By Rob Capriccioso
The Native American Journalists Association, which has long noted the problem, in July released its latest Reading Red report. Cristina Azocar, former president of NAJA, said the most important finding from this year’s report was when there are more American Indians in a community, there tends to be better coverage of their issues by press in the area.
As ICT reported, the $450 million museum, located in the heart of Pennsylvania Avenue, contains exceptionally few representations of the Native press, especially in comparison to the museum’s presentations focused on other minority media in the country.
The New York Times also shortchanged Indians in a couple of instances this year. In a May 27 column in the newspaper, cultural critic Edward Rothstein misinterpreted the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and raised questions about the offerings of the National Museum of the American Indian.
Leaders with NMAI have long questioned Rothstein’s motives when he turns his pen to Native museums, especially those that involve collaborations with contemporary Indians. NMAI director Kevin Gover said there’s no way to know for sure why Rothstein continues to have a beef with the museum.
Later, during the height of the 2008 presidential election, the Times published an investigative report that amplified misperceptions about tribal casinos, according to tribal officials and others familiar with American Indian gaming.
“For ‘Average Joe,’ [the article created] a perception that Indian gaming is happening on the magnitude where all tribes are hiring million-dollar lobbyists,” said W. Ron Allen, who serves on the NCAI executive board and is chairman of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe.
In December, CNN aired and published what may be the most egregious act of misinformed mainstream Native-focused journalism. One of the network’s anchors, Campbell Brown, presented a commentary, in which she called the Indian Child Welfare Act a “ridiculous” law. She also implied that Native families are weak.
The National Indian Child Welfare Association, the National Congress of American Indians and NAJA all told ICT that Brown’s characterizations were out of bounds.
For instance, shock jock Bob Dumas's 15-minute harangue about how Indians are lazy and inbred. If this had been about another minority, it would've been front-page news. Or the mainstream acceptance of the racist arguments in Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry. Publishing mistaken and stereotypical claims about Natives without challenging or criticizing them is an ongoing problem.
Brown not the worst
Campbell Brown's comments were bad, but we should put them in context. They were uttered once by a political commentator who is free to vent her spleen. Her opinions barely qualify as "journalism."
When I pick the losers in my Stereotype of the Month contest, I look at such factors as the stature of the offending party and the pervasiveness of the controversy. For instance, if the US president or the NY Times says something, it's worse than if Campbell Brown says it. If the controversy lasts for weeks (e.g., Don Imus or Michael Richards), it's worse than if it quickly disappears from view.
By these measures, Brown's comments were about average. I've reported on stereotypes that were much worse (e.g., the Stereotype of the Year losers for 2002-2007). And stereotypes that weren't nearly as bad (e.g., the tipis at the end of the New Amsterdam pilot).
No comments:
Post a Comment