What Does The Fox Say: “Cowboys and Indians” Perpetuate Stereotypes, Divides and Conquers

Novalee Fox is a student at First Nations University of Canada

How do I look and who am I? Does the colour of my skin really depict the identity attributes that I lack?

I have red hair, very fair skin tone, brown eyes and freckles along with a very thick First Nation accent. I am First Nation and I am stereotyped. I am stereotyped because of how mainstream media views my people as only having dark brown hair, dark skin tone, and dark eyes.

Everyone one who knows me, knows that I am a very talkative spirit. I love to socialize and tell stories and make people laugh. I love to share my world views and beliefs if they ask. Lets just say I can talk to a complete stranger without being shy.

One day I was waiting at a bus stop when I was 15 years old. There was a man and a lady at the bus stop. The man was about early thirties and the lady was very old, I know she was probably over sixty five years old. The bus was taking long so we all started talking. The man looks at me all surprised and asks where I was from because my accent sounded very different.

I replied “I am from Ochapowace” and he looks at me and says “What the heck is an Ochapowace and where is that?!”

I said it’s a reserve. Once I said it was a reserve he knew what I was talking about. He then looks at me and said “well why do you live there…you are white, you look nothing like a native.” I said yes I am First Nation. Long story short he tried to tell me that I was not First Nation that I was Metis because my grandfather was Hungarian.

This bothered me. I sat down on the bus in the back and really thought about it.  This man putting it in my head that I was not who I thought I was. I felt lonely like he hurt my spirit. He made me question who I was.

When I was 20 years old I decided to go to university, so I chose the First Nation University of Canada (FNUniv). I am so proud of my school and everyone who is involved with it. This university to me is like “our little red school house” that was promised in the treaties. At this school I learn about Indigenous history, I am currently learning my native tongue; Cree, and learn more and more about our protocols and beliefs as First Nations people.

The FNUniv is on the same campus as the University of Regina (U of R). U of R students can take our classes, and we can their classes. To me this symbolizes peace and cultural revitalization. The FNUniv helps build relationships with non-First nations because it is like we are working together to understand each other, where as past residential school education and assimilation policies made the relationship and the concept of education toxic. Today, I am so proud that the FNUniv and the U of R are working together at bridging non-First Nation and First Nation peoples.

The U of R Cheer Team recently posed as Cowboys and Indians which created a huge controversy

Recently on Facebook, I have noticed links to stories about the U of R cheerleading team practising with the theme of Cowboys and Indians (most notably the photo above). I know that the cheerleading team has apologized, but people who are not First Nation do not understand why we were so offended by this theme.

In Canada there has always been issues between Euro-Canadians and Indigenous peoples. There are issues because of false depictions of Indigenous peoples. Stereotypes have been moulded through Hollywood movies, social media, and through ignorant knowledge of Indigenous history. First Nation people are portrayed negatively in the eyes of the media, based on old colonial assumptions.

Throughout North America, First Nation people are never really being identified as individuals. Many of the perpetuated stereotypes  and contemporary myths have been caused by misguided Hollywood portrayals in early cinema; the over-sexualized ‘squaw’ (most times played by a tanned Caucasian women) is an example present in the photo under discussion. Many times, First Nations people do not end up in the media unless we are a part of one of the 4D’s: Dancing, Drumming, Drunk or Dead (this concept comes from an article written by CBC’s Duncan McCue).

There is a reason why I do get offended when people dress like Indians for Halloween and have sports team names like “The Chiefs” or “The Redmen”. The minority that I am a part of do not call ourselves ‘Redmen’, our woman are not buck-skin mini-dress wearing, over-tanned, dark haired squaws, and we are definitely not savages. Because of these stupid ignorant stereotypes I had a hard time with self-identity. All my life I was told I was not an Indian by people who were not First Nation. They would always try drilling it in my head that I was simply “Metis” or just plain white.

Because of stereotypes,  a large part of society see First Nation people as sneaky with reddish brown skin, big noses, long dark hair that’s braided, unreasonably violent; they are thieves, they are alcoholics, they are dirty, they are poor, they are lazy, and the women are sexual pawns! The list can go on and on and on and on. First Nations people are constantly mis-represented in media.

These stereotypes are offending to our people, and no one will really understand unless they are First Nation. I hear non first nations people say things like “people go out as Geishas and Ninjas for Halloween” but you could argue those depictions are just as racist because they stereotype asian people.

When people are dressing up like “Indians” and doing stereotypical gestures, it’s targeting the First Nation race. The reason why we are so offended by the U of R cheerleading team is because it is like they were mocking us. The history of the ‘Cowboys and Indians’ theme was an oppressing time for First Nations people. I dare some of you to watch the old school Cowboys and Indian movies and tell me that it’s not a good representation of us.

U of R Cheer Team pose as Cowboys and Indians

I will tell another story in my adulthood. It was a Thanksgiving weekend and I was sick all weekend in the hospital because I got blood poisoning. My cousin Prairie and our Friend Ryan wanted to go dance. There was a dance going on Dewdney where all the clubs are. I had an iv (Intravenous therapy) cord taped on my hand and I had a ponytail with no make on and I didn’t have an identification card. But we all know that I look white.

Anyways I came into the club literally skipping and being myself and I didn’t get stopped to ask for identification nor did I have to pay a fee to get in. Prairie and Ryan who come up next behind me to get in were instantly asked for I.D and they were told that there was a guest list. Clearly there wasn’t a guest list because I got in. I get white privilege because of my skin tone. The difference is, is that I am First Nation so I understood how Prairie and Ryan felt.

At that moment, I recognized how First Nations people get treated differently, I noticed it because I am not blinded by it, but because I understood it.

I cannot stress it enough that First Nations people are not a joke. Society has to stop making a mockery of our beliefs, protocols, and regalia or should I just get over it?

The cheerleading team has to realize what it would look like if the tables were turned. What if First Nations students held some kind of themed party and we posted pics dressed up as the Klu Klux Klan or in Nazi outfits or doing ridiculous gestures like hailing Hitler. These cheer leaders and others would know they are being stereotyped. People would think of them right away as white supremacists, because that is an ignorant and a rude way to view white people.

The difference is, we would never do that and never have. But if we did, we wouldn’t be insulting just one minority group, we would be insulting a majority and I bet that would be all over the news with possibly worse consequences.

At one point in my life I tried to be white and say I was not Indian because of how society views First Nations people and the stereotypes we are haunted with every day. So my message to these cheerleaders is, “I do not wear a promiscuous buckskin mini dress. I do not floss a braid with a feather in it everyday. I do not put my hand over my mouth and make war cries on the way to class. I am not dumb. I am a human being, but society thinks I look totally different so maybe I will just “get over it”.

Nobody knows how hard it feels to be a First Nation person, being stereotyped everyday. We are constantly being bashed whenever we stand up for what we think is right for our nation. It was hard growing up, but that does not matter anymore because I know who I am. Stereotypes conflict our identity.

I share these stories of ignorance I have been faced with, because I want to educate everyone. Although there are more, I will put those memories in a box and keep moving forward.

The cheerleading team has apologized and I give them credit for trying to understand. I suggest maybe a talking circle conducted by an elder between the cheerleading team and the FNUniv Student Association might work. The old people always tell us that we have to keep talking about what has happened in history or it could happen again. Also when we stand up for our nation we can all heal. #MuchLoveAndRespect.

I think everyone needs to go have a good smudge lol.

I’ll leave you with this inspiring video to educate you on who we really are;

– By Novallee Fox, What Does The Fox Say