Communities: Native American

Native Americans Presence in Media

Not only is the Native community unnoticed, Native Americans are portrayed in stereotypical fashion. The United States has a large contingency of Native Americans living in cities. However, if you read the headings and stories in major newspapers across the country, you might think Native Americans live only in rural communities on sparse reservations. In fact, New York City is home to 87,241 Native Americans, making it the largest urban Native community in the nation. Yet, the New York Times articles (PDF) often focus predominantly on reservation stories and illustrate Native Americans in a very narrow way.

Native Americans are not only portrayed in stereotypical fashion in new articles, but the headlines used are often offensive. The use of historically inaccurate and colorful language in news print headlines is commonly used and tolerated. Rarely would such language be used to describe more populous and politically powerful minorities? According to a 2002 report (PDF) on content analysis of Native American Issues by the Native American Journalist Association and News Watch, "attempts at clever word play or inappropriate gambling metaphors around a racially-charged topic smack of prejudice and erode what's left of news organizations' credibility in the eyes of Native American readers."

A unique issue confronting Native Americans with regard to media content is the depiction of Native people as team mascots. According to the Native community, the "honor" of being a mascot is not an honor at all, but an insult. In fact, news articles have pointed to the American Heritage Dictionary definition of "redskin," which is "offensive slang used as a disparaging term for a Native American," which is equivalent to the "n-word" for African-Americans. Other minority groups are not referred to by such disparaging labels because newspapers avoid printing such words and broadcasters avoid saying them.

Native Americans Media Ownership

Native Americans are not only underrepresented as employees in newspaper, television, and film, but are the only minority group to have their newsroom numbers slip between 2004 and 2005. In fact, only 295 Native Americans participate in the mainstream press. This lack of representation on the staff of major newspapers is likely a factor that contributes to the insensitive headlines and racists terminology discussed above. This gap in coverage leaves a media environment with a missing voice, which affects all Americans.

The history of American film has been one of discrimination and neglect for Native Americans. In fact, during Hollywood's early history, says Canadian Ojibway playwright Drew Hayden Taylor, "there wasn't a real 'Indian' to be seen on the movie sets: Native 'representation' was taken care of by Italians or Spaniards—anyone with dark enough skin to save on makeup." Unfortunately, not much has changed since the era of the Western. Native Americans still have a difficult time getting acting roles on television, in film, and in theatre. For example, in 2004, Native Americans had a net loss of roles, from .3% in 2003 to .2% in 2004. Lack of representation is seen across all types of television programming; however, the lack of diversity is arguably most harmful to the youngest members of our society. According to a recent study (PDF) by Children Now, the 8 to 9 PM television-viewing "family hour" is the least ethnically diverse. Only one of eight programs has a mixed cast. This lack of minority representation sends a highly skewed message about diversity in America to viewers, especially children.

Native Americans' lack of representation in the entertainment industry is similar to the situations of all ethnic minorities. This means that unfortunately, Native Americans are plagued with few opportunities to influence media behind the scenes. The lack of Native Americans in decision-making roles as producers, directors, and screenwriters fuels the tendency to ignore or misrepresent this ethnic group.

Native American Access to Technology

Native Americans are too often overlooked when it comes to internet access, and as result, Native Americans are unable to fully contribute to political discourse in this country. In an age of internet or e-activism, Native American participation is almost non-existent. Only 10% of Native Americans have access to the Internet in their homes, and only 10% have personal computers. What does this mean for America? A continuation of the stereotypical treatment of Native people by the media which lacks a real Native American voice. According to the Native Networking Policy Center, there are many reasons that contribute to a lack of internet participation by Native Americans.

Reasons for such a large digital divide amongst Native American population according to the report:

Geographic isolation, remoteness and low population densities
Lack of capital for infrastructure development
Lack of access to training, technical assistance and planning resources
High unemployment and poverty rates
Low educational attainment rates
Public policies that limit the ability of tribal governments to determine their respective telecommunications destinies

Solutions

Native Americans have been left out of the media spotlight for too long. Their unique stories, political perspectives, and diverse viewpoints are necessary for a true sense of the American social fabric. Because of their unique position in history and in current social and political structures, Native Americans are not portrayed fairly by mainstream media. As a minority group, Native Americans are underrepresented in employment both in front of the camera and behind-the-scenes. In addition, Native Americans are on the far side of the ever-widening digital divide, thus precluding true political participation by their community members. Yet, there is hope. Native American groups as well as those interested in media reform are working together to address some of the problems facing this community.

In Missoula, Montana for example, the Missoulian newspaper has created a program which recruits youths to work with journalist to write about their community. Native Americans are encouraged to participate and get paid for their work. This partnership has allowed for Native teenagers to gain experience and exposure working in a real newsroom, encouraging some of them to pursue careers in journalism. This program and others like it help to address the lack of representation in the newsroom and could even help eliminate the stereotypical depictions and prejudicial language used in newspaper stories throughout America.
Newspapers around the country are also tackling the mascot issue by declaring that they will not use such offensive terminology. In 1992, The Oregonian's editor, William Hillard declared that the paper would, "immediately discontinue using sports teams' names and nicknames that many Americans feel are offensive to members of racial, religious, or ethnic groups…" Other newspapers have followed suit and stopped using racially insensitive terminology. Read your newspapers carefully and determine if they use offensive language to refer to Native Americans and if so, mobilize your community to call for a stop to this practice. Individuals can write letters to the editor or cancel subscriptions to force newspapers to change. In fact, these tactics have proven quite successful. Many newspapers have caved to public pressure from their communities and have stopped using terminology that is offensive to Native Americans.
In the late 1990s, the American Indian Registry for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles published a directory. And in 2001, after acknowledging that "Native Americans are virtually invisible on TV," CBS and NBC held talent showcases in major cities across North America to strengthen their databases of Aboriginal performers.
National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and Indiantech.org have taken a leadership role in the development of telecommunications policy through the release of "Connecting Indian Country: Tribally-Driven Telecommunications Policy." Published in 2001, this report brought together the recommendations of the NCAI Digital Divide Task Force. It provides valuable policy recommendations regarding the need in Indian country for additional coordination of resources, and access to capital and technical assistance in order to fully address the access issues faced by tribes today.
The Native Networking Coalition explains that as Congress re-writes the 1996 Telecommunications Act, they must recognize tribal sovereignty. It is imperative that tribal governments be able to assert regulatory jurisdiction over telecommunications activities on tribal lands.

Visit the Community Organization and Resource Bibliography for a more comprehensive directory of groups and information.

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