Consumption as Assimilation: New York Times Reporting on Native American Art and Commodities, 1950–1970




Reetta Humalajoki

PublisherCambridge University Press and British Association for American Studies

2019

Journal of American Studies

53

972

996

1469-5154

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1017/S0021875818000993(external)

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/36406008(external)



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.


Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 11:51