Indigenous Comix Month at Ad Astra

Here's a posting from April that I just came across:

April Is Indigenous Comix Month!That means a long-awaited feature here at Ad Astra Comix… taking a look at the vast expanse of the category of “Indigenous Comics.” That is: comics by, for, and/or about Indigenous people, history, culture, and politics. We understand that we have a lot of ground to cover this month… so let’s get started!

Perhaps the first point of note is that Indigenous people have never lacked for sheer presence in comics, per se. As can be seen in our feature banner, stereotypical depictions of a mythical–indeed magical–“noble savage” have graced many a pulpy page for decades. Just as popular are protagonists who are in fact white, who have adopted a “native way of life,” insofar as the white creators were able to perceive what that even is. This month, we’ll be looking at that history, and how the example of Indigenous representation in comics can perhaps demonstrate how the question of diversity in the comics community is a little trickier than simply “diversifying” the characters…The page links to seven features:

Rebranding Canada with Comics: Sean Carlton looks at the new "War of 1812: Forged in Fire" and the Continuing Co-optation of Tecumseh

"Arctic Dreams & Nightmares"--Into the Art of Alootook Ipellie

We interviewed James Waley, comics creator and editor of the ONE TRIBE comics anthology helping to fundraise for First Nations schools!

"Extraction! Comix Reportage" Investigates the Canadian Mining Industry's Impact on Indigenous communities at Home and Abroad

An Interview with Lee IV of the Indigenous Narratives Collective!

Taking a Critical Look at the Vertigo Series "Scalped"

DC Comics Releases New Superhero Inspired by Indigenous Youth Activist Shannen Koostachin

Comment:  I wouldn't say any of these articles are must-reads. But they show some of the diversity in today's Native comics. Especially in Canadian comics, which don't have much visibility here in the US.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Comics.

"Super Savages and Sovereign Traces"

I went down to the University of Manitoba and conducted an interview about a course looking at Indigenous people in graphic novels. The course is called "Super Savages and Sovereign Traces: Introduction to Indigenous Graphic Novels."Comment:  The course uses Scalped, Cowboys & Aliens, and Tribal Force among other comics and graphic novels.

The video doesn't mention Peace Party or Blue Corn Comics--except in the image used to introduce the class. Based on that, I imagine Peace Party gets a few mentions in the class itself.

Niigaanwewidam Sinclair is the professor. I've talked to him a couple of times, and I helped him build the Mazinbiige comic-book collection. That collection came about after the class started, perhaps because the staff realized the need to have more comics on hand.

For more on Sinclair and his work, see "From Super-Chief to Tonto."

Derek Royal reviews Scalped

After Gregory Burgas's review of Scalped, here's an academic take on it. This review also mentions my critique of it:

Native Noir: Genre and the Politics of Indigenous Representation in Recent American Comics

By Derek Parker RoyalMost reviewers have read Scalped within the context of crime fiction--"Sopranos on the rez," as many have called it--but perhaps a more precise way of reading the series is through the lens of noir fiction, a subgenre of crime and detective narrative. More than any comic discussed in this essay, Scalped bears the characteristic stamp of noir by almost anyone's definition. Dash Bad Horse is certainly a detecting figure, working not only to uncover the criminality of Chief Red Crow, but also to expose the amoral actions of Agent Nitz. Like many noir protagonists, he displays self-destructive tendencies--as evidenced by his growing heroin addiction--and becomes an unwitting victim of the world he inhabits. As the series evolves, Dash finds himself with shrinking options, trapped by the uncompromising demands of both Red Crow and Nitz. Against his better judgment, he is irresistibly drawn to the comic's femme fatale, Carol Ellroy, the promiscuous and drug-addicted daughter of Red Crow. She functions as a narrative doppelganger, since both of them are estranged from their one remaining parent--Dash's father and Carol's mother are introduced only in brief flashbacks--and both withdraw into themselves, and into their dysfunctional sexual relationship, as the pressures around them build. As such, the tone of the series is both alienating and claustrophobic--panels framing skewed angles and extreme close-ups are common throughout.

Guéra's art, gritty and saturated with dark, dull browns and blues, creates a foreboding atmosphere that parallels the sinister fate that seems to await all involved. Even the daylight scenes are illustrated as if under shadow. All in all, the series is one that resonates with the noir tradition established by such practitioners as Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, and James Ellroy.

