1910 - (Indians are) compelled to dress in Indian costume".. "live or dress.. as the showman would have you believe."
On October 25th, 1910, Arthur C. Parker, Seneca Nation, was a 29-year-old archaeologist whom had worked at the Peabody Museum the New York State Museum. In 1906 he became the first archaeologist at the New York State Museum, and . He also spoke publicly about the history, culture and plight of Native American people, and on this date in 1910 Mr. Parker gave a lecture to the Buffalo Historical Society entitled: "The League of the Five Nations."
Included within this speech, Arthur C. Parker spoke out against the "Show" Indians and how the Wild West shows exploited his people, and how the showmen forces performers to wear stereotypical costumes and why he is registering a protest against it:
Some "Show" Indians: A Protest
"There are Indians from our New York reservations who travel with shows and circuses. These are in most instances compelled to dress in Indian costume, generally that of the Sioux of the plains. The showmen who employ them thrust them on the public as Indians typical of the region from which they come. Indians from our New York reservations are represented as living and dressing in the ancient style. They are represented as ignorant of schools and of the English language. Often these Indians are ignorant and live in unsanitary houses, it is true, but they never live or dress at home as the showman would have you believe. For the sum of from six to ten dollars a week these Indians are asked to misrepresent their people, libel the work of patient teachers and devoted missionaries, and defraud the public into believing that our Senecas or Onondagas are savages. This causes the utmost humiliation to the better class of Indians ... (Then the Indians who) has not yet acquired enough stability of character to resist the temptation goes out with the show to libel their work, to slander their people and fill the coffers of the show man. The great majority of Indians resent this, they feel the sting of its humiliation and they protest most emphatically. ... "
Still, today, dressing up in a Sioux Indian costume, and playing savage warrior Indian is protested at baseball, hockey, and football games. It's been more than a century since they first spoke up. And they're still speaking up.
