Media Representaiton on Native Americans-EMB Midterm, WIDRIG

Representation of Native Americans through Media

Conclustion: Where Do We Go From Here?

Current media

Past Media

Native American History and the Beginning of Media

Native American History

Start: Native Americans

Sayat, Lauren. "Reshaping the Narrative: How Media Misrepresentations Frame Indigenous Issues." (2021).

Current Media

In a 2020 segment by CNN, testimonies of Paula Castro Stops and Yolanda Fraser were given in response to the tramatic MMIWG2S events, also known as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people events. In a research paper, Reshaping the Narrative: How Media Misrepresentations Frame Indigenous Issues, Lauren Sayat states about the 2020 CNN segment, "Native people have also worked to challenge the biases of media representations, with this segment serving as an improvement in representations relative to previous clips," (Sayat, 10). This is a great step for current media to take to go against cognitive scripts, and bring forth a new wave of media. In the past, Natives were not regulary broadcasted, and if so, the situations were scimmed through. The step of bringing Native Americans to give their testimonies is an active way to break the script, and change the behaviors of past media and misrepresentation.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Overall, media has transformed its representation of Native Americans in the last century. Media has grown from using stereotypes like "noble savage," to getting real life testimonies of Native Americans broadcasted on big media like CNN. Evolution of media portrayls should not and will not stop here. Points of under-representation, quality-representation, and content diversity are major challenges to overcome. With new shows like Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls on the rise, there is hope for Native lead roles and proper representation in the future of media.

Native American History

For thousands of years, Native Americans thrived in what is now the United States. They thrived by cultivating crops, engaging in trade networks, advancments in pottery and weaving, and by maintaining spiritual practices. Once Europeans arrived in the 15th century, conflics of disease, forced removal, and invasion of their land devastated the Native Americans. Over time, the Native American community grew smaller and smaller.

Ščigulinská, Jana. "Stereotypical Images of Native Americans in Literature and Film." English Matters 8 (2011): 93-103

Past Media

Karl May was a famous German author. He wrote The Winnetou Trilogy, which depicted life in the Old West, and the stereotypical "noble savage" view of Native Americans. In the articel Stereotypical Images of Native Americans through Literature and Film, Jana Ščigulinská stated, "It lies in the type of relationship with the white main character," (Ščigulinská, 4). The sidekick of the main character white man, is a Native American who shows him everything about the wilderness and beyond. This is a stereotypical relationship between a white man and a Native American that is found often in historical literature, so much, it can be depicted as a cognitive schema. This pattern in literature, shaped the entire view for readers, on the world of Native Americans. This false reality, made it hard for real narratives of Native Americans to appear in media.

Native American History and the Beginning of Media

• 19th and early 20th century: During this time, Native Americans were portrayed through media through stereotypes including villains and noble savages.
• Late 20th century: Stereotypes began to be challenged as Natives entered the film industry, and real Native narrative experiences began appearing.

Native Americans

The term "Native American" refers to the United States Indigenous people. Native Americans encompassed diverse tribes, cultures, and traditions. They hold a unique and historical heritage to American History, and continue to contribute to contemporary society.