The Ubiquitous "Eskimo"

 (Hipster band One EskimO...they'll get a whole post on their own soon. So many problems.)

Hi Friends! Yes, I'm back. I have a litany of excuses, but you don't care! So back to the Native Appropriations!

Since Boston is on a record-breaking snow streak (already over 60 inches this season), I thought I would pull together a post about the ever-present "Eskimo" in advertising and pop culture. Because everyone knows, snow, ice, cold="Eskimos"! (/sarcasm)


Alaska Native communities are often completely left out of conversations about race in the US, and even left out when we talk about Native communities. I lament the fact that the only representations we see of American Indians are the feathers-and-buckskin stereotypes, but I think it is even more apparent that the only images we see of Alaska Native peoples are the "Eskimo" images--furry hood, big parka, probably an igloo, maybe a dog sled...you know exactly what I'm talking about. So without further ado, some of these images:

A major offender, Eskimo Joe's in Stillwater, OK. Their website says they are famous for the "smile seen round the world," and you can buy a whole host of memorabilia featuring this image. Don't worry, there's also Mexico Joe's, if you're an equal opportunity stereotyper. The "eskimo" doesn't even have eyes. Talk about de-humanizing.

This is actually the image that inspired this post. My friend Marj had an 80's party this weekend, and she bought Lisa Frank decorations (which were awesome). There was one that featured this image above, except it had the girl hugging a polar bear, with a penguin and a puffin dancing beside them. But note all the images thrown together--igloo, polar bear, penguin, husky, northern lights...um, shouldn't we be aware of some geography here? I'm pretty sure you can't find all of those things in the same place. Not to mention the anglo-cizing of her features. 

My grandparents always had Eskimo Pies in the freezer when I was growing up. There are a lot of historic images of their mascot too, since they've been around since 1921:

(source)

Images of Alaska Natives have been used in advertising since the 1800's, and there are numerous examples all over the internet. This page, compiled by a professor at Rhode Island College is a great collection, and this ad was on boingboing a while back:

Note the nonsense "language" they're speaking, and implications that they're unintelligent and "savage".

There are so many examples to draw from--movies often exploit this stereotype, as we saw in The Simpsons Movie, and then later on the show, "Mukluks" and other arctic-inspired footwear have invaded fashion...I could go on and on.

These images collapse over 11 distinct Alaskan cultural groups into one stereotype, not to mention the other cultural groups in recognized in Canada. The Alaska Native Heritage Center is an amazing resource for learning about the indigenous people of Alaska, and they divide their exhibitions up into five cultural groupings (click to be taken to the web pages): Athabascan, Unangax & Alutiiq (Sugpiaq), Yup’ik & Cup’ik, Inupiaq & St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida & Tsimshian.

I visited the ANHC on one of my admissions recruiting trips, and it was amazing. If you're ever in Anchorage, I definitely recommend a visit. 

(it was summer when I was there)

There is also some debate surrounding the term "Eskimo"--which is usually a blanket term to describe Yupik and sometimes Inupiaq peoples. The accepted term in Canada and Greenland is "Inuit," however it is not used in Alaska. Most Alaska Natives I know identify by their cultural group and consider the term "Eskimo" pejorative--but I also know a few who identify as "Yupik Eskimo" or other similar combinations. If there's someone who knows more and wants to weigh in, please let me know. 

I feel like this post is a little all over the place, but I just wanted to point out how ubiquitous these images are in our everyday lives. They are just as harmful as all the images of American Indians I post--reducing a heterogeneous group of people to one stereotyped image rooted in the past, in "magic" or fantasy, and erasing the current, contemporary presence of Alaska Native and Inuit peoples.

(Thanks Wendy and Marj!)

Random Appropriation of the Day! (Totem Cups)

 (source)

I initially didn't have much to say about these "Totem Cups" by designer Rob Southcott--they're cups. That look like a totem pole. Oh, but they are made in the land of many great Native appropriations: China.

Southcott is a Toronto-based artist, and his pieces seem to incorporate a lot of the natural world with "functionality". Lots of driftwood looking things, kinda pretty.

But then I got to thinking. What irks me about this product is not only the "totem pole" as interpreted by a non-Native who has no knowledge of the sacredness or intentionality behind the designs of Northwest coast/Alaska totem poles, but also the fact that the revenue of this product, clearly based off Indigenous designs, goes to the non-Native artist. So he benefits, while the tribes that created and maintained this style of art do not. That doesn't seem fair, does it?

If I decided to market a product that was clearly a direct rip off of one of Southcott's other designs, I would have a lawsuit slapped on me before it even hit shelves. The slippery slope of intellectual property clearly falls on the side of those in power, doesn't it? 

Totem Cups: http://www.neatoshop.com/product/Totem-Cups

Rob Southcott: http://robsouthcott.com/

(Thanks Marj and arkityp!)

The Simpsons stereotypes Alaska Native cultures, again.

 

On the most recent episode of the Simpsons,  Homer and Marge gain a spot on the US Olympic curling team and head to Vancouver for the games. When they arrive in the city, Homer is greeted by an Alaska Native/Inuit woman (in Vancouver?) and they engage in about 10 seconds of guttural noises back and forth as the background goes all swimmy and mystical, then he drives away. 

After the jump, a couple more screen shots and linking it back to the Simpsons Movie (where this character was first introduced).

Admittedly, I was tipped off, so I sped through most of the episode until I got to this scene, and stopped watching after it, so I'm not sure if this was given more context later, but I'm almost positive it was just intended as a quick nod to the Simpsons Movie.

 

This is during their back and forth, notice how the background is all Dali-like and the inclusion of the psychedelic clouds and birds. 

This is a close-up of the character (who goes un-named in the movie as well). She has no teeth, a deep, masculine voice, and speaks in broken english.

I'm going to refer back to an email my friend Holly (who is Inupiaq from Anchorage) sent out after the Simpsons Movie came out, talking about the scene in which this character is introduced:

I'm not sure if you have seen it yet, but there is a scene with an Alaska Native woman who looks like a man, and who is highly sexualized by her breasts, yet remains hideous and ogre-like. The scene ultimately makes a mockery out of Alaska Natives, as audience members laugh at her. All the beauty of a culture is gone. Millions of people, who do not know about Alaska Natives are going to see this movie and laugh. There are enough problems with race and misunderstandings of other cultures in America without movies that create stereotypes about cultures that they do not know anything about.

The scene with the Inuit woman starts at 58 min. In which she gives Homer “fire water.” An insulting stereotype emphasized onscreen by the makers of The Simpsons. In the next scene at 1 hr 2 minutes, the Native woman appears in the Northern Lights and her oversized breasts bounce and point in the direction Homer needs to go in order to save Springfield. Considering how many Native women are victims of sexual assault and rape it is an outrage that a movie would further sexualize a group which is additionally humiliated.

 Holly sums it up beautifully, and brings to light the many issues at play behind the images in the movie and the episode, and I think this will serve as a good bridge for a discussion this week about the role of Indigenous peoples in Olympic advertising, marketing, and ceremonies of the Vancouver games.

The whole episode is on hulu, if you really want to watch it.

Full episode on hulu: http://www.hulu.com/watch/125173/the-simpsons-boy-meets-curl 

Background article on violence against Alaska Native Women in the Anchorage Daily News:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/crime/story/8825231p-8726532c.html

More information on violence against Alaska Native women from Amnesty International:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/Womens_Human_Rights/Summary/page.do?id=1021170&n1=3&n2=39

(Thanks to Anna for the tip, and Holly for the analysis!)