“Powwow Polaroid” and “The Real Indian Leans Against” both illustrate how white America appropriates Native people and uses them for self profit, therefore taking control over their culture.
When white America appropriates Native cultures, the Native people are taken out of context and misrepresented as outlandish characters. In “Powwow Polaroid”, while the speaker was fancydancing, the white woman “took the picture, the flashbulb burned, and none of us could / move” (Alexie 7-8). The woman takes the photograph without permission, taking no asking This photograph represents white America taking snippets of Native people and traditions without permission and creating stereotypical characters that represent their cultures. Similarly, in “The
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In Alexie’s poem, the speaker describes that after taking the photograph, “the white woman with the camera raised her / arms in triumph, crossed her legs at the ankle, tilted her head to / one side” (Alexie 11-13). The woman’s body language indicates her pride in the picture and her playfulness about the matter. It is fun for her, and she gets a “cool, fun” photo. In addition to the lightheartedness, her “triumph” suggests a tone of conquest and forceful taking. This is representative of a greater appropriation of culture, when white America forcefully takes aspects of culture and uses them for their own benefit. The oppressed don’t benefit. This idea is also highlighted in Chrystos’ poem, in which the speaker describes the United States as “the land of sell / your grandma sell our land sell your ass” (Chrystos 19-20). These things listed are not things that people have the right to sell, and are used in the poem to emphasize the abusive selling of Native cultures. Throughout history, white men in America profited on the exploitation of others, as can be especially seen in the treatment of the Native Americans. White people took the Native peoples’ land for themselves and still today profit off of the misrepresentations of Native