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Missouri Humanities Council e-News | April 2009 | View Online | ||||||||||
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Misconceptions in a Mainstream CultureBy Erin Blackshere Pouppirt
They also wanted to know if I lived in a lodge or tipi. I explained that I lived in a regular house just like the houses in their town. Several of the children wanted to take pictures with a “real live Indian.” My French parents loved my regalia. Later during my visit, we went to visit Annecy, a lovely medieval town nearby. There’s a pleasant lake there, and while we were walking around the lake, we came upon two people dressed as Native Americans playing flutes. They were selling CDs from a box. My French father became very enthusiastic when we spotted them. He wanted me to go over and talk to them because he thought that they were also "real" Indians. As we approached the duo, I noticed that their clothing reminded me of Halloween costumes, complete with black plastic fringe. I told my French father that no “real live Indians” would ever wear plastic fringe, at least not any that I know. My father was disheartened by my challenge to the authenticity of these musicians.
The children who don’t have contact with Indians, or with teachers who have had contact with Indians, really do wonder if we live in tipis. Nothing in our popular media would or could instruct them otherwise. Very few people understand the Native American culture because many Indians have remained near or on their reservations. When Indians do leave their reservations, they blend in with the rest of society. A big misconception also is that an "Indian will always look like an Indian", but that is not true anymore. We are all different shapes, sizes, colors, live all over the world, and have regular jobs such as plumber, mail carrier, teacher, dancer, engineer, etc. Misconceptions occur when people don't understand or lack knowledge of a culture. This is the context of life when you’re on the fringe of “mainstream” culture. [Return to Passages Front Page] Also in This Issue:
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Last year, I went to France to visit the family that hosted me in 1981 when I was a high school exchange student. While visiting, I gave a presentation on “My Kaw Ancestors” to 79 middle school children who were studying English. (One of my friends from 1981 is now a teacher at the College Jean Jacques Rousseau in St Julien-en-Genevois) I wore my ceremonial Kaw/Kanza “regalia” for the presentation. To me, that clothing is for special occasions, but the students were curious to know if I wore regalia every day. I explained that I wore blue jeans just like them on most days. I told them my regalia was for ceremonial pow-wows and presentations. The students especially liked my buffalo bag and bone hair pipe necklaces. 
My French parents are strangers to the concept of authenticity because they haven't had any previous experiences with Native American Indians. Totally removed from first-hand knowledge, that concept of authenticity or realism becomes slippery. It is no different in Missouri than in France. The school children here ask me the same questions during my presentations. As American Indians, we live within the mainstream culture, but we exist on the fringe of public awareness. Other school children who grow up with American Indians don’t have that other-worldly idea about us. They know we don’t ride around in loin cloths, looking for a chance to attack wagon trains. 