April 10, 2009

Indian reservation in Europe?!

The first European Indian reservation opens in CroatiaThe first European Indian reservation is to open today (Fri) in Croatia.

The reservation, called Winnetouland, is near the Plitvice Lakes in central Croatia, inside a national park.

The reservation consists of two Indian villages. The location is the site where films about Indian Chief Winnetou were shot in the 1970s.

It is expected that the reservation will become a tourist attraction. It will also feature a Winnetou museum with different objects used during filming of the once-popular movies.
Comment:  As I said to my pal Victor, wow. This should have a Moron or Stereotype Alert. Do these so-called Indians have sovereignty over their land or treaty rights with Croatia? Are they and their villages anything other than Plains Indians stereotypes from the 19th century? I doubt it.

To give these "Indians" a real taste of rez life, let's cut their healthcare and law enforcement funding in half. Let's feed them only with surplus government commodities. Let's kidnap their children and send them to boarding schools.

If you don't know Winnetou, he's a fictional 19th-century Apache chief--a "noble savage" stereotype. Basing an "Indian reservation" on him is liking basing one on Buffalo Bill's Wild West show or a Lone Ranger serial. It has little or nothing to do with real Indians.

In short, this "reservation" sounds like an amusement park or tourist trap. It sounds like an insult to all the Indians who died so their people could live on reservations.

Below:  Just like in the books, Winnetou plays second fiddle to Old Shatterhand, the Aryan superman.

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