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Sending Up Signals:
A Study of How Native Americans Use and Are Represented
in the Mass Media
Abstract- 75 words
Dances with Wolves, "How the West Was Lost", and
"Northern Exposure"--the 1990s promise to be the decade of Native
Americans. Yet media portrayals of Natives are rare. Research
on
Natives in the media is also extremely limited. A survey was
conducted to explore what media Native Americans consume and what
they
think about media portrayals. The findings contribute to
research on
media audiences, stereotypes, and minority representations.
Sending Up Signals:
A Study of How Native Americans Use and Are Represented
in the Mass Media
Abstract - 200 words
Dances with Wolves, "How the West Was Lost", and
"Northern Exposure--the 1990s promise to be the decade of the
Native
American. However, the accuracy of these media portrayals has
been
debated as they tend to rely on stereotypes or show Natives as
existing only in the past. Research is also extremely limited.
As a
method of actual and symbolic annihilation, Native Americans have
been
categorized as one, homogeneous group of "Indians" and considered
on
the basis of over-generalized physical, emotional, and
intellectual
characteristics. Inaccurate portrayals can also effect white
beliefs
about Natives as well as how Natives view themselves.
This paper presents the results of an exploratory
survey conducted at Northwest U.S. university to investigate two
research questions: (1) what media are used by Natives and (2)
how do
they feel about representations in television and film? The
findings
show that although film presentations tend to paint a positive
and
relatively accurate picture of Natives, television programs fall
short. This research makes an important contribution to the
scarce
literature on this group as well as to research on media
audiences,
stereotypes, and representations. In their own voices,
respondents
offered suggestions for change.
Sending Up Signals
Running head: SENDING UP SIGNALS
SENDING UP SIGNALS:
A STUDY OF HOW NATIVE AMERICANS USE AND ARE REPRESENTED IN THE MASS
MEDIA
Submitted to the Minorities and Communication Division
AEJMC
August 10-13, 1996 Anaheim, CA
Debra Merskin
Assistant Professor
School of Journalism & Communication
University of Oregon\
Eugene, OR 97403-1275
(541) 346-4189
email [log in to unmask]
SENDING UP SIGNALS:
A STUDY OF HOW NATIVE AMERICANS USE AND ARE REPRESENTED IN THE MASS
MEDIA
Submitted by:
Debra Merskin
Assistant Professor
School of Journalism & Communication
University of Oregon\
Eugene, OR 97403-1275
(541) 346-4189
email [log in to unmask]
SENDING UP SIGNALS:
A STUDY OF HOW NATIVES USE AND ARE REPRESENTED IN THE MASS MEDIA
. . . the mainstream media [have] put American Indians
on their agenda in a big way for the first time since the illegal
occupation of Wounded Knee. - T. Giago1
Dances with Wolves, "The Native Americans", "How the West was Lost",
Geronimo, and "Northern Exposure"--a veritable flood of films and television
programs that have focused on or featured Native Americans.2 With such output,
the 1990s promise to be the decade of Native Americans. The 1980s brought
increased awareness of Hispanic Americans, the 1970s of women, and the 1960s of
African Americans. Whether media representations of these groups have been
accurate or not has been debated. Little to no research has been conducted on
what media Natives are using or how they feel about this sudden burst of
attention. This exploratory study sought to place Native Americans on
researcher's agendas within the context of research on all minority groups.
This study was guided by two research questions: (1) What media are used by
Natives, and (2) What do they think about representations in television programs
and in films.
Several studies have shown that there are differences in the amount
of television viewing based on race or ethnicity. For example, blacks and
Hispanics view more television, on average, than do whites because of the larger
proportion of low income households and low education levels.3 There has been
some work done concerning African American beliefs about media representations4
and, to a lesser extent, from a Hispanic perspective.5 Children's racial
representation in advertising has also been investigated.6
Background
Images of Natives have been seen throughout American advertising in
the form of logos, signs and mascots for a variety of products. Examples
include the Land O'Lakes maiden, Red Man tobacco, Jeep Cherokee, Crazy Horse
Malt Liquor, and the Atlanta Braves' logo. Over the years, images of Native
Americans have also been found in films and television programs. These
representations also tend to rely on stereotypical images. When present, even
in contemporary media products, Native Americans are typically found in a
historical context, reliving episodes of conflict between whites and indigenous
people (Dances with Wolves, "Geronimo") or as just-plain-folks ("Northern
Exposure").
The Significance of Stereotypes
In 1922, Walter Lippmann emphasized the capacity of stereotypes to
legitimize the status quo. These "pictures in our heads" are used to help us
comprehend the world around us.7 Stereotypes, often defined as over
generalizations, are not neutral. According to Lippmann, a stereotype is
not merely a way of substituting order for the great
blooming, buzzing confusion of reality. It is not merely a short
cut.
