Sporting Indianness: challenging the cinematic representation of Native American athletes

Abstract

This article examines a singular yet overlooked facet of the Indigenous reality evoked in film: the figure of the Native American athlete. The cinematic portrayal defined here as Sporting Indianness – the singular ethos of Native American athletes – ought to be concurrently recognized and put forth, in order both rethink and challenge the social depictions of sport culture’s significance in Native American societies. Thanks to a double reading simultaneously charting and reappraising the depiction of Indigenous communities and their athletes, this article seeks to demonstrate that behind the customarily heroic portrayal of football players, of lacrosse teams or rodeo enthusiasts, the meticulous analysis of films devoted to Native American athletes can unveil the fragile reality of a depleted community whose connection to sport is often used as a means of survival.