EN LA UNIVERSIDAD ESTATAL A DISTANCIA
CURSOS ELECTIVOS DE OTRAS CÁTEDRAS
The same ideologies used to reinforces power structures between Western and Eastern cultures extending to the treatment of Native Americans in American popular culture. In the attempt to document what they believed to be a disappearing race, early ethnographers
66Kirin Narayan,"Refractions of the Field at Home: American Representations of Hindu Holy Men in the 19th and 20th Centuries," Cultural Anthropology 8, no. 4 (1993): 479-480. http://www.jstor.org/stable/656478.
established the framework for objectifying Native Americans and positioned them as an object of curiosity, something different from the dominant white American culture.68 Subsequently,
American popular culture reinforced these stereotypes.69 The image of the Native American was
exploited in a variety of media formats, such as travel advertisements, sports mascots, television shows, cigarette brands and more.
The majority of images of Native Americans in popular culture were created by white individuals for the purpose of entertaining white culture, which led to the positioning of the Native American outside of the traditional image of the white, European American as well as an inaccurate representation of Native American life.70 The dominant image that emerged was what
Stephanie Molholt calls the “Plains Indian Motif,” which depicts a blend of stereotypical characteristics that have come to represent “Indianness” in American popular culture.71 These
traits include feathered headdresses, outfits made from buckskin, body and face paint, darkened skin tones, tomahawks, tepees, and bows and arrows.72 For example, The Milwaukee Road
produced a series of advertisements that featured Native Americans marketing their new Olympian Hiawatha trains, all exhibiting characteristics of the “Plains Indian Motif” (Figure 4.3).
68 S. Elizabeth Bird, "Savage Desires: The Gendered Construction of the American Indian in Popular Media," In
Selling the Indian: Commercializing and Appropriating American Indian Cultures, edited by Carter Jones Meyer and Diana Royer, (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2001), 63.
69 Ibid., 62. 70 Ibid.
71 Stephanie Molholt, "A Buck Well Spent: Representations of American Indians in Print Advertising since 1890," (Arizona State University, 2008): 68. http://libproxy.lib.unc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/docview/304686696?accountid=14244. 72 Ibid.
One series in Springs’ campaign employs the “Plains Indian Motif” to depict Native Americans in a variety of scenarios, utilizing Springmaid sheets for several purposes. For example, “A Buck Well Spent on a Springmaid Sheet” depicts a Native American man reclining in a hammock made from a white bedsheet, while a woman has one leg in the hammock as if she is about to climb inside (Figure 4.4). The woman’s cropped top and miniskirt is similar to the pin-up imagery in Springs’ other advertisements, revealing her narrow torso, long legs, and feminine curves. Both the male and female characters have stereotypical traits of Molholt’s “Plains Indian Motif,” such as their feathered headdresses and fan along with darkened skin tones, making them markedly different from the white, blonde women that dominates the rest of Springs’ campaign.
Not only are these figures stereotypical of Native Americans in popular culture, but Springs’ advertisement also exhibits how Native Americans were increasingly eroticized for the pleasure of the white viewer. Whereas some representations of Native Americans took the form of the noble savage and the Indian princess, other depictions emphasized the sexual prowess of both Native American men and women. Popular culture exploited the physical characteristics of Native American men, such as their dark skin and strong physique, often associating them with an animal-like libido.73 On the other hand, Native American women became increasingly
associated with a heightened sexuality, drawn to white men and Indians alike.74 The terms
“buck” and “squaw” became derogatively associated with sexually deviant Native American
73 S. Elizabeth Bird, "Savage Desires: The Gendered Construction of the American Indian in Popular Media," In
Selling the Indian: Commercializing and Appropriating American Indian Cultures, edited by Carter Jones Meyer and Diana Royer, (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2001), 67-69.
men and women.75 Springs’ use of these terms within his Native American advertisements
immediately eroticizes the individuals depicted.
The sexualization of Native Americans is also present within Springs’ advertisement, “How to Make an Extra Buck” (Figure 4.2). In this scene, there are two kayaks containing reclining women, propelled by different forces. Whereas the kayak on the left is powered by the work of two robust, bare-chested Native American men, the woman in the opposite kayak sails by effortlessly, propelled by a sail made from a Springmaid sheet. Once again, several traits of the “Plains Indian Motif” can be identified, such as the feathered headdresses, dark skin tones, and body paint. By referencing the man as a “buck,” Springs’ advertisement takes on a
secondary meaning, suggesting that Springmaid sheets can be the site for sexual activity and potential procreation. In addition, Springs’ use of the term “buck” has a monetary connotation, making it one of the many instances in which Springs employs the double entendre to imbue his advertisements with multiple meanings.
