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Using photos
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From: Debbie Reese <dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:19:21 -0500
Anytime someone uses photos of American Indians, I pay particular attention because of that sort of misuse. In his dissertation, Matthew Martinez (of Ohkay Owingeh) looked at photos used in travel/tourist brochures. He writes of one that shows Pueblo women baking bread outside in the ponte's we still use. In the photo, there is a metal bucket. Behind them is an adobe home, with glass windows, and power lines above/behind it. In the brochure, that photo was changed. The bucket became a stump, the glass was removed from the windows and power lines gone, too.
There are writings of how anthropologists were disappointed to find Indians with things in their houses, like sewing machines. Not authentic Indians! Which--of course--is baloney.
There's a tendency to use black and white for photos of Native people... In America's Top Model, there was an episode in which the models were dressed in clothes of two other cultures. One was dressed as Indian (from India) and American Indian (as you might imagine, stereotypes were all over the place)! In the photo shoot, all the photos of the other models were in color. The ones of the model in Indian/American Indian attire were black and white. More authentic, you know!
In Gina Capaldi's bio of Carlos Montezuma, there was an odd and misleading use of photographs. I don't know if she selected and captioned the photos or if that was someone else's work. In one, the photo was cropped, thereby cutting out a bucket. It made me wonder if the cropping was done to zero in on the people, or to get rid of the bucket. Due to the tone and presentation of content, I think it was the latter.
Debbie
__________________________________________________________
Debbie Reese, PhD Tribally enrolled: Nambe Pueblo
Email: dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com
Website: American Indians in Children's Literature _at_ http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.net
Now: Studying for MLIS at San Jose State University Then: Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies, University of Illinois
Received on Mon 02 Apr 2012 05:19:21 AM CDT
Date: Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:19:21 -0500
Anytime someone uses photos of American Indians, I pay particular attention because of that sort of misuse. In his dissertation, Matthew Martinez (of Ohkay Owingeh) looked at photos used in travel/tourist brochures. He writes of one that shows Pueblo women baking bread outside in the ponte's we still use. In the photo, there is a metal bucket. Behind them is an adobe home, with glass windows, and power lines above/behind it. In the brochure, that photo was changed. The bucket became a stump, the glass was removed from the windows and power lines gone, too.
There are writings of how anthropologists were disappointed to find Indians with things in their houses, like sewing machines. Not authentic Indians! Which--of course--is baloney.
There's a tendency to use black and white for photos of Native people... In America's Top Model, there was an episode in which the models were dressed in clothes of two other cultures. One was dressed as Indian (from India) and American Indian (as you might imagine, stereotypes were all over the place)! In the photo shoot, all the photos of the other models were in color. The ones of the model in Indian/American Indian attire were black and white. More authentic, you know!
In Gina Capaldi's bio of Carlos Montezuma, there was an odd and misleading use of photographs. I don't know if she selected and captioned the photos or if that was someone else's work. In one, the photo was cropped, thereby cutting out a bucket. It made me wonder if the cropping was done to zero in on the people, or to get rid of the bucket. Due to the tone and presentation of content, I think it was the latter.
Debbie
__________________________________________________________
Debbie Reese, PhD Tribally enrolled: Nambe Pueblo
Email: dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com
Website: American Indians in Children's Literature _at_ http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.net
Now: Studying for MLIS at San Jose State University Then: Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies, University of Illinois
Received on Mon 02 Apr 2012 05:19:21 AM CDT