It is all these things and something more. It is the guarantee
of our
self-respect; it is the projection upon the world of our own
sense of
our own value, our own position and our own rights. The
stereotypes
are, therefore, highly charged with the feelings that are
attached to
them. They are the fortress of our tradition, and behind its
defense
we can continue to feel ourselves safe in the position we
occupy.8
According to Seiter, the significance of stereotypes as an "operation
of ideology becomes clear: they are full of hegemonic potential."9 Several
researchers have argued that television is the primary vehicle used by
subordinate groups who are taught dominant values and ideology .10 The tool by
which the mass media accomplish this education is through the establishment and
perpetuation of stereotypes about groups and individuals.
The significance of this area of investigation is that stereotyping
individuals, or neglecting to portray them, has two important consequences: (1)
it dehumanizes individuals and, (2) the absence of media representations serves
to symbolically annihilate minorities.11 The preponderance of stereotypical
images of Native Americans also serves to "make Indians into conceptual relics,
artifacts. Worse, they are confirmed as existing only in the past." 12 How
much media an individual consumes is often related to their perceptions of the
world around them.13 Seeing oneself portrayed in the media can serve in
constructing a view of oneself and the world outside. Not seeing oneself
portrayed can also impact the development and maintenance of self-image.
According to Rich, what happens "when someone with the authority of a teacher
describes our society and you're not in it?" It can be confusing and
disorienting, "as if you looked into a mirror and saw nothing."14
As a method of actual and symbolical annihilation, all Native
Americans have been categorized as "Indians" and considered on the basis of
over-generalized physical, emotional, and intellectual characteristics:
The most common Indian characters viewed on the
television screen are depicted as simple, lazy, wasteful, and
humorless; they are shown as lacking intelligence and
English-speaking
skills and as believing in heathenistic nonsense for a
religion.15
This treatment can be traced back to the times of the arrival of
Europeans in North America when Natives were considered "biologically and
morally 'inferior' to the more 'civilized' newcomers who were only doing God's
will in conquering the natives and taking their land."16 Indians were seen as
the Noble Red Man or Child of Nature i.e., the Noble Savage, and credited
"either with a habit of flowery oratory of extreme dullness or else with an
inability to converse in anything more than grunts and monosyllables." However,
the intent of whites was better served by creating a more fearsome myth, that of
the "ruthless, faithless" savage.17
This way of thinking accompanied westward migration as whites
displaced tribes and confiscated their land. As a result of reducing native
peoples to "types" it was possible to generate a level of hatred and disgust
sufficient to make genocide a seemingly reasonable solution to the "Indian
problem". According to Giago, "War machines have always justified their actions
by dehumanizing the enemy . . . Fraternizing with an enemy is strictly
forbidden, because disillusionment can open the heart."18 Yet, "it is not
really difference the oppressor fears so much as similarity".19
Due to economic hardship, disease, and despair, the Native American
population fell from several million to roughly 250,000 in 1900.20 Today there
are nearly two million individuals claiming Native ancestry in one of more than
500 tribes,21 with the largest tribe being Cherokee, followed by Navajo,
Chippewa, and Sioux.22 There are hundreds of tribes with fewer than 1,000
members. Although only about one-third of Native Americans live on
reservations, the image of Indian life as reservation life is often
characterized by poverty, suicide, family violence, school failure, high infant
mortality, and alcohol related illnesses.23 According to a Kootenai man,
In the media, Native Americans are portrayed as people
who live in slums (where the gov't put them), live off of your
tax
money (our land was taken, thank you very much), drunks (why
shouldn't
they be depressed?) and basically numbered, labeled, and canned,
then
shuffled on to desolate, barren, useless land to live a quiet
life out
of the way of mainstream white collar America.24
Whether on the reservation or off, however, the stress of life in
white society has resulted in Native Americans having the lowest life expectancy
of all United States sub populations. As recourse for feelings of apartness, in
the 1960s and 1970s many Native Americans chose not to abandon their heritage.
