FAKE INDIANS
This ongoing series is inspired by film and television that used white actors to play roles as indians. Not just extras or background but well known character actors. Often those depicted were inaccurate, racist stereotypes. The more i began to look for it, I realized how pervasive this casting was. I could find a Fake Indian in almost every TV series or movie I watched. Western serials, spaghetti westerns, sitcoms, Disney films, everywhere. Big name actors and actresses too, from Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz to Don Adams and Burt Reynolds.
As a person of Métis ancestry, I find the idea of Fake Indians interesting. I carry a card in my wallet identifying myself as an aboriginal person but have virtually no connection to the culture or history of my people. I feel as disconnected from that reality as William Shatner in White Comanche....I'm a Fake Indian too.