Representations: Application and Collaboration

Description

This course examines historical and contemporary representations of Indigenous peoples in mainstream media, pop culture, and social discourse. The material connects stereotypical representations of Indigenous peoples with the real world impacts of those portrayals – including violence against Indigenous women, psychological harm, and appropriation.

Each module further explores how Indigenous creators, scholars, and activists are pushing back against stereotypical representations, and how allies can support this work and/or make interventions of their own.

Learning Outcomes

• Make connections between the dispossession of land and stereotypical representations of Indigenous peoples.
• Understand the role of popular media in perpetuating stereotypes of Indigenous peoples.
• Begin to explore how heteropatriarchal gender norms work in conjunction with settler colonialism.
• Learn and apply visual and discourse analysis skills to unpack colonial narratives in the media.
• Start to bring together concepts, myths, and stereotypes to disrupt stereotypical representations of Indigenous peoples.
• Engage with Indigenous peoples’ responses to stereotypical representations in writing, art, and activism.

Course / Module Outline

• “What’s the problem with Pocahontas?” Colonial Stereotypes of Indigenous Women
• “NDNs On the Screen”: Colonial Myths in Settler Films
• Indigenous Futurisms and Indigenous Science Fiction
• The Stereotypes of the ‘Mystical Shaman’ and ‘Steward of the Land’
• “But Don’t Mascots Honour Indigenous Peoples?” Possession and Authenticity