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Playing Indian in the Works of Rebecca Belmore, Marilyn Dumont, and Ray Young Bear

Playing Indian in the Works of Rebecca Belmore, Marilyn Dumont, and Ray Young Bear Laura Beard In Playing Indian, Philip J. Deloria discusses the ways in which nonNatives have performed their own ideas and notions of Indian identities to their own purposes. He traces Indian play from colonial times through to contemporary ones and reminds readers that while the Indianness being claimed in this Indian play "was critical to American identities, it necessarily went hand in hand with the dispossession and conquest of actual Indian people."1 Cynthia L. Landrum echoes Deloria's observation, noting that "the presence of actual Indians, persistently struggling to maintain land and sovereignty in the face of these constructs, necessitates the continued reconstruction of the savage over time and geography."2 Non-Native peoples play Indian--in Hollywood movies, in dime-store novels, on television, as mascots for sports teams, in Halloween costumes--but Indians can play Indian as well. Indeed, playing with the "flattened-out pastiche" of Native stereotypes characterizes the work of many twentieth-century Native artists.3 This essay explores the cultural productions of Indigenous artists who sometimes "play Indian" in creating their own images of themselves and their communities. While Deloria's discussion focused on the ways in which nonNatives perform notions of Native identity, many Native authors, artists, and performers have explored the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The American Indian Quarterly University of Nebraska Press

Playing Indian in the Works of Rebecca Belmore, Marilyn Dumont, and Ray Young Bear

The American Indian Quarterly , Volume 38 (4) – Dec 21, 2014

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Publisher
University of Nebraska Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 The University of Nebraska Press.
ISSN
1534-1828
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Laura Beard In Playing Indian, Philip J. Deloria discusses the ways in which nonNatives have performed their own ideas and notions of Indian identities to their own purposes. He traces Indian play from colonial times through to contemporary ones and reminds readers that while the Indianness being claimed in this Indian play "was critical to American identities, it necessarily went hand in hand with the dispossession and conquest of actual Indian people."1 Cynthia L. Landrum echoes Deloria's observation, noting that "the presence of actual Indians, persistently struggling to maintain land and sovereignty in the face of these constructs, necessitates the continued reconstruction of the savage over time and geography."2 Non-Native peoples play Indian--in Hollywood movies, in dime-store novels, on television, as mascots for sports teams, in Halloween costumes--but Indians can play Indian as well. Indeed, playing with the "flattened-out pastiche" of Native stereotypes characterizes the work of many twentieth-century Native artists.3 This essay explores the cultural productions of Indigenous artists who sometimes "play Indian" in creating their own images of themselves and their communities. While Deloria's discussion focused on the ways in which nonNatives perform notions of Native identity, many Native authors, artists, and performers have explored the

Journal

The American Indian QuarterlyUniversity of Nebraska Press

Published: Dec 21, 2014

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