The Truth about Stories - A Native Narrative by Thomas King Free Essay Example, 1500 words

King makes it very clear throughout that one of the big problems with the Native problem is unrealistic views of Native Americans handed down from the 18th century or even earlier in a few cases. He relates the story of Edward Sheriff Curtis, a photographer who went around the USA in 1900 taking pictures of various Native peoples (King, 2003, p. 32). The problem with Curtis is that he was looking for the literary Indian, the dying Indian, the imaginative construct , so much so that he took along boxes of 'Indian' props to dress up people who did not fit that image. King compares this 'literary Indian' to the Indian of Fact , which are the real Native Americans who do not fit into people's expectations at all most of the time. The problem, then, is not who people are, but what others think they should be based on their own stereotypes. While we might like to assume this sort of thing does not happen again, King mentions a lot of current day examples, including ones that involve himself. He mentions some pointed questions he was made to answer when applying for a PhD grant from the USA government. These questions were a kind of authenticity test, a racial-reality game that contemporary Native people are forced to play . This game, even when it's started by other people who are themselves Natives, basically forces people into the roles created by this made-up 'literary Indian' that King talked about earlier. He notes that most people don't even bother asking questions, but instead simply [look] at you. If you don't look Indian, you aren't. If you don't look White, you're not . One of the things that King is most worried about is not just racism or stereotyping, but how these play into government decisions. He points out that Northern American nations have not been very good about keeping up with the treaties they made with Native nations. King says that we like to: tell ourselves about injustices and atrocities and how most of them has happened in the past. We tell ourselves that, as we have progressed as a species, we have gotten smarter and more compassionate. We will write a custom essay sample on The Truth about Stories - A Native Narrative by Thomas King or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page