Cultural Colonialism

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Reservation Blues, by Sherman Alexie, is more than just a story about life on a reservation. It is a social commentary on the state of Indian affairs. This is a state which places the survival of Native American culture at odds with their ability to succeed in white mainstream society. Many of the themes that Alexie discusses, such as poverty and alcoholism, are linked to the past oppression the Indians have faced. Often, the only path of success offered to Indians is one that requires them to commercialize their culture. Such commercialization has a devastating effect on the ability to preserve Native American culture. Disney's Pocohontas is one example of the commercialization of this culture. Some may argue that the movie is a historically incorrect depiction of the colonization of America. However, it does raise a number of difficult and timely issues.

During the nineteenth century, many white Americans and Native Americans were engaging in land disputes created by western expansion. Whites viewed Native Americans simply as "savages," not only uncivilized but also incapable of being civilized. The solution to this problem was for the federal government to find a way to move the Native Americans out of the way in order to expand white settlements. This was done by placing them on reservations. By looking at this oppressive history, one can draw connections between the past and the present. Maybe many Native Americans live in poverty because their entire culture and way of life has been uprooted. Maybe the reservations have caused them to feel isolated and helpless.

A comparison can be drawn between the hardships of the Spokane Indians and the struggle of African-Americans throughout the nineteenth century. When America came to realize the cruelty of slavery, people began to sympathize with blacks and tried to reconcile the wrongs that had been done to them. America tried to identify with African-American culture by adopting many aspects of that culture as their own. One aspect that the novel deals with is the "blues," shown through Robert Johnson, who appears on the reservation and befriends Thomas Builds-The-Fire. Slaves sang the blues as a means of expression. These songs created a bond between them. However, in the nineteen hundreds the blues became commercialized when mainstream America expressed an interest in it. People believed that by listening to the blues they were identifying with African-American culture.

Native Americans are often tempted to use their heritage as a tool for success in mainstream America. Initially Coyote Springs is formed as a way to vocalize the hardships of reservation life, just as slaves vocalized the hardships of plantation life. The guitar that Robert Johnson has given to Thomas says to him, "Y'all need to play songs for your people. They need you" (). The original purpose was to share songs with other Native Americans in order to help alleviate the depression of living on a reservation. This soon changes as the band becomes increasingly popular. It is not long before they realize that they may find success and escape the poverty and desperation of the reservation.Buy cheap Cultural Colonialism term paper

The band's opportunity for success comes when Calvary Records offers the band a record deal, not as musicians, but as Indians. Calvary Records is symbolic of the U.S. Calvary, which as responsible for killing many Native Americans during the western expansion. The record company wants Coyote Springs to fill a specific market created by America's need to identify with Native American culture

"Overall, this band looks and sounds Indian…We're looking at some genuine crossover appeal. We can really dress this group up, give them war paint, feathers, etc., and really play up the Indian angle. I think this band could prove to be very lucrative for Calvary Records" (10).

In the end, however, Coyote Springs did not succeed. During their audition Robert Johnson's guitar "bucked in [Victor's] hands, twisted away from his body. He felt a razor slice across his palms" (5). This shows that Native Americans must not commercialize their culture; it will not lead to true freedom. When the band returns to the reservation, Junior takes his own life. His death shows that when a culture is commercialized, the ability to preserve that culture is being damaged.

Betty and Veronica represent the part of mainstream American that wants to adopt Indian culture. They are not of Native American descent but still they are able to profit from pretending to be. When they show up at Calvary Records Sheridan tells them, "Our Company…has an economic need for a viable Indian band…You're Indian enough, right? I mean, all it takes is a little bit right? Who's to say you're not Indian enough?" (7). They believe that Indian culture is something that can be bought and had by everyone. By the end, Betty and Veronica believe that they are practically Indian, as their song suggests "And my hair is blonde / But I'm Indian in my bones / And my skin is white / But I'm Indian in my bones / Don't listen to what they say / You can be Indian in your bones" (5). When Thomas heard the song he destroyed the tape and then proceeded to run around his house grabbing photos and souvenirs, "afraid that somebody was going to steal them next" just as Betty and Veronica were trying to steal his heritage (6).

The Disney movie, Pocohontas, continues the idea of commercializing Native American culture. Pocohontas herself has a Barbie-doll figure and an exotic glamour. Disney has created a marketable New Age Pocohontas to embody our dreams for harmony, while banishing our nightmares of savagery. The movie tells the romantic story of Captain John Smith's rescue from an executioner's tomahawk by the adoring Pocohontas. However, the real story of "Pocohontas" was very different from this sugarcoated version. John Smith was not the sensitive and understanding hero that Disney portrayed him to be. In real life, he remained an Indian-killer throughout his stay in North America. He had contempt for the people he came in contact with in the New World. Also, Disney fails to note that the English had, in fact, taken over the agricultural land of Indians.

So why does Disney not tell the real story? Of course, Disney movies are geared toward the younger generation and its primary goal is to sell movies. Anglo-Americans do not want to be reminded of their unfavorable past. The same goes for the way that the "white man" took over the land as it does for oppression of blacks in the nineteenth century. I am sure that Disney would never make a movie about slavery and have it be well received in mainstream society. However, in a deeper sense, Pocohontas does challenge its audience to see ethnocentrism, commodification, and exploitation as barriers to the idea of harmony among people. The film provides a valuable lesson that we can further by encouraging our children, and ourselves, to take it seriously when Pocohontas sings "And we are all connected to each other / In a circle, in a hoop that never ends."

By commercializing Native Americans in literature, music, film, and so on, we often are not giving an accurate picture of history. In films such as Pocohontas, we must be informed of the historical context of the period and not be taken in by the commercialization of movie. On the other hand, Reservation Blues forces its audience to think about the importance of the past and to question the restlessness of the Indian people.

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