“How to Make an Extra Buck” also has an additional layer of significance in relation to a specific source of popular culture. Springs’ text copy begins with the statement, “‘Why push with a paddle when you can lay alongside a SPRINGMAID© sheet?’ asks Minnehaha as she sails
past the bow-oar Buck who is panting from prodding propulsion.” Minnehaha is a fictional character from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1855 epic poem, The Song of Hiawatha. In The Song of Hiawatha, Longfellow tells the fictional tale of the adventures of an Ojibwe warrior, Hiawatha, who, in later parts of the poem, falls tragically in love with Minnehaha, a Dakota woman.76 At the time of its publication, Longfellow’s poem was met with mixed responses, but
75 Bird, "Savage Desires: The Gendered Construction of the American Indian in Popular Media," 80.
subsequently it has gained a reputation as a work of great American literature.77 Since 1855, The Song of Hiawatha has had a ripple effect in both fine arts and popular culture. Several songs have been written including the characters of the poem, and several artists have attempted to create visual representations of the characters and scenes from the poems.78 In addition, the
characters were appropriated as representations of “Native American” life, utilized in popular culture and marketing strategies, such as The Milwaukee Road’s advertisement campaign
mentioned previously (Figure 4.3). Longfellow’s poem, and Springs’ reference to it, demonstrate the use of Native American cultures for the entertainment of white men and women.
Also based on The Song of Hiawatha, Springs’ “Two Bucks on the Line” depicts Minnehaha in the bottom right corner of the composition, gazing across the river at two men fluffing a white bedsheet to make smoke signals, another stereotypical trait of the “Plains Indian Motif” (Figure 4.6). Once again, Minnehaha wears a cropped top and short miniskirt, revealing her torso and long legs. She has a feather in her hair and several silver bangles are stacked on her left arm. The text copy reads,
“In case you don’t know Wigwam Wigwag, Hiawatha is asking Minnehaha to come across for two bucks and bring a friend. These hunting Hiawathas must appreciate the tops in Tepee Trousseaux for they are puffing their propositions on a SPRINGMAID sheet. Everybody knows it is woven strong enough to outline a message, out wear
buckskin pajamas and outlast a generation of scrubbing in a rocky river. And we’ll wager two bucks to two bits that this smart squaw and her girlfriend will think twice before they turn down any chance to turn down on SPRINGMAID sheets.”
77 Baleé and Gioia. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature, s.v. “Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth.” Oxford Research Encyclopedias, 2017.
http://oxfordre.com/literature/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.001.0001/acrefore-9780190201098-e-714 (Accessed April 9th, 2019).http://oxfordre.com/literature/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.001.0001/acrefore- 9780190201098-e-714 (Accessed April 9th, 2019).
78 For Carroll’s parody of The Song of Hiawatha, see Lewis Carroll, “Hiawatha’s Photographing” (Image 15, no. 3, September 1972): 29-32.
http://search.ebscohost.com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=vth&AN=32817141&site=ehost- live&scope=site.
The sexual innuendos contained within “Two Bucks on the Line,” as well as with “How to Make an Extra Buck,” demonstrate how Springs has parodied Longfellow’s poem and turned it into a caricature that eroticizes the Native American. Although the individuals in Springs’ Native American advertisements are much more sexualized than in Longfellow’s poem, they both are indicative of problematic stereotypes about Native Americans perpetuated in American popular culture. They are not accurate representations of Native Americans, but are rather a
conglomeration of traits that have been associated with a broad, diverse group of peoples. Springs’ advertisements of non-Western individuals thus demonstrate the process of othering cultures outside of the Western world as well as how these cultures become a source of fascination and curiosity exploited by popular media. The long, complex histories of cultural differentiations based upon race and ethnicity reveal how deeply entrenched these ideologies were in American culture, extending back decades, even centuries, prior to Springs’ campaign. The process of othering through these ideologies is cyclical, as the initial form of establishing a social other in turn leads to a fascination with the outside culture, which, when exploited in popular media, perpetually reinforces the stereotypes about the other. Springs’ parody of these popular sources demonstrates how othering through race and ethnicity have been popularized throughout American history.
CONCLUSION