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Dr. Chris Campbell,
Director, UI School of Communication
Native culture rich, important stories to be told
Lori Edmo-Suppah,
UI Journalist in Residence, 2001 -02
Cooperation key to gathering information
Leah Andrews
Tribes hold tot he way of their ancestors		 Kathrin Podbrecnik
Strength of Native culture overpowers oppression
Morgan Winsor
Changing 's-word' controversial but needed to make a difference
American movies help perpetuate European stereotypes

by Kathrin Podbrecnik

A European stereotype about Europeans might be that we donít have any stereotypes about other cultures. When I was asked to write a story about European clichÈs of Native Americans, I expected to find three or four examples, but as it turned out, I was completely wrong.
As an Austrian, I have to admit that we have a very special attitude towards Native Americans. Did you know that we even EAT "Indians" in Austria? And they taste very goodÖ Before you start thinking of us as a cannibal people, I have to tell you that an "Indian" is a round biscuit covered with chocolate and usually served with whipped cream. According to a dictionary, we call this tidbit an "Indian" because of its reddish or brown color ‚ which is related to our expression "redskin" to refer to a Native American.
In addition, Native Americans who watch Austrian kids imitating their language would learn a lot of new things! Ask Austrian kids to show the most obvious feature of Native Americans and they will start screaming in a high voice, placing their hands rhythmically in front of their mouths in order to create a vibrating tone.
A large number of stereotypes we have about Native Americans are rooted in the typical European childhood, mainly in a simple game. A lot of kids play "cowboy and Indian," a game where the players are divided into two groups (cowboys and Indians) and where the main goal is to catch the members of the other group. Even this game shows certain clichÈs about Native Americans: When the "Indian" group wins, they are allowed to tie the others to a tree and dance around them to celebrate their triumph. This game may be the reason why many Europeans associate Native American habits with rain dances around trees. On the other hand, American movies have contributed to this stereotype as well as to many others.
The most obvious source of stereotypes is the human language because a large number of metaphorical expressions and idioms conserve a cultureís clichÈs. In the German language we can find a lot of examples for stereotypes about Native Americans.
When listening to a German conversation, one will hear that "Indians don't know any pain" or that someone is a "flat-foot Indian."
Today, the first of these expressions is used to reprove a self-pitying person, but it also reflects that, in earlier times, people considered Native Americans as people with a high pain threshold. This stereotype about Native Americans goes back to the beginning of the New Age when Europeans considered the "bons sauvages" (the good savages) as people who could not feel any pain. Referring to someone as a" flat-foot Indian" has a bad connotation and is used to talk about people who are not very attractive or smart.


Editor’s note: Kathrin Podbrecnik is from Austria, and was an exchange student at the University of Idaho during Spring Semester 2002.


In addition, German people sometimes make fun of someone when calling him "Indian chief smelling sock" or use the expression "Hugh, I have spoken" to clarify that they have finished speaking. These expressions are based on a common stereotype: Not only have Native Americans "funny" names that refer to objects or animals, but they also have a disjointed language.
Moreover, a lot of German expressions show that we associate Native Americans with something unusual or alternative. When we speak of a "town-Indian" who has an "Iroquois haircut," we refer to someone who refuses to accept the societyís rules and dresses in an unusual way. Once again, this stereotype goes back to times when Europeans considered people other than whites as savages who did not stick to the norm.
In addition, Austrian or German people have a lot of stereotypes about Native Americans that they share with other European people. In Europe, Native Americans are believed to color their faces and decorate their totem poles with scary faces and strong colors; their clothes are believed to be mainly made of feathers and leather, and they live in teepees. Their medicine men use natural remedies, they speak with the deceased and they like smoking their peace pipes.
Furthermore, Europeans admire Native Americans for their capabilities: Native Americans can see an animal's trace on a path whereas we Europeans can't see anything. Moreover, Native Americans are known to have a good head for heights ‚ a stereotype that is based on the fact that many Native Americans have worked for white Americans to build skyscrapers. What is more, many Europeans think that male Native Americans never shave but still do not have beards. The common explanation for this "miracle" is that they tear out their beards until they stop growing at all.
To a large extent, these stereotypes are based on famous stories by Karl May ("Winnetou"), a German teacher who wrote innumerable novels about Native Americans in the 19th century. Interestingly, May had never seen Native Americans with his own eyes.
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