Native Americans have been a key to success in the history of American cinema. Whether it's the Native American's savagery, alien customs , or their utterly different lifestyle the Native Americans have always been a source of attraction for the film industry's audience. However despite their popularity, Native Americans have been falsely portrayed for as long as they have been seen in the movies. Specifically family films have always steered towards the "savage" or "red-skinned" Native American depiction versus the more peaceful and truer version of Native Americans.
One of the most popular animated family films is Disney's
Pocahontas. Pocahontas was an actual Native American who married a man by the name of John Smith just the same as in Disney's cartoon. Disney's version is far from the truth specifically in his depiction of the Native Americans. In the photo above you can clearly see Pocahontas as a beautiful woman with long black hair. In reality Pocahontas was a very young girl when she was married to John Smith. But in order to entertain his audience, Disney decided to depict Pocahontas around the same age as Smith so as not to bring about any controversy in his "children's film." Pocahontas also is seen with a raccoon sitting on her back in this photo. Obviously Native Americans were not "friends" with animals as they are seen in the movie. Instead Native Americans were appreciated for their relationships with animals in a different way. Native Americans were very efficient in their use of animals for hides, meat, tools, and other things. Almost nothing went to waste when Native Americans hunted animals. The honest truth is that Pocahontas' raccoon probably wouldn't have been smiling on her back but perhaps a warm hat instead.
Peter Pan was a favorite among Disney's followers for it's grand adventure and rebellious characters. These characteristics of misbehavior carried over into other characters all throughout the film, but with the Native Americans especially. First of all the depiction of the Native American chieftain above is an entirely incorrect portrayal. Chieftains were not defined by their bullhorns, feathered hats, and extravagant blue pants. Instead any of the leaders in a Native American tribe blended into the rest of the tribe members very inconspicuously. The Native American chieftain in Peter Pan is also a very grumpy man and does not have a particularly friendly visage. He appears to be very mean and assertive towards Peter Pan in trying to show superiority. While some Native Americans weren't very friendly with settlers, they weren't friendly because the settlers had given them reason to be so. When Joseph Banks first set foot in Tahiti, the local Tahitians weren't vicious or savage towards him. Instead the natives and the crew members of the ship developed a bartering system, learned one another's language, and grew to know one another very dearly. Native Americans were very similar to the Tahitians in this way. They were not initially savage and "grumpy" as this chieftain appears to be.
While some of the older Disney film's had very incorrect depictions of it's Native American characters, the newer Disney movies have turned out to be much more tolerant of it's characters origins.
Brother Bear is a Disney movie about a young Inuit by the name of Kenai. The story consists of Kenai transforming into a bear and carrying on a journey with a bear cub back to his tribe. While animal transformation never actually occurred towards Native Americans, themes of Animism are very prevalent throughout the film. Animism is the belief of non-human "spiritual beings" that are present within all of one's surroundings. Animism was a common belief throughout Native American tribes that contributed to the association of Native American's to a close bond with nature. Whether there are spiritual beings within the rivers, rocks, trees, and lakes of the world is up to you but the Native Americans firmly respected nature in this way.
Brother Bear is also one of the few cartoon movies which depicts it's Native American characters accurately. In this photo from the film you can clearly see the Inuits with completely natural clothing they most likely made themselves, but it lacks the incorrect patterns and extravagant features of the other incorrect portrayals in film. (Almost done).
Sources:
Cultural Critique
Indian Movies
Under-Representation of Native Americans
Animism (2)