Instead they sought ways to preserve it. This included the development of
Native American radio and television.25
Previous Literature
Although the civil rights movement and the women's movement
stimulated research on the impact of television on viewer's belief systems and
perceptions of social reality, little attention was paid to the experiences of
minorities.26 When research was conducted on minority groups, the focus was
primarily on television viewing levels and experiences of African Americans27
and Hispanics 28 or on advertising representations.29
Research on Native Americans is limited. Green investigated
portrayals of Native Americans in advertising, identifying three images: (1) the
Noble Savage, (2) the Civilized Savage and, (3) the Blood-thirsty Savage.30
Travel advertising images of Native Americans have also been investigated 31 as
well as film portrayals.32 Morris explored television portrayals and the
socialization of native American children33 and Keith has analyzed native
broadcasting in America.34 There has also been research on the Native press
and broadcasting, 35 accessing and reporting on American Indians, 36 and
attitudes toward Indians as covered in the Native and mainstream press.37
In the absence of other means of learning about the social
environment, the media are often turned to for information on the dominant
social system. Ball-Rokeach has suggested that, within Black and Hispanic
populations, there are "social patterns and structural patterns between the mass
media and other social systems in which Blacks and Hispanics organize their
lives."38 It is argued that individuals are dependent upon the mass media as
their basic link to the larger society.39 Therefore, it is important to
evaluate how much time Natives spend with the media and what media they are
using.
Method
A mail survey was distributed to all self-identified Native American
students on a Northwestern U.S. college campus during January 1995. A pretest
of the survey instrument was conducted among members of the campus Native
American student group. Mailing labels of all Native American students enrolled
at the university were obtained from the campus minority affairs office . The
survey was mailed to all 190 students identified as Native American by this
office. Given the scarcity of research on Natives, studies that measured other
minority groups' usage and beliefs were used as a guide in developing the survey
instrument.40 The survey packet contained a cover letter that clearly
identified the researcher and assured anonymity, the survey, and a
self-addressed stamped envelope.
The advantages of conducting a mail survey included the protection of
anonymity. This was particularly important for this population as Natives are
often sought as subjects for research. Several individuals pointed out that
they had already been contacted for a telephone survey the same week that they
received this survey and wondered why, "all of a sudden, people are so
interested in us." Several individuals indicated privacy was important for
personal safety reasons. Additional reasons for using a mail survey included
the economy of the method, turn around time, and the ability to narrowly target
the Native students based on their identification as members of this group.41
A thirty-nine percent response rate was achieved with seventy-four
surveys returned and two undeliverable. This response level is adequate given
the difficulty in reaching this population, cultural differences concerning
receptivity to participation in projects such as research, the exploratory
nature of this research, and the importance of this area of study.42
Twenty-nine tribal groups are represented in the findings (Table 1).
The data were collected by means of a questionnaire containing
thirty-seven items. Three dictionaries were created to code magazines titles,
television programs, and films as they arose. The majority of questions were
forced-choice and one was open-ended. As this was an exploratory study and not
a formal test of theory, results are presented descriptively in frequencies and
percentages. The major content areas addressed in the survey included:
y General media use
y Media evaluations
y Media content preferences
y Native American television and film portrayals
y Evaluations of Native American portrayals
y Demographics and other classification variables including tribal
affiliation
y Open-ended question concerning representation
Findings
The findings will be reported by demographic information, media use,
and responses to an open-ended question on representation.
Demographics
Most of the respondents were between the ages of 18 and 24 (62
percent). This was followed by persons 25 to 34 years of age (21 percent),
35-44 (12 percent) and 45 to 54 (5 percent). Forty-two women and thirty men
returned the questionnaires. Two individuals did not indicate gender. In terms
of marital status, nearly three-quarters of the individuals were single (72
percent), followed by married (16 percent). Twelve percent were divorced.
Table 1 provides information on the wide range of tribal
affiliations. Nearly one-quarter of respondents affiliated themselves with the
Cherokee tribe. This was followed by Choctaw and Apache (each 5 percent).
Table 1
Tribal Affiliation
Tribe Frequency Percent
Cherokee 15 20
Choctaw 4 5
Apache 4 5
Grande Ronde 3 4
Chickasaw 3 4
Delaware 2 3
Eskimo 2 3
Sioux 2 3
Ojibwa 2 3
Klamath 2 3
Blackfeet 2 3
Creek 2 3
Hoopa 2 3
Siletz 2 3
Warm Springs 2 3
Tolowa 1 1
Chumash 1 1
Potawatame 1 1
Chippewa 1 1
Calpuya 1 1
Lumbee 1 1
Umatilla 1 1
Cowlitz 1 1
Seneca 1 1
Yurok 1 1
Osage 1 1
Odawa 1 1
No response 13 18
Total 74 100
Media Use
Newspaper. Native students appear to be newspaper readers. Most (46
percent) said they read both a daily and a Sunday newspaper. Approximately 38
percent do not read the newspaper and 12 percent read only a daily paper. Of
those individuals that read the newspaper, most (48 percent) read a mainstream
daily, while 44 percent read a tribal and daily paper. Eight percent read only
a tribal paper that is provided to enrolled members.