Yet, what is perhaps most significant about Scalped is its narrative use of indigenous predicaments as a way into the noir genre. More times than not--and as demonstrated by critics such as Sheyahshe, Pewewardy, and King--when not represented in the historical past and in Western settings, Native Americans are typecast as superheroes. And usually it is those characteristics most stereotyped, such a shamanistic connection to the spiritual world or the extraordinary ability to "read" nature, that find expression within that genre. Some even claim that Scalped, as is the case with many superhero comics, does harm to Native Americans by playing into common stereotypes. Schmidt, for example, condemns what he sees in the series as an "ultra-negative portrayal of life on the rez," "a grotesque look at reservation life," and a tendency to "tak[e] the worst possible scenario and presen[t] it as the norm." He bluntly concludes that "[t]o portray Indians worse than the reality isn't 'realistic.' It's a textbook example of unrealistic. Since [Scalped] reinforces a thousand previous portrayals of Indians as drunks, savages, and killers, it's stereotypical as well as unrealistic" (Scalped).

What is apparently at issue in Schmidt's critique is the need for verisimilitude. As with most studies on Native American comics, the assumption here is that the value of a comic should be based largely on the writer's and artist's accuracy of representation. That is, the more "true" one is in one's rendition of Native culture, the better the comic. But faithfully illustrating contemporary reservation life has never been Jason Aaron's primary concern. In his response to Schmidt's review--one that judged the new Vertigo series solely by its first issue--Aaron stated, "I'm not writing Scalped with any sort of agenda in mind, and I'm not nearly pretentious enough to think that I'm here to educate the country on the state of Native life." Instead, he set out to write "a crime series, so it's obviously going to focus on criminal elements" (qtd. in Schmidt, Scalped). Given Aaron's sentiments, the question then becomes, why base the crime (or noir) series in a reservation setting? Aaron has stated elsewhere that Native American history is "just one of those things I'd always read about, especially the American Indian movement and the Red Power movement of the '70s, and the Leonard Peltier story. So all that just kind of worked together with my desire to do a crime series. ... I wanted to do, like, a familiar genre, but something that was a little different" ("Sticking with Scalped"). In essence, the comic book has its genesis in Aaron's fascination with generic forms: "It all really came from me loving both westerns and crime stories and wanting to combine the two" (qtd. in Rozier).

Questions of ethnic stereotyping in Scalped are certainly open for discussion. Whether intended or not, Aaron's representation of indigenous contexts could strike some readers as unflattering or even insensitive, and this matter has sparked quite a bit of debate on blogs and networking sites devoted to comics and pop culture.Rob replies

A few points here:

It's quite common to review the first issue of a series, so let's not pretend it's something strange or unusual.

I addressed the issue of Jason Aaron's agenda when I wrote:Also, you've said in interviews that you want people to learn about conditions in Indian Country, or words to that effect. That again implies the situation in Prairie Rose is typical or representative. No, it isn't.Even if Aaron denied his own words and claimed Scalped was pure entertainment, it wouldn't change my point. Someone can have a conscious agenda or an unconscious one he isn't even aware of. For instance, gaining fame and fortune by portraying people in a dark, ugly way.

I'd say Aaron's agenda is something along those lines. He's exploiting Indians to tell tales of depravity and doom and score points with fans and critics. And I'm pointing out this exploitation.

Verisimilitude is an important factor in almost every kind of writing. In stories set in an unfamiliar place and time, it's imperative to make the setting realistic so people will suspend their disbelief. Even in pure fantasies, most things operate just as they do in the real world.

I don't think I've ever said verisimilitude is the primary factor in fiction--something that determines the "value of a comic." Rather, I expect the plots, characters, themes, settings, and other elements of fiction to work together to produce optimal stories. Verisimilitude is a thread that weaves through all these factors, strengthening and enriching them. Other things being equal, a believable story is almost always better than an unbelievable one.

Suppose we concede that "faithfully illustrating contemporary reservation life has never been Jason Aaron's primary concern." Not being faithful to reality means using racist and stereotypical tropes to tell one's fantasies of modern-day Indian savages. If we agree that Aaron is doing this, what's the problem? I say Aaron uses racist stereotypes and his defenders don't deny it. End of story?

You see, you can't have it both ways. Either Aaron is being "unfaithful" to reality and using negative stereotypes or he isn't. If he is, I'm criticizing him for it. Period.

False and stereotypical depictions of a particular race are racist by definition. Racist portrayals done in the name of art are still racist portrayals. I for one will never defend or excuse racism for any reason, including "art."

Any questions?

