Town Destroyer | Cultural Appropriation
Clip: Season 11 Episode 8 | 48sVideo has Closed Captions
What is America's secret obsession with Native Americans?
Why is America secretly obsessed with Native Americans? Author Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche), who is the curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, walks through an exhibit featuring American icons like Elvis, Cher and Barbie and other recognizable pieces of American culture that appropriates Native American names and clothing or created an image of a "savage" Indian.
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Major funding for America ReFramed provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding provided by Open Society Foundations,...
Town Destroyer | Cultural Appropriation
Clip: Season 11 Episode 8 | 48sVideo has Closed Captions
Why is America secretly obsessed with Native Americans? Author Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche), who is the curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, walks through an exhibit featuring American icons like Elvis, Cher and Barbie and other recognizable pieces of American culture that appropriates Native American names and clothing or created an image of a "savage" Indian.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipPAUL CHAAT SMITH: There's this ambivalence and contradiction at the heart of American national identity.
I think you can call it kind of a secret obsession Americans have with Native people.
So how do we understand that?
How do we make sense of that?
Why does this country need to build this imaginary Indian?
Elvis is in here twice, 'cause he's Elvis.
That's one of them.
Cher, of course.
And, uh, here we have Native American Barbie.
The Tomahawk missile is interesting, because it's been used in so many different conflicts.
So it's an ancient idea of taking on Native names for weapons.
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Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
Support for PBS provided by:
Major funding for America ReFramed provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding provided by Open Society Foundations,...