As Table 2 reveals, most Natives read the newspaper for local
information (85 percent). More than two-thirds read the newspaper for national
news and nearly two-thirds look for entertainment information. Slightly more
than half enjoy the paper for the sports section.
Table 2
Newspaper Purpose
Frequency Percent*
For Local information 39 85
For national information 34 74
Entertainment 29 63
Sports 24 52
*Respondents could select multiple reasons. Percent is of total
newspaper readers.
Magazines. Most of the native students subscribe to magazines (59
percent) while forty-one percent do not. Of those who do subscribe, the
majority (56 percent) receive two to three publications. Approximately fifteen
percent subscribe to one or fewer or four to five titles and fourteen percent of
the students subscribe to five or more magazines. A total of seventy-nine
titles were listed (Appendix 1). Table 2 describes, by title, the magazines
students are receiving when mentioned at least twice. (Sixty-two publications
were mentioned only one time each).
Table 2
Magazines
Frequency Percent*
National Geographic 5 11
Newsweek 4 9
Playboy 3 7
Gentlemen's Quarterly 3 7
Sports Illustrated 3 7
Utne Reader 3 7
ABA Journal 3 7
Interview 2 5
Writer's Digest 2 5
Glamour 2 5
Vegetarian Times 2 5
Shape 2 5
Elle 2 5
Time 2 5
Life 2 5
Field & Stream 2 5
Sunset 2 5
Snow Board 2 5
* Respondents could select multiples
Radio. All respondents own a radio. As Table 3 shows, rock and roll
is the preferred radio station format (79 percent). This was followed by
classical ( 45 percent) and country (28 percent).
Table 3
Preferred Formats
Format Frequency Percent*
Rock 'n' Roll 59 79
Classical 33 45
Other 25 34**
Country 21 28
Oldies 20 27
Tribal 10 14
* Respondents could select multiples ** Other included alternative, R
& B & rap.
Television. Eighty-two percent of respondents own a television set.
Nearly three-quarters own a VCR (70 percent). Eighty percent reported renting
video tapes, while less than half (36 percent) buy them. Only one individual
owned a satellite dish. Less than half (46 percent) subscribed to cable and
fewer than one-quarter (24 percent) subscribed to premium channels.
The time spent watching television was minimal. Most reported
viewing 1 to 2 hours per television per day (32 percent). This was followed by
less than 1 hour (27 percent) and two to four hours per day (19 percent).
Eight-percent watched more than four hours of television per day.
Table 4 (following page) reveals favorite television programs.
"Seinfeld" was the leading program with twenty-six percent viewing. This was
followed by "Northern Exposure" (21 percent) and "Star Trek- the Next
Generation" and "Home Improvement", each with 20 percent. (Appendix 2 lists all
television programs mentioned).
More than half of the respondents (58 percent) were not satisfied
with television programming for children, followed by those with no opinion (33
percent). Nearly two-thirds of the respondents were not satisfied with
television programming for adults (60 percent) followed by those who were (34
percent).
Movies. Nearly all the respondents (92 percent) reported being movie
goers
Table 4
Favorite Television Programs
Program Frequency Percent
Seinfeld 16 26*
Northern Exposure 13 21
Star Trek Next Gen 12 20
Home Improvement 12 20
Simpsons 11 18
90210 10 16
Melrose Place 10 16
Letterman 9 15
X Files 9 15
Public Broadcasting 8 13
ER 8 13
Grace under Fire 7 11
PBS programming 7 11
Roseanne 5 8
Friends 5 8
20/20 4 7
60 Minutes 4 7
Mad About You 4 7
Picket Fences 3 5
Chicago Hope 3 5
NYPD Blue 3 5
Jeopardy 3 5
* Respondents could select up to three programs.
Representation
The following section presents the findings of questions asking
respondents to note television programs and films that presented Natives in the
cast. Nearly all (93 percent) could recall seeing Native Americans portrayed in
television programs. Table 5 reveals that nearly one-third (29 percent)
recalled seeing Native Americans in "Northern Exposure", followed by "Dr. Quinn,
Medicine Woman" (12 percent).
Table 5
Programs Featuring Native Americans
Program Frequency Percent
Northern Exposure 20 29
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman 8 12
Sesame Street 4 6
Public Broadcasting 4 6
90210 3 4
Renegade 3 4
Star Trek Next Generation 3 4
90210 3 4
Walk, Texas Ranger 2 3
The Native Americans 2 3
Simpsons 2 3
Cops 2 3
Jerry Springer 1 1
Lone Ranger 1 1
Roseanne 1 1
WWF Wrestling 1 1
Seinfeld 1 1
Lakota Woman 1 1
Sisters 1 1
Kung Fu 1 1
X Files 1 1
L.A. Law 1 1
Geronimo 1 1
Married w/Children 1 1
Table 6 reveals that nearly one-third found portrayals to be negative
and inaccurate. Twenty-percent of the respondents considered Native portrayals
in these programs to be positive and accurate.