For more on Scalped, see "Native Spiritual Adviser" Warns Rob and Aaron on Ending Scalped.

Below:  Chairman Red Crow shoots it out with Hmong gangsters for control of his casino? Because Indians are modern-day savages no different from the thieves and killers around them. And reservations are lawless hellholes akin to a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Greg Burgas reviews Scalped

With the recent announcement of a Scalped TV series in development, it's time to revisit my criticism of the comics.

Comics You Should Own–Scalped

By Greg BurgasIn case you are unaware, the “hook” of the comic is that Dash has returned to the Prairie Rose reservation in South Dakota after over a decade away. Prairie Rose is a Oglala Lakota reservation, modeled clearly after Pine Ridge, and Dash’s mother, Gina, is still living there, protesting against the new casino being built by Lincoln Red Crow, the “president of the Oglala Tribal Council, as well as the sheriff of the tribal police force, chairman of the Prairie Rose Planning Committee, treasurer of the highway safety program, and managing director of this here brand spankin’ new casino,” as Red Crow himself tells Dash when they first meet (well, meet again, as Red Crow knew Dash when he was a boy). Red Crow hires Dash to be his muscle on the police force, but at the end of issue #1, we discover that Dash is actually a special agent for the FBI, sent undercover to build a case against Red Crow. Thus the storytelling engine of the series is revealed–Dash will try to bring Red Crow down, despite all the hardships that will entail.

This grand plot led people to describe Scalped as “The Sopranos on the rez,” which is an unfortunate and largely incorrect description. People are often desperate to fit something new into a familiar category, so they have to break out the comparisons. Yes, Scalped is a crime-noir title, but the FBI’s case against Red Crow and Dash’s attempts to build it are by far the least interesting aspects of the book. This is partly because Aaron doesn’t do enough with Dash himself, so it’s tough to care too much whether he succeeds or doesn’t. Dash careens from mishap to mishap, many of them ridden with clichés. He gets involved with Carol, Red Crow’s daughter, with whom he was in love when they were both young teens. Carol’s story, for a long time, is itself drenched in stereotypes, and when Aaron focuses on their dysfunctional relationship, Scalped is at its worst.So two of the main characters are either poorly written or "drenched in stereotypes"? Sounds like a problem to me. A problem that continues throughout the series, not just the first few issues.Obviously, Scalped created some controversy, especially early in its run. FotB Rob Schmidt collected a lot of stories about the series early on in its run, and I encourage you to check it out (although a lot of the links on the page are now broken). I spoke to Rob recently and he said he hadn’t read beyond the first arc, and I agree that the early issues are somewhat stereotypical. I’m not sure if Aaron was unsure if he could do an ongoing series, as this was so early in his comics career, or if he wanted to grab everyone’s attention with all the violence and sex, but the book becomes far more nuanced after the first six issues and especially after issue #11.Interesting, Greg. You explored all of Scalped's great character work--how the characters changed and grew over time. What you didn't explore was Scalped's overall presentation of life on the rez. The problem is embodied in this sentence:Lincoln Red Crow, the “president of the Oglala Tribal Council, as well as the sheriff of the tribal police force, chairman of the Prairie Rose Planning Committee, treasurer of the highway safety program, and managing director of this here brand spankin’ new casino”...No person on an Indian reservation has ever had this much concentrated power--at least in recent years. For instance, I'm almost certain no tribal chairman manages his tribe's casino. If one did, I'm almost certain it would violate the law.

Which means the feds would intervene and shut the casino down. Casinos don't operate unless the feds are certain they and their management are completely aboveboard. There are hundreds of Indian casinos and not one has been revealed to be a criminal enterprise.

If someone did have as much power as Red Crow, I'm confident the tribe would oust him and the FBI would arrest him--quickly. So an evil empire of this type is essentially impossible. Yet that seems to be the premise of the whole series: criminality far beyond anything possible in real life.

Where are the National Indian Gaming Commission and the tribe's own casino regulators? The internal and external media--such as the NY Times, ABC News, and the Oprah Winfrey Network, who all reported on Pine Ridge recently? The nonprofits, documentarians, even tourists who visit and share what they see? The activists on Facebook and Twitter who protest rez-based conditions? (You and Aaron do realize that most Indians have computers, I trust?)

I don't see any of this reflected in the Scalped I read--or in your review. The whole environment seems like a dark, isolated den of iniquity with no hint of how modern or sophisticated most Indians are. In other words, no matter how good the individual characters are, the series' vision of Native life seems cramped and ugly--i.e., stereotypical. That's my main criticism and I'm sticking with it for now.

