Stereotypes: 5

Hi Friends!
Welcome to Issue 32 of this newsletter! It’s the fifth week of our Stereotypes series, and this week we focus on the Indigenous or Native community. Constantly, we see the oversimplification of Indigenous cultures into one homogenous group. The stereotyping of American Indians must be understood in the context of history which includes conquest, forced displacement, and organized efforts to eradicate native cultures. Though there are indigenous cultures across the globe from Inuit people to First Nations people to Aboriginals, today we’re going to keep the focus on the USA. Let’s get into it!

Key Terms

American Indian, Native, Native American, Indigenous American: All of these terms are considered acceptable. In the United States, Native American has been widely used but is falling out of favor with some groups, and the terms American Indian or Indigenous American are preferred by many Native people. The consensus, however, is that whenever possible, Native people prefer to be called by their specific tribal name. All global terminology must be used with an awareness of the stereotype that "Indians" are a single people, when in fact there are hundreds of individual ethnic groups, who are all native to the Americas. This type of awareness is obvious when European Americans refer to Europeans with an understanding that there are some similarities, but many differences between the peoples of an entire continent.

Let’s Get Into It

Check out my past newsletter on Mental Health in the Indigenous Community for more history and background.

First and foremost, there are many historical misconceptions when it comes to Natives. From the earliest period of European colonization, images of Natives found expression in drawings, engravings, portraiture, political prints, maps and cartouches, tobacconist figures, weather vanes, coins and medals, and books and prints, and these depictions have shaped a lot of the public’s perception of them. There is the myth that they are nearly extinct, when there are 6.79 million in the United States as of 2021, making up over 2% of the population. From the story of Pocahontas to, the tale of the first Thanksgiving, to the purchase of Manhattan by European settlers—many of the most common tales that we are taught in school and showed in pop culture are lies. We also almost always see Natives in historical settings, as if they don’t continue to live and change today, but are just fixtures of the past. Let’s dive into some of the most common stereotypes.

The Drunk: Few images of Native peoples have been as damaging as the trope of the “drunken Indian”. It has been used to support the claims of Indian inferiority that have resulted in loss of culture, land, and sovereignty. The drunken Indian male is often seen as morally deficient because of his inability to control himself, making him a menace to society. Or he has become alcoholic because of his tragic inability to adjust to the modern world and he is pitied. In contrast to enduring stories about extraordinarily high rates of alcohol misuse among Native Americans, University of Arizona researchers have found that Native Americans’ binge and heavy drinking rates actually match those of whites. The groups differed regarding abstinence: Native Americans were more likely to abstain from alcohol use.

The Warrior: American Indians are represented as barbarous, with tomahawk and scalping knife in hand while European Americans are depicted as innocent victims of savagery. Meanwhile, it was the Europeans who decimated their lands, infected them with diseases, commited genocide, captured their children and tried to eradicate Native culture completely. William “Buffalo Bill” Cody and other showmen, including Plains Indians, drew huge audiences. These shows, and related influences, inspired filmmakers to produce Westerns depicting hordes of Natives attacking European settlers.

Braves/ Chiefs: We most commonly hear these names and see these symbols as mascots. Much like blackface, such inventions and imaginings, meant to represent a racial other, tell us much more about European Americans than they do about Natives. Teams with “Indian” names come with a variety of practices, among them the adoption of “red-face” mascots costumed as Plains Indians, ersatz Indian dances and rituals at halftime, face paint and feathered headdresses, and the antics of war whooping, tomahawk chopping fans. See an updated list on current teams with Native mascots here. There are still hundreds.

The Indian Princess: The term "princess" was often mistakenly applied to the daughters of tribal chiefs or other community leaders by early American colonists who mistakenly believed that Indigenous people shared the European system of royalty. Frequently, the "Indian Princess" stereotype is paired with the "Pocahontas theme" in which the princess offers herself to a captive Christian knight, a prisoner of her father, and after rescuing him, she is converted to Christianity and live with him in his native land. In this way, Native women are objectified and sexualized.This objectification of Indigenous women has lead to a human rights crisis known as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). Statistics show that Indigenous women and girls are ten times more likely to be murdered than any other ethnicity.