Table 6
Television Portrayals
Frequency Percent
Positive and accurate 15 20
Negative & inaccurate 23 31
No opinion 16 22
Positive & inaccurate 9 12
No Answer 11 15
Total 74 100
Movies. Nearly two-thirds (66 percent) recalled several films with
Native Americans appearing. Table 7 describes these films. The most frequently
mentioned movie was Dances With Wolves (58 percent), followed by Last of the
Mohicans (29 percent).
Table 7
Films Featuring Native Americans
Film Frequency Percent*
Dances With Wolves 38 58
Last of the Mohicans 19 29
Thunderheart 13 20
Geronimo 12 18
Legends of the Fall 7 11
Maverick 5 8
Westerns 5 8
Pow Wow Highway 4 6
Black Robe 3 5
Never Cry Wolf 2 3
On Deadly Ground 2 3
Clear Cut 1 2
Wind Walker 1 2
Posse 1 2
Sacred Ground 1 2
* Respondents could list up to three films.
Table 8 reveals beliefs about the nature and accuracy of these film
portrayals. Most (29 percent) felt that on the whole, film portrayals were
positive and accurate. This was followed by approximately one-quarter (24
percent) who felt the portrayals were negative and inaccurate.
Table 8
Movie Portrayals
Frequency Percent
Positive & accurate 21 29
Negative & inaccurate 18 24
No opinion 12 16
Positive & inaccurate 9 12
No answer 14 19
Total 74 100
In Their Own Words
An open-ended question was included to allow for expression of
personal feelings and to encourage elaboration. The question asked, "In your
own words, please describe your feelings about the portrayal of Native
Americans in the mass media (television, movies, magazines)."
The responses suggest important ways of thinking about the issues
raised in this study as well as pointing out some important areas for future
research. For example, not much had changed in terms of assessing progress in
the representation of Native Americans in the media, as a Cherokee/Blackfoot
woman simply asked, "Where are they?"
In addition, when Natives are portrayed the representations don't
often consider the differences between tribes, presenting one homogeneous Indian
image:
Out of all the peoples portrayed in the media, with the
new show geared toward Asians and all the black comedies, the
American
Indians are still being pushed back and are not involved in this
"American culture". They keep showing us on some reservation but
not
really a part of the society and they always show us not fitting
into
society.--Cherokee/Blackfoot
A film portrayal was used as an example by this man
"On Deadly Ground" , with Steven Segal, is a movie that
had natives in it and some of the natives were played by Asians.
I
did not like the way they were portrayed, nor that Natives were
not
even playing the parts. - Eskimo
More specifically, according to a Cherokee/Cheyenne woman:
TV glorifies the highly assimilated Native Americans
while movies seem to encourage a romanticized "return to the
past,"
whereby Native Americans are treated as the noble savage of
yesteryear.
Some individuals replied with personal examples of how the media do
or do not relate to their lives. A Tolowa woman offered the following:
I've been spending a lot of time within the last year
with my grandma and her sisters and brothers and I think that
they are
normal people. It would be neat to portray natives as just that.
According to an Iroquois woman, inaccurate portrayals are disturbing
to watch:
I think Native Americans in the media are generally
romanticized and overly dramatic. I have been raised with many
traditions and traditional ceremonies and to see these portrayed
incorrectly makes my stomach sick.-- Iroquois
An important consideration is media images received by children. As
discussed earlier, inaccurate inclusion or deliberate exclusion from media
content can have an impact not only on how whites view Indians, but on how
Indians come to think of themselves.
Most people believe the generalizations and (few) facts
as gospel. This certainly creates an identity crisis for many of
the
purposely assimilated young Indian children. These children
often
find themselves not knowing who to identify with, or which ethnic
class to whom they belong.--Arapaho
How realistic these portrayals are goes beyond historical accuracies
and reach into individual beliefs about self, as a Chickasaw woman offered in
words and in images:
Real people need to be depicted - I tire to think that
my own body is so typically native and hasn't yet reached its
idealized (media hype) form.
