Critical Reflection Three: Cowboys & Indians

The article Cowboys and Indians written by Michael Yellow Bird was an eye opening discussion. From all the readings thus far in the course this one is my favourite. Being an American Aboriginal himself he does not show resentment towards white people rather he points out the facts and does not fudge the truth. White Americans need to see clearly what has happened in the past and how we can improve and move forward in our way of thinking and speaking.
Most people, including myself think of colonialism as being in a foreign land and in the past. But if you really ask yourself what is colonialism you will see that American Aboriginals are still being mistreated today. Yellow Bird states that “Cowboys and Indians have, for me, come to symbolize America’s past and present infatuation with colonizing and genocide” (Yellow Bird, 2004, p. 34).

            Where I grew up I cannot recall anyone playing cowboys and Indians. So I am not completely sure if it is an American thing or prior 1990’s game but I had heard of it mostly in film relation. I was just a bit shocked when I read the article because I could not believe they still made the little plastic toys. That just seems so wrong. But I loved the example that Yellow Bird used when he was explaining it to his class. Using black slaves or the holocaust to explain what he was trying to convey really made sense. Just because it happened a long time ago does not mean can sweep it under the rug and say it is all okay. Yellow Bird believes “that a reason these figures are tolerated is due to the subconscious demands of white American supremacy over Indigenous Peoples” (p. 36).

            It is amazing to think less then forty years ago Yellow Bird and his class “learned that we did not know anything of value, nor did we have anything important to contribute from our culture unless it supported the myths of white supremacy” (p. 39). The only time his and his fellow classmates heard about Aboriginal history was in relation to Thanksgiving which is just a “falsified [story that has] become universal truths to mainstream society, and have reduced Aboriginal culture to a caricature” (p. 39). In the example of cowboys and Indians Yellow Bird recounts how when he used to watch western movies it was always the “savage Indians” who would be defeated by the strong and innocent white cowboy. Everyone always cheered for the cowboys, even Yellow Bird and his friends.

            What I found really interesting was the idea that the people on Yellow Birds reserve felt the need to conform to be more like cowboys which really just gave them less empowerment. What made them want to be like a cowboy? How does wearing cowboy boots or calling someone a cowboy do any justice for what had happened to your ancestors? Yellow Bird puts it all into perspective when he writes “colonialism is a sickness, an addiction to greed, supremacy, power, and exploitation and that cowboys and Indians are one of the colonizer’s drugs of choice” (p. 42). 

            In both the United States and Canada there are stereotypes of what an Aboriginal person is like. The idea of an Aboriginal person causes people “to think things they never would if their minds and hearts were free from American colonial rule” (p. 42). Colonialism is always looking for someone to corner and in American it has been Aboriginals for a very long time. I know from first hand experience how these falsified stories can really change a person’s opinion. My dad grew up in Yellowknife and obviously grew up around a lot of Aboriginal people. My grandmother always complained about “the Natives” and how they just waste their money, etc. But my dad has no idea where she got this idea. He believes that you cannot generalize an assumption about a whole group of people. She probably just had a bad experience with one person who completely changed her view point on Aboriginal people. It is interesting to see how my dad and grandmother lived there together but have completely different views on Aboriginal people. Yellow Bird believes “this can change if Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples intelligently resist American colonialism and beginning the process of decolonising cowboys and Indians, beginning by telling the truth about the racist intent of the cowboys and Indians phenomenon” (p. 45).