Reel Injun: The Representation Of Indigenous Peoples In Cinema

After centuries of stereotypes and racism, Indigenous Peoples are finally getting a meaningful voice in the world. Indigenous Peoples have suffered from adversity, misrepresentation, and cultural genocide unlike any other racial group. A stark majority of their stories are told from a Western point of view, utilising the “stereotypical Indian” (Reel Injun) giving them little to no merit in the eye of true Indigenous culture. A new median had to be developed and become relevant to allow the spread of truth and history, henceforth over time First Peoples texts and cinema are becoming an effective way to obtain a full personal representation of Indigenous culture and struggles.

The discrimination and segregation of First Nations people was a

Neil Diamond, a Cree filmmaker, brings such to light in his 2009 film, “Reel Injun”. Reel Injun is a movie about how Indigenous Peoples were portrayed in cinema at different periods of North American history. For the majority of indigenous history, they were used as a mean to sell tickets since that is what the populous enjoyed watching. Filmmakers would use the “Stereotypical Indian” (Reel Injun) in all movies to make them identifiable. They “all rode horses and wore headdresses. They all spoke same tongue” (Reel Injun). Often times, “reversed English was used as a native language in movie” as directors didn’t care about culture, they cared about box office sales (Reel Injun). The use of stereotyping and quick generalization of natives by white directors, costume designers, videographers, led to vast misrepresentation of First Peoples. The west believed every First Nations man or woman to be the same. However, each Indigenous group is unique and possesses their own identifiable culture. After many decades of unrest and change, movies made by Indigenous Peoples started representing what their true unique culture and heritage looked like. Reel Injun spoke extremely highly of the film, “Atanarjuat” or “The Fast Runner” in English. Directed by Zacharias Kunuk, it has been described as, “the most accurate representation of native culture and legend” (Reel Injun). It tells of an Inuit legend passed down through numerous generations. The creation of this movie meant so much to the lead actor Natar Ungalaaq that in the climactic scene where he is running on ice evading murderers “his feet were bleeding nonstop while running; he understood the importance of the role” (Reel Injun). When given the prime opportunity to express themselves in cinema, Indigenous Peoples told the stories how they wanted to tell them. With