**
Several individuals offered suggestions for change, proactive ideas
of how equity might be sought in media representations through Native American's
involvement in the creation of movies, films, and news stories. According to an
Apache woman, "Although it is obvious that some producers are attempting to be
more accurate, it can never fully be accomplished unless the producer, writers,
etc. are Native Americans." A Delaware man suggested the following:
The fact that it makes any sense to talk about the
(single, homogeneous) portrayal of Native Americans, all in one
lump,
is symptomatic of something in itself. I'd be a lot more
interested
in what would happen if there were more Indians behind those
cameras
and microphones, writing and producing stuff for the mass market
about
their own cultures, speaking for themselves/ourselves, with many
voices.
A Hoopa man added that, "Native Americans today need to take a
proactive role in defining themselves. Only then will correct perceptions
follow in the mass media".
Limitations
Mail survey research can be limiting in that the opportunity for the
researcher to get feed back is reduced and there is no assurance that
respondents will return the survey. Native Americans are a very difficult
population to reach and assurances of anonymity are important. Therefore, a
mail survey provided a relatively unobtrusive method. Although the findings are
not representative of all Native Americans they provide an important first step
in accessing this population.
Many of the media use findings could be attributed to the age and
lifestyle of the college participants and may not differ substantially from
non-native use. Given that most are not reservation Indians some media use is
attributable to interests of youth. However, nearly thirty-eight percent of
respondents were over the age of 25.
Conclusion and Recommendations
This research investigated two important areas: (1) media use by
Native Americans and, (2) beliefs about representations in the media. The
Natives surveyed tend to read newspapers, to a lesser extent read magazines,
listen to radio, and watch a moderate amount of television. Most are not
satisfied with television programming for adults. Although many television
programs are viewed, only a handful include Native Americans in their stories.
Considering the number of films produced each year, it is interesting how few
films could be cited.
The commercial success of Dances with Wolves is likely to have
provided the impetus for other projects. A number of television programs have
followed as well, such as productions by Ted Turner ("Geronimo", "Native
Americans", "Lakota Woman") and related merchandising. As media presentations
increase, so does the likelihood of study. This study is important, as the
absence of scholarly attention "implies that Native Americans are not worthy of
attention and perpetuates the sense of invisibility and institutional racism."43
Future research could focus on content issues, such as representations in film
and television and why representations seem to differ.
In this study, respondents suggested that while television portrayals
tend to be negative and inaccurate, films give a more positive and realistic
representation. This could be a function of the time constraints of each
medium. Whereas television programs tend to have less than an hour to develop
characters and tell their stories, films have longer. This difference could
also be related to the nature of the audience for each medium. It is likely
that television audiences are prepared to go to commercials and invest less
mental effort into the viewing process than do film goers. However, given the
size of television audiences it is important for programmers to take this into
consideration. When Natives do appear on television and in films, the quality
of that portrayal is important.
Because Native Americans do not represent a major consumer group,
media content producers are less concerned about statistically proportional
representations in the media. A respondent offered this critique
Mass media is a business, profit-oriented by
definition. Native Americans are portrayed in whichever manner
will
put money in the distributor's, producer's, director's collective
pockets. Change in portrayal only reflects the perceived
potential
for [ increased] sales; and not a heightened understanding of
Native
American's or our culture.
Future research could investigate media uses and beliefs among
reservation Indians. This is likely to yield a slightly different view of the
media and will also give tribe-specific beliefs that could vary based on
culture, geography, and amount of assimilation.
This study also contributes to an understanding of the social and
cultural impact of media on all minority groups and to on-going research
concerning the representations of many groups in the mass media, including women
and minorities. Qualitative research could lend depth to this work by
exploring, in Native American's own words, how they feel about the media, how
they use it and how advertisers, producers, and journalists can better present
Native issues. The importance of the impact of images on whites, on minority
populations, and particularly on children cannot be overemphasized. If
attention is given when creating advertisements, films, and television programs
to presenting accurate representations, audiences now, and in the future will be
able to see marginalized groups as something more than "the other."44
A hundred thousand years have
passed
Yet, I hear the distant beat of my
father's drums
I hear his drums throughout the
land
His beat I feel within my heart
The drums shall beat, so my heart
shall beat,
And I shall live a hundred thousand
years.
- Shirley Daniels (Ojibwa,1969)45
Appendix 1: Magazine Titles
National Geographic
Newsweek Forbes
Playboy Flex
Gentlemen's Quarterly Fortune
Sports Illustrated Audubon
Utne Reader High Country
ABA Journal Vogue
Interview Scientific American
Writer's Digest Volleyball
Glamour Cats
Vegetarian Times Cosmopolitan
Shape U.S. News &World
Elle L.A. Village View
Snow board Health & Fitness
Life Golf Digest
Field & Stream Car Audio
Sunset Auto Sound
Sierra Time
Parabola New Mexico
Golf Metropolitan
Details Outdoor Life
Mademoiselle Alaska
Movieline Sierra
New Republic Ski
New Woman Native Peoples
Sesame Street Discover
American Spectator Consumer Reports
National Review Popular Science
Entertainment Weekly Bicycles
Self Spy
YM National Wildlife
Travel Seventeen
Crossroads Indian Art
Sporting News Country Living
US NW Parks
Photo Handwoven
Psychology Today RedBook
Appendix 2- Television Programs Watched
Simpsons Jeopardy
National Geographic Northern Exposure
Letterman Home Improvement
NYPD Blue 20/20
ER Chicago Hope
Cops How the West Was...
