Abstract
This paper examines the phenomenon of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show which toured Europe on a number of occasions between 1887 and 1906 and in particular the central role of the native American (Indian) performers. The Wild West combined both realism and an emerging mythology to present a moral narrative of the triumph of civilisation, and the settlement of the western USA in the face of savage barbarity, with the Indians being both romanticised and demonised as ‘the other’. Recruited from the reservations, the Indians who played such a prominent role in the Wild West were not only objects of a colonial gaze who were toured around Europe, but were also tourists themselves. Unlike other members of the show's cast, they were taken to see the sights in whatever location they visited, in order to educate them as to the superior virtues of civilisation. Paradoxically, the Wild West, while showcasing them as ‘savages’ actually provided an arena in which aspects of their culture that had been banned could still be performed and practiced, and which also gave rise to the dominant image of native Americans.
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