I have chosen to analyze photographer Jeff Thomas’s photo collection, “Scouting for Indians” (1992-2000). This exhibition featured photos of stereotypical representations around the city of Indigenous people. I discovered it through a Media Smarts article about how Indigenous people are represented in film and television called Common Portrayals of Aboriginal People and viewed the collection itself on www.scoutingforindians.com. This piece of evidence directly relates to my Big Idea topic, Indigenous People in Film and Photography, as Thomas’s photo collection calls attention to the stereotypes about Indigenous People, which are perpetuated through film and television.
The photos include drawings and statues of Indians. Despite being created at different times, all of the artwork depict Indigenous people similarly. In the images, Indigenous people are portrayed as strong warriors, wearing buckskin and feather headdresses. In none of the representations more modern pieces of art, are the Indians fully clothed and in almost all of the photos, they have weapons. One photo is of a more recent piece of art and includes a spray-painted image of an Indian holding a gun. Another spray-painted image is of an Indian with a headdress and the words “warriors rule” next to him. They perfectly fit the “type” of Indian Thomas King describes as the “Dead Indian” in his book, The Inconvenient Indian. This is the image that many people imagine when they hear the word “Indian.” It does not accurately represent the majority of the Indigenous population but remains the most popular image because people are exposed to it in the media and in the form of artwork like the pieces photographed by Jeff Thomas.
Thomas’s photo exhibit highlights the stereotypical view of Indigenous people portrayed in different forms of media, especially in films. It not only shows the misrepresentation of Indigenous people but also explains why people continue to generalize and assume that the “Dead Indian” represents all Indigenous people. In the same way, stereotypes are perpetuated through film and TV. This view has negative effects because “Live Indians” and “Legal Indians” become somewhat invisible and their existence and issues are ignored and forgotten by others. For this reason, projects like “Scouting for Indians” and more films, which bring stereotypical portrayals of Indigenous people to attention and expand and change their view of Indigenous people are valuable.
