Native American identities: from stereotype to archetype in art and literature

402 Pages·1998·1.79 MB·English

by  Scott B. Vickers

Native American Identities : From
title: Stereotype to Archetype in Art and
Literature
author: Vickers, Scott B.
publisher: University of New Mexico
isbn10 | asin: 0826319319
print isbn13: 9780826319319
ebook isbn13: 9780585161655
language: English
Indians of North America--Ethnic identity,
Indians in literature, Indians in art, Indians
subject
of North America--Cultural assimilation,
Stereotype (Psychology)
publication date: 1998
lcc: E98.E85V53 1998eb
ddc: 305.897
Indians of North America--Ethnic identity,
Indians in literature, Indians in art, Indians
subject:
of North America--Cultural assimilation,
Stereotype (Psychology)
Page iii
Native American Identities
From Stereotype to Archetype in Art and Literature
Scott B. Vickers
Page v
Dedicated to the memory of my mother,
Adelle, and father, William, whose passion
for learning and generosity of spirit
inspired me always, and to my other
human and animal allies, especially Mark,
Luke, Molly, Alexander, and Fanny
For Frank Waters, whose kiva-like heart
gracefully entertained the gods
of a civilization not his own
Page vi
© 1998 by Scott B. Vickers
All rights reserved.
First edition
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Vickers, Scott B., 1947-
Native American identities: from stereotype to archetype in art
and literature / Scott B. Vickers.1st ed.
p cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8263-1931-9 (cloth).ISBN 0-8263-1886-X (pbk.)
1. Indians of North AmericaEthnic identity. 2. Indians in
literaure. 3. Indians in art. 4. Indians of North American
Cultural assimilation. 5. Stereotype (Psychology) I. Title.
E98.E85V53 1998
305.897dc21 98-9993
CIP
Page vii
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
1 1
Introduction
Stereotypes and Archetypes
Part 1: The Language of Conquest
2 15
Necessity Is the Mother of Reinvention
The Semiology and Psychology of Conquest
3 35
Wroughten Scoundrels
Bad Indians, Good Indians
4 45
Portraits of Dishonor
The Legacy of Helen Hunt Jackson
5 55
A Recapitulation of Indianness
Laughing Boy and Slim Girl
6 65
The Enchantment of the Disenfranchised
Artistic Images of the Pueblo Indian
7 85
Grounds for Mythification
Frank Waters in "The Red Atlantis"
Part 2: From Stereotype to Archetype
8 107
From Western Art to Archetype
The Path of the Spirit in Modern Indian Art
9 125
The Storytellers
Transforming the Oral Tradition
10 159
Conclusion
Resistance in the Blood
Notes 167
Bibliography 179
Index 187
Page ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The inspiration for researching, writing, and compiling this
manuscript has come from many diverse resources and people whose
contributions I would like now to acknowledge. I hope this work will
repay in some part their financial, professional, and emotional
support. My parents, Bill and Adelle, have given me immense
encouragement and support during all of my academic career, and I
hope they are at last thankful that I have finished something I started;
I only wish that my mother had lived to see its publication. Professor
Kent Casper and the Humanities Department at the University of
Colorado at Denver were generous enough to award me two tuition
grants toward the completion of the original manuscript, as well as
showing genuine concern for my academic livelihood. I am also
indebted to Professor Charles Moone and Bradford Mudge of the
University of Colorado at Denver, and to Professor Paul Zolbrod of
Allegheny College, for their advice and reading of this manuscript
during its various manifestations, for which they have received no
compensation but its publication. I am indebted to Atlatl, a Phoenix
resource group for those researching Indian artists, for providing me
access to those whose illustrations are included in this book, and to
Hachivi Edgar Heap of Birds, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and Diego
Romero for providing the works themselves.
I would also like to thank Tom and Marilyn Auer and Michael Evans-
Smith of The Bloomsbury Review for introducing me to the rich world
of modern multicultural literature and for ideas and resources they
have provided during my research. Bob Nauman, a doctoral candidate
at the University of New Mexico, was instrumental in helping me find
a focus for the dis-

Page x
cussion and has been an inspiration and resource on Indian artists and
the history of Indian art. Barbara Guth, my editor at the University of
New Mexico Press, has given me every chance to make this book as
good as it could be, so I must bear full responsibility for any failings
herein. Above all, I would like to thank my longtime companion,
Mark Waddell, for making considerable personal and financial
sacrifices that I might reach this watermark in my life. I say with all
humility that I could not have done it without all of their support,
encouragement, and love.