Alter/native Heroes: Native Americans, Comic Books, and the Struggle for Self-Definition

Abstract

This article offers a critical interpretation of Native Americans as objects and authors of comic books, an often maligned and neglected domain of kids' popular culture. The discussion begins with a brief overview of the misappropriation of Indianness in North America. Against this background, it elaborates a three-fold analysis. First, it details the prominence of anti-Indianism in comic books, particularly as means through which Euro-American authors and audiences have made claims on and through Indianness. Second, it unpacks the use of comic books to challenge and question dominant misappropriations and misunderstandings. Third, it examines the recent emergence of indigenous comics intent to use the medium to reclaim Indianness. In conclusion, it proposes that the alternative uses of comic books should be read as an excellent example of a larger movement for visual sovereignty in native North America.