Friends Roseanne
Renegade Touched by an Angle
WWF Wrestling Bonanza
Lone Ranger Fresh Prince
Beavis & Butthead Coach
Seinfeld CNN news
Dr. Quinn Wings (Discovery)
Law & Order Nova
Seaquest Mad About You
Good Morning America Bob Villa
Young and Restless PBS
Sisters Sesame Street
Picket Fences Martin
60 Minutes Walker, Texas Ranger
Jerry Springer My So Called Life
Grace Under Fire Star Trek- 2 versions
Action Pack Cheers
Kung Fu Days of Our Lives
Melrose Place Oprah
Frasier X Files
L.A. Law Party of Five
90210 All My Children
SNL Sports Center
MTV NFL Primetime
Ellen Twin Peaks
Married with Children General Hospital
Today
NOTES
1. Tim Giago, The American Indian and the Media (Minnesota:
National Conference of Christians and Jews, 1991), 3.
2. Note: Native American was the comprehensive term chosen for this
study. It is important to recognize there are substantial cultural, social and
economic differences between tribes. The words Native Americans, Natives, and
Indians are used interchangeably.
3. George A. Comstock, The Evolution of American Television
(Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1989).
4. Oscar H. Gandy and Paula W. Matabane, "Television and Social
Perceptions Among African Americans and Hispanics." In M.K. Asante and W.B.
Gundykunst , eds. Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication
(Newbury Park, CA: Sage,1989). J.L. Dates, "Race, Racial Attitudes and
Adolescent Perceptions of Black television Characters," Journal of Broadcasting
24: 549-560. D. Helflin, "The Acceptance of Television Commercials Among
Black Consumers" (paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological
Association, Los Angeles, 1981).
5. Bradley S. Greenberg, "Minorities and the Mass Media." In
Jennings Bryant and Dolf Zillman, eds.Perspectives on Media Effects (Hillsdale,
NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1986).
6. S.E. Keefe and A.M. Padilla. Chicano Identity. Albuquerque:
University of New Mexico Press, 1987. Ellen Seiter, "Different Children,
Different Dreams: Racial Representation in Advertising," Journal of
Communication Inquiry (1990) 14. In G. Dines & J. M. Humez, eds. Gender,
Race, and Class in the Media (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995), 99-108.
7. Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion (NY: Harcourt, Brace and
Company, 1922), 29.
8. Lippmann, Public Opinion , 96.
9. Ellen Seiter, "Stereotypes and the Media: A Reevaluation,"
Journal of Communication (spring 1986): 14-26.
10. Oscar H. Gandy and Paula W. Matabane, "Television and Social
Perceptions Among African Americans and Hispanics." In M.K. Asante and W.B.
Gudykunst, eds.Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication (New
Bury Park, CA: Sage, 1989). Todd Gitlin, "Prime time TV: The Hegemonic
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Arlene Daniels, and James Benet, Hearth and Home (NY: Oxford University, 1978).
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12. Jerry Mander, "What You Don't Know About Indians," Utne Reader
(November/December 1991), 67-74.
13. George Gerbner, Michael Morgan, and Nancy Signorielli, "Living
with Television: The Dynamics of the Cultivation Process." In Jennings Bryant
and Dolf Zillman, eds. Perspectives on Media Effects (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, 1986).
14. Adrienne Rich, Blood, Bread, and Poetry: Selected Prose,
1979-1985 (New York, 1986). In Ronald Takaki, A Different Mirror. A History
of Multicultural America (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1993), 16.
15. Morris, 1982, 189.
16. B.B. Hess, E.W. Markson, and P.J. Stein, "Racial and Ethnic
Minorities: An Overview." In P.S. Rothenberg, ed. Race, Class, and Gender in
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18. Giago, The American Indian and the Media, 1.
19. C. Moraga and G. Anzaldua, eds. This Bridge Called My Back
(NY: Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1983).
20. Russell Thornton, The Cherokees: A Population History
(Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1990).
