Dwanna Robertson: Native people still deal with overt racism

We still live under the prevalence of Native misrepresentations in the media, archaic notions of Indianness, and the federal government’s appropriation of Indian names and words as code for military purposes. Racist informal statements are common expressions—statements like being an “Indian-giver,” sitting “Indian-style,” learning to count through the “one little, two little, three little Indians” song, or getting together to “pow wow” over a business idea.

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.

Why is racism against Natives hardly recognized or pointed out by non-Native people, especially non-Native scholars? It’s important to remember that academics are people first, and scholars second, and just as susceptible to internalizing phrases like “it’s about time to circle the wagons” when feeling under scrutiny or vulnerable. Historically, Native Peoples were portrayed as savages, Native women as sexually-permissive, and Native culture as engendering laziness. Therefore, non-Native race scholars, influenced by hundreds of years of playing Indian, may fail to check their assumptions.