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Native American Culture

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Native Americans have a complex relationship to American culture because they are the only indigenous people of the United States and modern Native Americans are still members of tribes and nations that have their own sovereignty and rights. Since the first ship landed on American soil, European took control of Native Americans’ visual sovereignty and how Native American could express their culture. The only way to best represent a culture is having someone from their own culture being able to express themselves. Historically, Native Americans have faced changelings in controlling their own visually sovereignty in film and other media with stereotypical portrayals that benefited the white middle-class Americans. As Native Americans began to fight back against these portrayals and gaining their own political sovereignty, films began to be produced by Native Americans, such as Imagining Indians and Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, for them to best represent their culture and way of life. When Native Americans first started being shown in films and other media, they were used to portray stereotypical white ideas which as how they appear and act with others. As seen in Professor Boger’s lecture (10/25), the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show starting in 1883 restaged historical battles that hired numerous Native American performers. After the success of the show, many more motion pictures and feature films were created with the idea of “Hollywood American” that were either shown as

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