P.S. Apologies for the links on my website not working. I've got literally thousands of pages and no time to update any of them. I need worker bees to help me, dammit!

Commenter seeks butt-kicking

Then there's this commenter on Greg's review:Bryan
December 2, 2013 at 11:29 am

Going by the review at the linked site, Rob is an absolutely terrible reviewer and shows very little aptitude for being able to read and comprehend a work. His childish responses are so ignorant it’s almost shocking. Obviously it’s one thing to like or dislike something, but his analysis of the first issue doesn’t seem to grasp the idea of fiction — it’s as if he’d watch Casablanca and think it claimed everyone in Morocco spent all their time in a bar, or read The Great Gatsby and think it claimed everybody in the New York area was spent their wealth excessively.No, Bryan, it's like I watched Planet of the Apes or Escape from New York but it was described as present-day NYC and everyone but me was too ignorant to know the difference.

Ever hear of Birth of a Nation, Amos 'n' Andy, Song of the South, Mandingo, etc.? You seem blissfully unaware that works of fiction can be flawed to the point of prejudice. "Art" isn't a magic label that absolves someone's work of racism, sexism, or any other -ism I could name. Something can be artistic or stereotypical or both.

You can say Aaron's depiction of rez life is unrealistic, fictional, fanciful, or whatever word you want. I say it's unrealistic, fictional, or fanciful in ways that are stereotypical if not racist. I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just thinking more deeply about the subject than you are. I'm assessing the fiction, not merely acknowledging it like a baby waving at his mommy.

If you disagree, you must prove there are no stereotypes and Aaron's depiction is more or less fair and accurate. So go ahead and do it. Put up or shut up.

Here, I'll make simple for you. Aaron's depiction of rez life is (choose one):

1) Nonfictional.
2) Fictional with racist stereotypes.
3) Fictional without racist stereotypes.

You stupidly think that *I* think it's 1). Wrong. I think it's 2). And you apparently think it's 3), since you've disagreed with me. So explain your position, if you're not too afraid. How is Aaron's Scalped a stereotype-free depiction of rez life?

As for the rest of my review, be sure to let us know when you can quote anything that isn't true. With your fact-free criticism of my criticism, you haven't done it yet.

For more on Scalped, see "Native Spiritual Adviser" Warns Rob and Aaron on Ending Scalped.

Below:  Near-naked strippers, including one in a headdress, at a casino opening? Has Jason Aaron ever set foot in an Indian casino? Because this scene of debauchery would be unrealistic in Las Vegas, much less a regional Indian casino.

Depicting a girl in a headdress (right edge) is telling by itself. This isn't an "artistic choice" that contributes to Aaron's noir themes. It's pure racist stereotyping, nothing more. It's an insult to every Plains chief who earned his feathers through acts of valor.

Scalped in development for TV

WGN America Adapting DC Comics' 'Scalped' (Exclusive)

"Banshee's" Doug Jung will adapt the crime noir drama set on a Native American reservation.

By Lesley GoldbergWGN America is looking to DC Comics' Vertigo imprint as it bolsters its development slate.

The cable network, which will bow its first original scripted series on Sunday, has put in development an adaptation of Scalped from DC Entertainment's Vertigo imprint, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Scapled is described as a crime noir set on a Native American reservation. Banshee's Doug Jung will pen the script and executive produce the Warner Horizon Television drama.

The book launched in 2007 as a monthly and ran for 60 issues, ending in 2012. Jason Aaron penned the comic, which was illustrated by R.M. Guera. The series focused on the Oglala Lakota inhabitants in the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation in South Dakota as they grapple with organized crime, poverty, drug and alcohol addiction and local politics while trying to preserve their cultural identity. The plot was partially inspired by Native American activist Leonard Peltier, who was arrested for gunning down two FBI agents on a reservation in 1975.

The Scalped series is highly regarded within the comics industry and a critical darling. It ranks as one of the longest-running series in comics history with a nonwhite protagonist and largely nonwhite cast. The series was named one of Comic Book Resources' Comics You Should Own and was "a deeply flawed masterpiece."'Scalped' Comic Book Is Coming to TV; Native Actors Need ApplyScalped, a Vertigo (DC) comic book about crime on a fictional Indian reservation, will be made into a TV series, according to a story in The Hollywood Reporter.