21. Cristina Del Sesto, "A Multidimensional Image of Native
Americans: An Interview with W. Richard West, Jr.," Hemispheres (March 1995),
20.
22. Hess, Markson, and Stein, "Racial and Ethnic Minorities: An
Overview."
23. R. Bachman, Death and Violence on the Reservation: Homicide,
Family Violence, and Suicide in American Indian Populations (New York: Auburn
House, 1992).
24. Survey respondent.
25. Michael C. Keith, Signals in the Air: Native Broadcasting in
America (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995).
26. Gandy and Matabane, "Television and Social Perceptions Among
African Americans and Hispanics."
27. J. Fred MacDonald, Blacks and White TV: African Americans in
Television Since 1948 (Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1992). Jannette L.
Dates and William Barlow, Split-Image- African Americans in the Mass Media , 2nd
ed., (Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1993).
28. Clint C. Wilson and F ix Guti rrez, Minorities And Media
(Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1985). Oscar H. Gandy, Jr. and L.G. Coleman, "The
Jackson Campaign: Mass Media and Black Student Perceptions," Journalism
Quarterly 63: 138-143. P. Poindexter and C. Stroman, "Blacks and Television:
A Review of the Research Literature," Journal of Broadcasting 25 (1981):
103-122. R.L. Allen and S. Hatchett, "The Media and Social Reality Effects:
Self and system Orientations of Blacks," Communication Research 13: 97-123.
29. Marilyn Kern-Foxworth, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben and Rastus : Blacks
in Advertising, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (West Port, CT: Praeger, 1994).
Helena Czepiec and J. Steven Kelly, "Analyzing Hispanic Roles in Advertising: A
Portrait of an Emerging Subculture," Current Issues in Advertising 12
(December 1983): 219-240.
30. Michael K. Green, "Images of Native Americans in Advertising:
Some Moral Issues," Journal of Business Ethics 12 (1993): 323-330.
31. William M. O'Barr, Culture and the Ad-Exploring Otherness in the
World of Advertising (San Francisco: Westview Press, 1994).
32. Gary Edgerton, "'A Breed Apart': Hollywood, Racial Stereotyping,
and the Promise of Revisionism in 'The Last of the Mohicans'," Journal of
American Culture 17 (summer): 1-20.
33. Green, "Images of Native Americans in Advertising."
34. Keith, Signals in the Air.
35. John M. Coward, "Explaining the Little Bighorn: Race and
Progress in the Native Press," Journalism Quarterly (Autumn 1994): 540-549.
36. Cynthia-Lou Coleman, "Native Americans Must Set Their Own Media
Agenda," Quill (October 1992): 8. Tim Giago The American Indian and the
Media.
37. James E. Murphy and Donald R. Avery, "A Comparison of Alaskan
Native and Non-Native Newspaper Content," Journalism Quarterly 60 (Summer
1983): 316-322. James E. Murphy and Donald R. Avery, "A Study of Favorability
Toward Natives in Alaskan Newspapers," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (Fall
1982): 39-45. Benjamin D. Singer, "Minorities and the Media: A Content
Analysis of Native Canadians in the Daily Press," Canadian Review of Sociology
and Anthropology 19 (August 1982): 348-359. Mary Ann Weston, "Mainstream
Press Portrayals of Native Americans in the 'Indian New Deal'" (paper delivered
at AEJMC, Atlanta, GA, 1994).
38. Sandra Ball-Rokeach, "The Origins of Individual Media-System
Dependency: A Sociological Framework," Communication Research 12 (1985):
485-510.
39. Sandra J. Ball-Rokeach and Melvin L. DeFleur, "A Dependency Model
of Mass Media Effects," Communications Research 3 (1976): 3-21.
40. Bradley S. Greenberg, Michael Burgoon, Judee K. Burgoon, and
Felipe Korzenny, Mexican Americans and the Mass Media (Norwood, NJ: Ablex
Publishing Corporation, 1983).
41. John H. Cresswell, Research Design-Qualitative & Quantitative
Approaches (CA: Sage, 1994). E. R. Babbie, Survey Research Methods , 2nd Ed.
(CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 1990).
42. Note: According to Hsai, "Generally, returns fall within a range
between 10 and 25 percent if no elaborate enhancement or incentive is given."
H.J. Hsia, Mass Communication Research Methods (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum and Associates, 1988), 126.
43. Coleman, "Native Americans Must Set".
44. O'Barr, Culture and the Ad-Exploring Otherness in the World of
Advertising.
45. Shirley Daniels, 1969. In Thomas, D.H., Miller, J., White, R.,
Nabokov, P. and Deloria, P.J. The Native Americans (Atlanta, GA: Turner
Publishing, Inc.,1993), 452.
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