Evidence Analysis: When Captain America Was an Indian

For my first close reading I decided to focus on an article called “When Captain America Was an Indian: Heroic Masculinity, National Identity, and Appropriation” by Chad Barbour. The article itself focuses on the comic 1602 that has Captain America renamed Rojhaz and “dressed as an Indian”. I think it’s important to note that canonically Steve Rogers is of Irish heritage and has blonde hair and blue eyes. In 1602 his physical appearance did not change, but his traditional star-spangled jumpsuit was swapped out for feathers, braids, and moccasins. Barbour discusses the history of whitewashing Indigenous characters with comics such as White Indian, Tomahawk, and Indians which fall into the years between 1947 and 1953 when the “white Indian trope” was most popular. However, 1602 came out in 2003 and therefore draws into question the necessity of drawing a white man in Indigenous garb. The reason for Steve Rogers being dressed in Indigenous garb is explained and fleshed out, but the question still remains about whether it was  necessary to have Steve Rogers play this role when an new character could have been born or a pre-existing Indigenous hero could have been used.

It is explained in the article that for the majority of the comic Steve Rogers, Rojhaz, is dressed in buckskin pants and moccasins, but lacks a shirt. He also stands with his legs slightly spread and his arms crossed with a stoic expression on his face in a way that conjures up the image of a ‘heroic Indian’ protecting his tribe. The way he is dressed and his preferred stance is supposed to project and image of Indigeneity and strength, but for many, me included, it seems a bit of a farce and denotes thoughts of mockery not flattery.