Self and Other in Native American Culture

Oksana Shostak (Kyiv, Ukraine) SELF AND OTHER IN NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE American society often deliberately registers opposition between white and black identity marginizing this way Hispanics, Native Americans and Asian Americans, so everybody is compared only to the mainstream white group. Cultural interaction of different cultures, reserves the right to be "nontransparent", exemplifies a new idea of order and chaos in the world and is a kind of attempt to find a solution to the postmodern situation [1:118-119]. This unknown until recently, and thought to be hostile ‘otherness’, now is considered fashionable. And for the sake of convenience it is uploaded to the mainstream, in addition to formal legitimization, it must be "packaged in convenient consumer packaging", this way it is not only an easy assignment, but it is safe (as already known), predictable and "not completely different" [1:122]. Thus the culture of consumption seemingly blurs the boundaries leveling any identity. An important place is occupied by stereotypes and commercialization. In this regard, indicative for American society is a latent racism that demonstrates the commercial application of such insulting for Native America words like "Redskins," "Indians," "squaw", "papus," "you, cougars" etc. Sports teams and advertising of various products use images as Indian Mascot, naming the machines by the names of nations (Cherokee, Dakota, Winnebago). This evokes each time historical stereotypes of Indian barbaric savagery, sexual availability of Indian women and Indian innate laziness [2-4]. Researchers emphasize that Indian Mascots usage is an unworthy replication of stereotypes, but also direct humiliation of Native Americans. According to Young Man, if any of the leading sports teams would use anything associated with Muslims, then this area would immediately covered with the wave of acts of terror, Jesus Christ is also a bad idea for Mascot because Christians are not very tolerant as well. "Indians love basketball, but we don’t set up camp in the ballpark! ... Hey, if the Atlanta Braves think that using Indian as Mascot is simply a harmless fun, why not have them dress up some white guy in a three-piece suit and have him shuffle around a mobile home parked in the middle of the outfield every time their team scores a hit? Or how about changing the names of a few of these sports teams? Why not have the Atlanta or the Kansas City Caucasians or the Chicago Negroes, The Washington Jews or New York Rednecks?" [4:202]. Another type of Indian identity "cultural consumption" is represented by very common worldwide game in Indians, which has historical roots in the US history. During the famous Boston Tea Party, when the tea packs were thrown into the sea as a symbol of opposition to British Laws, the participants of the action were dressed like Indians [5]. S.Rassel writes about spreading Indian game types, while whites choose to play Indians, rather than make attempt to understand the culture and customs of the American Indians. "In Europe grown people go prancing through the woods half naked, drumming at all hours, and building tipis in places where tipis would manifestly make no sense. Tipis were good shelter where wood was scares: American Indians did not build tipis in the woods. Many Americans believe they are the grandchildren of Cherokee (why does it always have to be Cherokee?) royalty, usually a princess, who came to them in a dream and told them to collect artifacts associated with Siouan peoples. At least Grandmother had a sense of humor" [2:212]. During the last 235 years of North American Indian policy toward Indigenous people, native people were systematically represented as those of a lower stage of development, unable savages. Anti-Indian terminology, imagery and behavior have achieved such a level of legitimacy that even representatives of other marginal groups do not perceive it as a manifestation of racism and even take part in it. According to Charles Mills, an attempt to build the myth of the stranger is rooted in the so called ‘discover of Americas’, since the first arrival of Columbus, although from a purely technical point of view, neither Columbus nor members of his team had never set foot on the land of the continent. And it was Columbus who started dichotomy of Indian perception in his letters. It is still vividly alive in the world’s cultural paradigm. At first Columbus addressed to the natives as to noble savages, children of nature, based on their nakedness, but as soon as they began to resist European attempts of colonization, they became cannibals which were divinely predestined to be destroyed or enslaved [6:159]. Since ancient times the option of "Self" is issued the notion of being "universal" while the barbarians were perceived not just as different, but as a violation of the "universal", which did not reach the desired development. Hence the concept of Eurocentric values were born, from this position the rest of the countries, peoples and cultures were perceived as immature, their development and progress had to implement the same principles and schemes that already were in existence in Europe. References 1. Тлостанова М.В. Нюансировка инаковости в постмодернистских епистемах/ М.В.Тлостанова // Личность. Культура. Общество. – 2003. – Вып.3-4 (17-18). – С.116-134. 2. Russel, Steve. Invisible Emblems: Empty Words and Sacred Honor Mascots // Genocide of the Mind/ Ed. By Vine Deloria,Jr. – New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press National Books, 2003. – P. 211-227. 3. Roppolo, Kimberly. Symbolic Racism, History, and Reality: the Real Problem with Indian Mascots //Genocide of the Mind/ Ed. By Vine Deloria, Jr. – New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press National Books, 2003. – P. 187-198. 4. Young Man, Alfred. Indian as Mascots: Perpetuating the Stereotype// Genocide of the Mind/ Ed. By Vine Deloria, Jr. – New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press National Books, 2003. – P. 199211. 5. Deloria, Joseph Philip. Playing Indians. – New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998. – 262 p. 6. Wilford, John Noble. The Mysterious History of Columbus: An Exploration of the Man, The Myth, the Legacy. – New York : Random House, 1991. – 318 p.