A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Consumption as Assimilation: New York Times Reporting on Native American Art and Commodities, 1950–1970
Authors: Reetta Humalajoki
Publisher: Cambridge University Press and British Association for American Studies
Publication year: 2019
Journal: Journal of American Studies
Volume: 53
First page : 972
Last page: 996
eISSN: 1469-5154
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021875818000993
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/36406008
The appropriation of Indigenous cultures has sparked multiple controversies in the United States over the past decade. This phenomenon is not new, however. This article examines New York Times reporting on Native American art and commodities to demonstrate how trends in consuming “Indian” products contributed to the assimilationist federal Indian policy of termination, between 1950 and 1970. In this period the consumption of items perceived as “Indian” shifted from an elite art collectors’ activity to a widespread fashion trend. Nevertheless, Times reporting shows that throughout this era shopping for “Indian” items subsumed Indigenous cultures into the imagined unity of a national American identity.
Downloadable publication This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |