1. “Characterized as something "halfway between humanity and animality", New World inhabitants were doomed from the moment of first contact with Europeans” (Berkhofer 1979:13). In 1851, settlers took Yuki children and women as slaves and traded them with the Spanish. The federal government moved the Yuki onto fenced reservations that were tore down by white farmers who quickly apportioned more land so their livestock could graze on the reservation land. H. L. Hall, cattle supervisor for the Round Valley reservation and his group killed 240 Yuki in an organized manhunt, in revenge for the killing of a valuable stallion in 1859. That same year, California Governor John B. Weller granted state commissions to companies of volunteers that excelled in killing Indians. Methods of solving the “Indian problem” often included starvation, kidnapping, state-sanctioned mass slaughter and destruction of traditional customs. Colonel Richard I. Dodge in 1867 at Fort McPherson, Nebraska, said to a group of British hunters: "Kill every buffalo you can. Every buffalo dead is an Indian gone"(Chalk 1990:198). A hundred years later, a trail of broken treaties lead to the Battle of Wounded Knee II in the 1960s after American Indian member’s claims of injustice had not been taken seriously. AIM members were beaten, arrested, or found dead of causes unexplained. An assistant prosecutor in the state Attorney General's office, William Janklow, stated: "The only way to deal with the Indian problem in South Dakota is to put a gun to the AIM leaders' heads and pull the trigger." William Frederick Cody’s qualities as an adult included a practical knowledge of media, press coverage and the role of audience at every stage of his career. His real identity became confused with Buffalo Bill due to the popularity of his show. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Company staged a construction of America internationally between 1883 and 1916 employing many Pawnee and Sioux American Indians. The Show included trick riding, marksmanship, and mock Indian attacks on stagecoaches and various U.S. military encounters with the Indians, including Custer's adventure at the Little Bighorn. In 1885, Chief Sitting Bull was allowed to join the Wild West show. He made money from his autographs and photographs in addition to receiving a weekly salary. After Sitting Bull’s death, Cody was allowed by the US government to hire more Ghost dancers or “potential troublemakers” in an effort to contain the force of real Indian dance for fear of warfare that could threatened acquisition of Indian land and resources. This behavior demonstrated the federal belief in the Wild West Show for suppressing feelings of bellicose zeal. After the victory by the "savages" over General Custer Seventh Cavalry the government's efforts to further suppress the Indian populations increased and any organized activity on the part of Indians was considered suspicious. Ten years before writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum was the editor of The Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer, a weekly newspaper published in Aberdeen, South Dakota. After learning of the death of Chief Sitting Bull he wrote: “The proud spirit of the original owners of these vast prairies inherited through centuries of fierce and bloody wars for their possession, lingered last in the bosom of Sitting Bull. With his fall the nobility of the Redskin is extinguished, and what few are left are a pack of whining curs who lick the hand that smites them. The Whites, by law of conquest, by justice of civilization, are masters of the American continent, and the best safety of the frontier settlements will be secured by the total annihilation of the few remaining Indians” Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer, December 20, 1890 The photograph of Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull in the Wild West represented the image of the “noble savage” American Indian standing next to the civilized white man. Ironically, the image of the submissive American Indian also seemed obvious with the presence of Chief Sitting Bull who resisted white domination all his life. The need of the white race to motivate their culture through the Wild West Show perpetuated American Indian stereotypes that originated in the fifteen century with the colonizers of the New World. Buffalo Bill contributed to popular culture by introducing conflicting identities and harmful stereotypes of Native Americans as “savages” but “noble”, “exotic” but “uncivilized”, “spiritual” but “heathen.” Buffalo Bill’s Show spread the image of the civilized and powerful white man through staged scenes of “Indians” attacking peaceful settler villages in which the cowboys who came to the rescue were cheered while the “savages” were booed and hissed. Today, in the 21st century, Hollywood films like “The Lone Ranger” and “Alone yet Not Alone” (2013), exposed new generations to the old racist stereotypes of Native Americans that many still refuse to bury, and in doing so, the white men try to create a hyperreality by insisting on living uni-culturally in a multi-cultural society. Tatanka-Iyotanka was born in 1831 and became the Chief of the Hunkpapa division of the Teton Sioux (Lakota). He defeated Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. Following the Custer battle, the Chief remained in