Pretty Like A White Boy By Drew Hayden Taylor

542 Words3 Pages

Stereotypes and Culture Appropriation

The view of an individual or group has a lot to do with how society has developed. Society has evolved to target groups by stereotypes and culture appropriating. Stereotypes and culture appropriation negatively impact the Indigenous Community by making Indigenous communities not find their identity and get comfortable within the stereotypes. Firstly, In the passage Pretty Like a White boy by Drew Hayden Taylor he explores his difficulties with growing up Indigenous but not looking like the usual stereotypical Indigenous man. Hayden Taylor talks about his identity crisis in the passage saying “And like most insecure people and specially a blue eyed Native writer, I went through a particularly severe I identity …show more content…

The stereotypes of a white man affects Drew Hayden Taylor by forgetting his true identity of being an Indigenous man and gets comfortable with the stereotypes society has made him believe he belongs to. Secondly, In the passage Compatriots by Emma Lee Warrior it explores culture appropriation within Indigenous and German Lifestyle. Hilda, a German who is studying Indians, is eager to learn about the lifestyle and culture of Indigenous communities. When talking about sun dances, Hilda is confused as to why Lucy has not been to a sun dance saying “Buy Why? Don't you believe in it? It's your culture! Hilda's face showed concern”(Warrior). This quote highlights several problems related to stereotypes and culture appropriation in Indigenous communities. Hilda responds to Lucy in a way that she was bothered by Lucy that she did not attend any sun dances in her life. Hilda first assumes and stereotypes that all Indigenous people have the same traditions and beliefs. This erases the diversity between Indigenous groups and their individual practices. Hilda stereotyping Indigenous groups makes Indigenous people lose their identity within different groups. Based on Hilda's research on Indigenous people it is not clear to her about the diverse culture and still makes mistakes of