How American Public Schools Using Down-Linked News Media Shape American Indian Identity

The S-Word: Discourse, Stereotypes, and the American Indian Woman

“…''Being called names contributes to identification with the oppressor and results in an internalized oppression that leads to self-hatred and an ability to function as a whole and healthy individual with a tribal or Native American identity'' (Tafoya, 2005, p. 305). Ethnostress, a potential effect of the repetition of negative discourse in the culture, has significant psycho-physiological consequences for identity formation and self-esteem for all Native Americans and for children in particular (Sanchez, 2003). Views of the S-word as non-problematic, as nothing more than a historical artifact, dismiss Indian women's concerns and silence their voices.…”

“…Despite what popular culture and media portray (Merskin, 1998(Merskin, , 2001), American Indian culture has changed (Sanchez, 2003). Thus, with increased awareness of a people's past and present, as a representational ethics of care, scholars and practitioners are obligated to challenge limiting word and image choices in media and marketing content as moral responsibility.…”

How Many More Indians? An Argument for a Representational Ethics of Native Americans

“…The APA states that “the continued use of American Indian mascots, symbols, images, and personalities” is racist and damaging to Indian and non-Indians (“Summary of the APA,” 2014). In addition, an interdisciplinary body of academic research has argued the same thing whether the representations are found as team mascots (Black, 2002; King, 2001, 2004; Staurowsky, 2007; Tovares, 2002; Wallace, 2011), in films (Edgerton, 1994; Merskin, 1998; Mihelich, 2001; Strickland, 1997), in news (Freng, 2007; Miller & Ross, 2004; Sanchez, 2003), or as brand images (Green, 1993; Merskin, 2001; Sanchez, 2012). Yet the stereotypes persist and are perpetuated by the introduction of new products such as Native Spirit cigarettes and racist discourse in the case of the 2011 hunt for Osama bin Laden when the U.S. government gave the mission the operation code name “Geronimo” (Westcott, 2011).…”