The use of stereotyping in Indian westerns

Abstract

This paper discusses the portrayal of Native Americans in film westerns. A qualitative approach was deemed the ideal form of analysis for this topic, due to current generation's lack of interest in westerns, therefore hundreds of films were critically viewed with the topic in mind and relative literature at hand. A few crucial films are chosen, discussed and compared from each era, with the social issues of the time kept in mind. The most important, and often successful, films released at the time provide a solid foundation to span out and analyses other, less noticed, releases. John Ford was chosen as an ideal director to center the The Golden Era chapter on, due to the fact that he released a crucial Indian western in each of the four decades. After each chapter, a brief conclusion is written to summaries the more important elements discussed. The discussion provides an in-depth analysis of Indian westerns spanning over nearly a century. Silent films are briefly discussed in the introduction, but the main eras focused on that provided the core of this particular paper are The Golden Era (1930s – 1960s), The Vietnam War Era (1970s) and The Pro-Indian Movement of the 1990s. The results showed that Native Americans are often subjects of stereotypical, and often racist, portrayals in westerns. Even Pro-Indian films would struggle to give a fair and layered account of Indians, and would often re-invent history in favor of the settlers.