The Costume: “While minstrel shows have long been criticized as racist, American children are still socialized into playing Indian. Columbus Day celebrations, Halloween costumes and Thanksgiving reenactments stereotype Indigenous Peoples as one big distorted culture. We are relegated to racist stereotypes and cultural caricatures.”

In a study by Children NOW, a child advocacy organization examining children’s perceptions of race and class in the media, Native youngsters said they see themselves as “poor,” “drunk,” “living on reservations,” and “an invisible race.” These stereotypes are seen in everything from cartoons to sporting events, and it’s no wonder why Indigenous people feel invisible, especially when it is America’s best interest to do so.

Next week, I’m celebrating one year of having this newsletter! The following I’ll be talking about Juneteenth, and the last week of June I’ll write about LGBTQ+ Pride Month and “rainbow washing”. We’ll resume the stereotype series with a focus on the stereotyping of the Jewish community in July. I’ll see you there!

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for, we are the change we seek” — With love and light, Taylor Rae

Mental Health in the Indigenous Community

Hi Friends!
Welcome to Issue 19 of this newsletter. This is our second consecutive week talking about Mental Health. Today we turn our attention to the Indigenous communities of the United States. The native community in America has endured the traumas of foreign disease, discrimination and genocide. Let’s discuss a brief history of their experiences and talk through some statistics. Let’s get into it!

Key Words

American Indian, Native, Native American, Indigenous American: All of these terms are acceptable. The consensus, however, is that whenever possible, Native people prefer to be called by their specific tribal name. In the United States, Native American has been widely used but is falling out of favor with some groups, and the terms American Indian or indigenous American are preferred by many Native people.

Historical Trauma: This theory purports that some Native Americans are experiencing historical loss symptoms (e.g., depression, substance dependence, diabetes, dysfunctional parenting, unemployment) as a result of the cross-generational transmission of trauma from historical losses (e.g., loss of population, land, and culture). The current problems facing the Native American people may be the result of “a legacy of chronic trauma and unresolved grief across generations” enacted on them by the European dominant culture.

Let’s Get Into It

A Brief History

Boarding Schools for Native Children

• For the last 500 years, individuals from the dominant European cultures have engaged in behaviors that have resulted in the purposeful and systematic destruction of the Native American people (Plous, 2003). Native Americans have been subjected to traumas that have resulted in specific historical losses. These losses include loss of people, loss of land, and loss of family and culture.

• The population of Native Americans in North America decreased by 95% from the time Columbus came to America in 1492 and the establishment of the United States in 1776. (TPC)

• Mourning practices were disrupted when an 1883 federal law prohibited Native Americans from practicing traditional ceremonies (Brave Heart, Chase, Elkins, & Altschul, 2011). This law remained in effect until 1978, when the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was enacted. This disenfranchised grief has resulted in the Native American people not being able to display traditional grief practices. As a result, subsequent generations have been left with feelings of shame, powerlessness and subordination (Brave Heart & DeBruyn, 1998).

• President Andrew Jackson approved the Indian Removal Act of 1830, forcing the relocation of as many as 100,000 Native Americans.

• By 1876, the U.S. government had obtained the majority of Native American land and the Native American people were forced to either live on reservations or relocate to urban areas. Being relocated to urban areas removed Native American people from all the lives they were familiar with. Leaving their domestic lands led to a decline in socioeconomic status as they were not able to provide for their families, and the families became dependent on goods provided by the U.S. government. These relocations resulted in the death of thousands of Native Americans and the disruption of families. (TPC)

• The intent was to force the Native American people to fully assimilate to the dominant European-American culture and completely abandon their own culture. In 1871 the U.S. congress declared Native Americans wards of the U.S. government, and the U.S. government’s goal became to civilize Native Americans and assimilate them to the dominant White culture. (TPC)

