1911, Feb 16 - "Only too often these blood-curdling dramas give an impulse .. (for boys) .. to go out and 'fight Indians'. "
This article was written in response to the American Indian delegates opposition to seeing themselves portrayed falsely in moving-pictures. It quotes Un A Qua as saying: " it is not only unfair to the Indian to paint him as given to the old excesses of his savage days but such representations have a demoralizing effect upon the youths that attend the moving picture shows."
I have a very large, and sad, collection of newspaper articles reporting tragic stories of children dying from "Playing Indian." Shot, stabbed, hung, and too often, burned at the stake, the children are clearly acting out what is created for public consumption. This becomes how they perceive Native American people, and when they act as one, they are killers.
This play behavior is encouraged over and over, as playsuits and toy guns and bows and arrows become common place, and clubs such as the Boy Scouts grow by the thousands, with young kids emulating the "Noble Savage" (or just - the Savage ) over and over again.
The deaths continue, though they start dwindling around the 1970's. There are some from the last few years, but playing Cowboy & Indian has, fortunately for many, many parents and children, fallen out of fashion for most.
Below is a few headlines that pertain only to children reacting to motion-pictures of this time period - 1909 to 1911. I had way too many to choose from.
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| 1911, Feb 16 The Washington Times |
The deaths continue, though they start dwindling around the 1970's. There are some from the last few years, but playing Cowboy & Indian has, fortunately for many, many parents and children, fallen out of fashion for most.
Below is a few headlines that pertain only to children reacting to motion-pictures of this time period - 1909 to 1911. I had way too many to choose from.
 |
| Children who died while "Playing Indian" and mimicking a motion-picture Indian movie they saw |
