In the early 20th century, many expeditions were launched in 'hostile' unchartered territories of the US. Ethnologists, scientists, painters and photographers took part in these expeditions and observed local native tribes and their customs. But their depiction of Indians was still guided by a fantasised imagery. Even though native Americans had long quit wearing traditional clothes on a day-to-day basis, the images produced at the period depicted them as peoples still sticking to their customs. The same imagery was taken up by 1960s civil rights activists who considered that native Americans lived a pure life as they remained close to their environment. Hippies and political activists took part in what they called "fish-ins", in order to protest against the fishing restrictions imposed on Indian tribes by the federal state.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952) devoted his life to the redaction and composition of a collection of 20 volumes entitled The North American Indian. He partook in an expedition led by ethnologist George Grinnell in 1899 during which he encountered native Americans from various tribes. From then on, he became devoted to the publicisation of the plight of the 'vanishing race' and felt invested with a mission: compile information about
native Americans before their complete « contamination » by the
settlers. He sought to write a “ personal study of a people who are
rapidly losing the traces of their aboriginal character and who are destined
ultimately to become assimilated with the 'superior race' ". That sense
of emergency and idealised vision of the "good Indian" led him to
modify photographs in order to recreate a 'pre-lapsarian' era, which is why his work is considered quite controversial by
most people.
Chief Sitting Bear is here wearing a traditional Indian costume - feathers, a fringed leather vest, necklace. Edward Curtis often created the costumes or found them in museums and then asked the Indians to wear them. As he tried to show them unstained by modern life, he even happened to delete a clock in one of the tipis he had photographed.
He also shot short motion pictures showing folk dances, hunting sessions - he even directed works of fiction. This video was shot during the Sun dance (click on the image to watch the video):
FILMS
Films produced during the 1960s and the flowering of the hippie counterculture also contributed to the diffusion of the 'good Indian' myth, as they were deemed to be the last human beings to live close to nature and the wildlife. However, the encounters between settlers and natives are often very manichean and some of the films produced during the last fifty decades show American Indians as simpletons who have no idea of what the modern life is. Here are some examples of the films produced from the 1970s to the present day:
They lived in peace, not long ago
A mighty Indian tribe
But the winds of change,
Made them realize, that the promises were lies.
The white man's greed, in search of gold
Made the nation bleed
They lost their faith
And now they hade to learn
There was no place to return
Nowhere they could turn.
Cherokee - marching on the trail of tears.
They were driven hard, across the plains
And walked for many moons
Cause the winds of change,
Had made them realize, that the promises were lies.
So much to bear, all that pain
Left them in despair
They lost their faith
And now they hade to learn
There was no place to return
Nowhere they could turn.
A mighty Indian tribe
But the winds of change,
Made them realize, that the promises were lies.
The white man's greed, in search of gold
Made the nation bleed
They lost their faith
And now they hade to learn
There was no place to return
Nowhere they could turn.
Cherokee - marching on the trail of tears.
They were driven hard, across the plains
And walked for many moons
Cause the winds of change,
Had made them realize, that the promises were lies.
So much to bear, all that pain
Left them in despair
They lost their faith
And now they hade to learn
There was no place to return
Nowhere they could turn.
We all see black and white
When it comes to someone else's fight
No one ever gets involved
Apathy can never solve
FORCED OUT - Brave and mighty
STOLEN LAND - They can't fight it
HOLD ON - To pride and tradition
Even though they know how much their lives are really missin'
WE'RE DISSIN' THEM ...
On reservation
A hopeless situation
Respect is something that you earn
Our Indian brother's getting burned
Original American
Turned into, second class citizen
FORCED OUT - Brave and mighty
STOLEN LAND - They can't fight it
HOLD ON - To pride and tradition
Even though they know how much their lives are really missin'
WE'RE DISSIN' THEM ...
On reservation
A hopeless situation
Cry for the Indians
Die for the Indians
Cry for the Indians
Cry, Cry, Cry for the Indians
Love the land and fellow man
Peace is what we strive to have
Some folks have none of this
Hatred and prejudice
FORCED OUT - Brave and mighty
STOLEN LAND - They can't fight it
HOLD ON - To pride and tradition
Even though they know how much their lives are really missin'
WE'RE DISSIN' THEM ...
On reservation
A hopeless situation
Cry for the Indians
Die for the Indians
Cry for the Indians
Cry, Cry, Cry for the Indians
TERRITORY, It's just the body of the nation
The people that inhabit it make its configuration
PREJUDICE, Something we all can do without
Cause a flag of many colors is what this land's all about
[LEAD BREAK]
We all see black and white
When it comes to someone else's fight
No one ever gets involved
Apathy can never solve
FORCED OUT - Brave and mighty
STOLEN LAND - They can't fight it
HOLD ON - To pride and tradition
Even though they know how much their lives are really missin'
WE'RE DISSIN' THEM ...
On reservation
A hopeless situation
Cry for the Indians
Die for the Indians
Cry for the Indians
Cry, Cry, Cry for the Indians.
When it comes to someone else's fight
No one ever gets involved
Apathy can never solve
FORCED OUT - Brave and mighty
STOLEN LAND - They can't fight it
HOLD ON - To pride and tradition
Even though they know how much their lives are really missin'
WE'RE DISSIN' THEM ...
On reservation
A hopeless situation
Respect is something that you earn
Our Indian brother's getting burned
Original American
Turned into, second class citizen
FORCED OUT - Brave and mighty
STOLEN LAND - They can't fight it
HOLD ON - To pride and tradition
Even though they know how much their lives are really missin'
WE'RE DISSIN' THEM ...
On reservation
A hopeless situation
Cry for the Indians
Die for the Indians
Cry for the Indians
Cry, Cry, Cry for the Indians
Love the land and fellow man
Peace is what we strive to have
Some folks have none of this
Hatred and prejudice
FORCED OUT - Brave and mighty
STOLEN LAND - They can't fight it
HOLD ON - To pride and tradition
Even though they know how much their lives are really missin'
WE'RE DISSIN' THEM ...
On reservation
A hopeless situation
Cry for the Indians
Die for the Indians
Cry for the Indians
Cry, Cry, Cry for the Indians
TERRITORY, It's just the body of the nation
The people that inhabit it make its configuration
PREJUDICE, Something we all can do without
Cause a flag of many colors is what this land's all about
[LEAD BREAK]
We all see black and white
When it comes to someone else's fight
No one ever gets involved
Apathy can never solve
FORCED OUT - Brave and mighty
STOLEN LAND - They can't fight it
HOLD ON - To pride and tradition
Even though they know how much their lives are really missin'
WE'RE DISSIN' THEM ...
On reservation
A hopeless situation
Cry for the Indians
Die for the Indians
Cry for the Indians
Cry, Cry, Cry for the Indians.