of radioactive issues, many of them shared: tribal sovereignty, health care, mental health, child welfare, gaming, substance abuse and more.
But the issue of American Indian identity persists as one of the most highly charged.
One sticking point is icons and imagery linked to the 19th century Plains Indians: nomads and tepees and bison herds, says Greg O'Brien, a USM associate professor and an expert on American Indian history.
O'brien
"That's the fault of Hollywood and the media in general. It's hard to overcome that image in the mainstream American public."
Settled communities and tilled soil — not nomadic behavior — marked many southeastern tribes, including the Mississippi Band of Choctaws. With 8,800 members, it is the only federally recognized tribe in the state.
Bohanon is connected to that tradition: At the bidding of the U.S. government, his Mississippi Choctaw ancestors moved to Oklahoma in the 1800s, as did members of other southeastern tribes.
"There are traditions, practices and customs in my tribe that I hold dear, and I don't like the idea of anyone taking them and misusing them," Bohanon says.
"So, whenever our image is connected to something else — fierceness, warrior, mean-looking — that isn't us.
"Sometimes people don't realize how degrading it is to see some of these things. Like when people clap their hand over their mouth and make that sound: 'woo woo.' I don't think that even comes from Indian people. I believe it comes from the movies."
Sometimes, the image comes from schools.
"The only thing many kids can relate to is this idea of buckskin clothing, living in wooden houses or tepees," says LaDonna Brown, who, as a park ranger with the Natchez Trace Visitor Center in Tupelo, educates grade-school children about Mississippi's Indian heritage.
"And, when I ask the kids what they think happened to the Chickasaw Nation, many times they say, 'they've died out. They're extinct.' " Brown is a member of that tribe.
Stereotypes abound
Stereotypes and misconceptions are rooted, too, in college and pro sports teams: The Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Washington Redskins, Florida State Seminoles and on and on.
" 'Redskins' is one of the worst terms," Bohanon says. "It is not being used as something positive."
In the Major Leagues, fans of the Atlanta Braves rally their team by hacking the air with the "tomahawk chop."
"And there's the look (caricature) of the Cleveland Indians," Bohanon says. "How are we going to get away from that image?
"Some people who don't want to change say it's honoring the Indian people, and they may be really sincere. But, looking at our side of that, it does no honor when your logo image is the Cleveland Indians or Washington Redskins, or when you have a mascot who is dancing but is not an Indian, just a performer."
Cautionary tales
The NCAA is grappling with this, too. In August, the governing body for college athletics forbade schools that use "hostile and abusive" American-Indian imagery from hosting post-season contests, and it banished American-Indian mascots, logos and nicknames from post-season competition.
The ruling affects the Mississippi College (Choctaws) in Clinton and Alcorn State (Braves) in Lorman.
Chief Phillip Martin of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians did not comment for this story, but has said that teams can call their mascots whatever they want, so long as it casts a favorable image.
While some NCAA schools have changed their mascots, others have been allowed to keep theirs, including the Florida State Seminoles.
"The (tribe of) Seminoles support using that mascot," Bohanon says. "That's their choice. History is important with the university and that tribe. But I don't like some of the things that are stereotyped. The drums, the songs, aren't all appropriate."
Nor is it fitting to label tribes primitive because they had no written language, says Jim Barnett, historian with the state Department of Archives' Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.
"What they lacked in a literary tradition they more than made up for with the oral tradition. Their history, genealogy, etc., were handed down by talking and listening. The younger generation would have had to listen very closely to what the older generation had to say.
"Our society lacks those listening skills because we don't have to pay attention. I can daydream when you're telling me something, because I can look it up later."
It's vital to all Americans, not just American Indians, that these traditions survive, Bohanon says. There are lessons, and cautionary tales, for everyone.
"Because we didn't turn our backs on our ancestors. Because we've been through many times of war, disease, and we're still here.
"Because we survived."
Notable American Indians
Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne chief, U.S. senator
Cochise, Apache chief
Crazy Horse, Oglala Sioux chief
Charles Curtis, Kaw, U.S. senator, vice president (1929-33)
Michael Dorris, Modoc (ancestry), writer
Erdrich
Louise Erdrich, Ojibway (ancestry), writer
Chris Eyre, Cheyenne/Arapaho, filmmaker
Geronimo, Apache, political leader
Graham Greene, Oneida, actor
Betty Mae Jumper, Seminole, Indian tribal leader and publisher
Means
Russell Means, Lakota, activist and actor
Billy Mills, Sioux, athlete
N. Scott Momaday, Kiowa/Cherokee; poet, author, scholar, painter
Osceola, Seminole, leader
Quanah Parker, Comanche, chief
Pocahontas, Powhatan, peacemaker
Pontiac, Ottawa, chief
Robbie Robertson, Mohawk, songwriter and guitarist (The Band)
Will Rogers, Cherokee, humorist
Sacajawea, Shoshone, interpreter
Buffy Sainte-Marie, Cree; activist, songwriter, singer and artist
Jay Silverheels, Mohawk, actor
Sitting Bull, Sioux, chief
Squanto, Pawtuxet, interpreter
Wes Studi, Cherokee, actor
Maria Tallchief, Osage, ballerina
Tecumseh, Shawnee, chief
Jim Thorpe, Sac/Fox, Olympian
Source: www.factmonster.com