Native Recognition

Joanna Hearne is Associate Professor of English and Film Studies at the University of Missouri. She is the author of Smoke Signals: Native Cinema Rising.

"This will be a major work for ethnic studies professionals, and people wanting a better understanding of how mass media impacts culture. Joanna Hearne does an excellent job weaving a tapestry across time, from the early days of film, to more modern looks at film making." — Portland Book Review"The first section stands out because of its rich content and insightful analysis. Here, Hearne culls a laudably wide range of archival materials from which she assembles an original work on the genesis of indigenous representation in the earliest American films. The final section of the book is a brilliant juxtaposition to the first, as the contemporary films present not a climax but rather a beginning of a new era that is still evolving. Academics will appreciate the historical insights that place the films within their proper contexts. General readers will be drawn in by the compelling nature of the work, which also includes a large number of movie stills." — CHOICE"With countless black and white photography all spread throughout, Native Recognition is a vital addition to any community or college library collection focusing on filmmaking or Native American issues, highly recommended." — Midwest Book Review

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Before-and-After: Vanishing and Visibility in Native American ImagesPart I: Indigenous Presence in the Silent Western 1. Reframing the Western Imaginary: James Young Deer, Lillian St. Cyr, and the "Squaw Man" Indian Dramas2. "Strictly American Cinemas": Social Protest in The Vanishing American, Redskin, and RamonaPart II: Documenting Midcentury Images 3. "As If I Were Lost and Finally Found": Repatriation and Visual Continuity in Imagining Indians and The Return of Navajo BoyPart III: Independent Native Features 4. Imagining the Reservation in House Made of Dawn and Billy Jack 5. "Indians Watching Indians on TV": Native Spectatorship and the Politics of Recognition in Skins and Smoke SignalsCodaPersistence VisionNotesWorks CitedIndex