• Government and church-run boarding schools would take Native American children from their families at the age of 4 or 5 and not allow any contact with their Native American relations for a minimum of 8 years. In the boarding schools, Native American children had their hair cut and were dressed like European American children. All sacred items were taken from them and they were forbidden to use their Native language or practice traditional rituals and religions. Many children were abused physically and sexually and developed a variety of problematic coping strategies (e.g., learned helplessness, manipulative tendencies, compulsive gambling, alcohol and drug use, suicide, denial, and scapegoating other Native American children). (TPC)

• The removal of children from their families is considered one of the most devastating traumas that occurred to the Native American people because it resulted in the disruption of the family structure, forced assimilation of children, and a disruption in the Native American community. (TPC)

• Given the substantial historical traumas Native Americans have experienced, experts believe they would be at greater risk of developing physical and emotional concerns related to re-experiencing these traumas. (TPC)

Lack of Culturally Appropriate Messaging

• The Western concept of mental health illnesses may not correspond with the beliefs and interpretations of Native cultures. The words “depressed” and “anxious” are absent from some native languages where alternative expressions such as “ghost sickness” or “heartbreak syndrome” are present. (ADAA)

• Many Indigenous tribes embrace a worldview that encompasses the notions of connectedness (with the past and with others), strong family bonds, adaptability, oneness with nature, wisdom of elders, meaningful traditions and strong spirit that may serve as protective factors when it comes to mental health. (ADAA)

• According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “Native/Indigenous people may express emotional distress in ways that are not consistent with standard diagnostic categories.”

• Native people who meet the criteria for depression, anxiety, or substance abuse disorders are much more likely to seek help from a spiritual and/or traditional healer than from specialty or other medical sources. (ADAA) This reminded me of the connection between the church and the Black community as a solution to mental illness facilitated by the community.

• Lack of awareness about mental health issues and services that are available and a lack of programs and providers that are sensitive to native and indigenous culture can prevent Indigenous people from receiving treatment.

Facts & Figures

• Approximately 1.3% of the U.S. population, or roughly 4.2 million Americans, identify themselves as having Native American or Alaska Native heritage. (Mental Health America)

• Native/Indigenous people in America report experiencing serious psychological distress 2.5 times more than the general population over a month’s time. (Mental Health America)

• Suicide rates among Native Americans are 3.2 times higher than the national average. (TPC)

• Native/Indigenous people in America start to use and abuse alcohol and other drugs at younger ages, and at higher rates, than all other ethnic groups. (Mental Health America) Native American adults reported that in the last 30 days, 44% used alcohol, 31% engaged in binge drinking, and 11% used an illicit drug. abuse of alcohol by Native individuals may be related to loss of cultural identity, history of abuse and neglect, self-medication due to feelings of hopelessness, and loss of family and tribal connections. (TPC)

• Compared to non-Hispanic whites, nearly 3 times as many Native/Indigenous people had no health insurance – 5.9% compared to 14.9%. Approximately 43 percent of Native/Indigenous people in America rely on the Medicaid or public coverage. (Mental Health America)

• Domestic violence and physical and sexual assault are three-and-a-half times higher than the national average in Native American communities. (TPC)

• Fewer Native Americans have a high school education than the total U.S. population; an even smaller percentage has obtained a bachelor’s degree: 11% compared with 24% of the total population. (TPC)

• Almost 26% of Native Americans live in poverty compared to 12% for the entire U.S. population. (TPC)

Action Steps

Learn about the Indigenous community! If we’ve learned anything this year, it’s that a lot was missing from our grade school textbooks, and the atrocities committed against the Native community has been, and continues to be, heinous. Learn about what has happened in the past and what continues to happen to these vulnerable communities today.

Next week, we close out of conversation on mental health by discussing the Latinx community. As a Puerto Rican and Dominican person—Black, Spanish and Indigenous Taino—I find myself at the intersection of all of these identities and am really glad we focused on each specific group in more detail. See you next time!

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for, we are the change we seek” — With love and light, Taylor Rae