Canada, but in 1881 he surrendered. After living as a prisoner of war at Fort Randall for two years, he was allowed to settle at Standing Rock reservation in 1883. He traveled with the Wild West Show for one season between 1884 and 1885. The Hunkpapas admired him for his profound spirituality. Sitting Bull’s nephew White bull, once said that his uncle could foretell anything during religious ceremonies after pointing the pipe to the four winds. His arms, back and breast were heavily scarred from given of his flesh as an offering to Wakantanka when performing the sun dance with the intention of seeking supernatural assistance for the tribe. Lakotas considered themselves an important part of nature and tried their best to manipulate it for their benefit by honoring or appeasing their deities with group ceremonies, rites and taboos. In addition to enjoying the reputation of Wichasha Wakan, warrior and hunter, Sitting Bull was known for being generous, humble and kind with children, old people and even to people who hated him. On one occasion, he rescued an elder’s stranded horse by crossing a river. After reaching the other side, exhausted but safe, he said to the scared animal: “Grandchild, I have been sent to come to your rescue. Do not run away from me. Someone is waiting for you on the other side.” Sitting Bull was assassinated on December 15, 1890 while being arrested for his participation in the controversial Ghost Dance Religion also known as the “Messiah movement”. Just two weeks later, another dark event in the troubled history of relations between American Indians and the growing white population was about to unfold. A group of Minneconjou Sioux Indians were captured at Wounded Knee Creek in southwestern South Dakota. The next day, on December 29, 1890, as the Indians surrendered their weapons, a shot rang out and the cavalry opened fire killing at least 153, but some estimate nearly 300. Many were shot in the back as they fled, most of them women, children, and unarmed men. According to American Historian Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. this episode marked the completion of the white man's conquest of the Indian in the United States. Sitting Bull, Buffalo Bill, and Native American Stereotypes Marcello A. Monterrosa, Rosemary Candelario Ph.D. Department of Dance Sitting Bull Buffalo Bill Stereotypes History of Abuse Conclusion Genocidal Racism “The incessant image remains that somehow all American Indians are the same and are to be clumped together as a single ethnic entity. This is perhaps one reason that negative stereotyping continues to be so tempting. It is much simpler to dominate and express superiority over the "others" when they all belong to the same generic category – Indians.” Steven W. Baggs The beginning of racist stereotyping in the New World may have been the product of the clumping together of all the American Indians as a single group by ethnocentric Europeans who in the fifteenth century were under the influence of strict Christian definitions of what humans should be. According to Baggs the exploitation of the "noble savage” in the Wild West Show was another chapter in the continuing saga of the white man's quest for domination over the American Indian, and defines stereotyping as a learned form of classifying and labeling others based on inaccurate information or assumption. According to Daniel Bar-Tal, stereotyping is a form of delegitimization,. "...beliefs that downgrade another group with extreme negative social categories for the purpose of excluding it from human groups that are considered as acting within the limits of acceptable norms and/or values.” Records of racist statements include: “The most vicious cowboy has more moral principle than the average Indian” Theodore Roosevelt “We trust that, as long as you are on earth, you will compel and with all zeal cause the barbarian nations to come to the knowledge of God, the maker and founder of all things, not only by edicts and admonitions, but also by force and arms, if needful, in order that their souls may partake of the heavenly kingdom” Pope Clement VI Abstract Sitting Bull was a great Sioux warrior, holy man and Chief who resisted white culture and domination in the 1800s. The chief was invited by William Cody, aka “Buffalo Bill,” to join the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show for the 1884 ‐ 85 season. The association between Sitting Bull and Cody can be complex and given to debate, but the effect of Sitting Bull’s participation in the Wild West show upon stereotypes of Native American’s in popular culture are profound. Whether Sitting Bull’s participation was beneficial, exploitative, or one of empowerment, his participation in the Wild West Show connected Native Americans with stereotypes that would follow them for more than a century. In this poster presentation, I will be analyzing the effects of Sitting Bull’s Wild West Show legacy in relationship to Native American popular culture stereotypes. Acknowledgements Thanks to: Dr. Rosemary Candelario for sponsoring my research project, Dr. Sandra Westmoreland for her support through her scientific communication class, Ilana Morgan for her motivation and advice and Tracy Lindsay for her support during abstract submission adjustments. Chief Sitting Bull’s Personal Autograph Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill 1885