Scalped ran for 60 issues, from 2007 to 2012, and won praise from critics for its gritty portrayal of Native mob bosses and thugs, as well as characters trying to do the right thing in a world of poverty and addiction. And there was a lot of killing. A lot of blood. Scalped was often described as The Sopranos on the rez.

The question of whether Scalped was exploitative and harmful was raised from the get-go. (If you want to get a sense of the critical reaction from issue no. 1 and read some thoughts on what was wrong with Scalped, ICTMN contributor Rob Schmidt has a page at his Blue Corn Comics website on it.) Scalped's creators, writer Jason Aaron and artist R.M. Guera, aren't Natives, and whether the world they depicted ultimately treated Native people fairly in the course of their series is a topic for debate. What outrage there was over Scalped seems to have died down as the series gained momentum, winning a place on many critics' "Best of" lists year after year.And:Filmmaker Steven Judd, Kiowa and Choctaw, tells ICTMN he is optimistic about a TV version of Scalped. "I remember reading that it was supposed to be like Sopranos set on the reservation," he says. "After I read the first issue, I thought Donnie Brasco set on a rez would have been a more accurate description. I felt the first issue alone would have made a really cool movie. I for one will watch this when it comes out. I'm sure there will be opportunity for our Native actors to get work on it; I only hope they hire some Natives for behind the camera on crew and above the line. It would be cool to see a Native director get an opportunity to helm an episode, my vote would go to Jeff Barnaby [of Rhymes for Young Ghouls], I think the aesthetics of this story fits nicely into his wheelhouse."

Casting will be key, as Scalped will be a chance for Native actors to see screen time on prime time TV. A 2012 blog post at iFanboy.com suggested Michael Spears as the main character Dashiell Bad Horse, and Graham Greene, Irene Bedard, Q'orianka Kilcher and Adam Beach in the other major Native roles.

Some tweets following this article:

ICTMN Arts ‏@ICTMN_Arts Apr 17
"Scalped" series should put several Native actors in prime time. Who would you cast? http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/04/17/scalped-comic-book-coming-tv-native-actors-need-apply-154489 … pic.twitter.com/nfgEIH01Jb

BlueCornComics ‏@bluecorncomics Apr 17
@ICTMN_Arts "Several" Native actors? "Scalped" should be almost completely Native a la "Blackstone." Hiring only a handful would be weak.

ICTMN Arts ‏@ICTMN_Arts Apr 17
@bluecorncomics not suggesting they would hire only a handful for whole show -- meant several native *lead* actors. Ah the haiku of twitter

BlueCornComics ‏@bluecorncomics Apr 17
@ICTMN_Arts I figured that's what you meant. But it's a key issue. They may hire 5-6 "name" Natives and the rest Latinos, Asians, wannabes.

BlueCornComics ‏@bluecorncomics Apr 17
@kjescalanti If they eliminate the ugly stereotypes and cast Native actors, the "Scalped" series could be good. But I wouldn't bet on it.

Talkin' about Scalped

A Native acquaintance posted on Facebook that she was investigating Scalped. This led to the following discussion:

By all accounts, it's quality writing. If you ignore the endemic crime and corruption on this reservation, that is, which exceeds anything in reality.

It should resemble Blackstone, except a couple of times more extreme. And I question whether any US network will use Native actors the way Canadian shows have done.What about the scantily clad women in headdresses?Are you looking at the first cover image, or what? The man in a headdress is supposed to be ironic. Like, this is what the Lakota used to be, but look at them now. They're mired in a morass of drugs, sex, and violence with only a few good people trying to set things right.

I suppose the series could turn out great. Or it could lead to a Johnny Depp-level of controversy and protests. Natives should be prepared to tackle this if it doesn't turn out right.



I believe it avoids most of the obvious stereotypes. The question is whether its "poverty porn" take on rez life is accurate.I've been talking to someone who's read it and he said there's women in bikinis with headdresses on. I'm obtaining copies. I don't currently know enough about it to judge either way.Oh. Well, I've read only the first volume and it was almost a decade ago. Yes, there may be a scene with drunken Native women--prostitutes or drug addicts--wearing headdresses at a party.

I'd say that's not representative of the whole series. The headdresses, that is, not the degraded Native women. And Jason Aaron the writer probably would say the headdresses were ironic, again. Much like the drunken white girls at Coachella who also claim to wear headdresses ironically.

I'd be fascinated to hear your take on the series after you read some of it. Many Natives have cheered it for its "realistic" take on rez life. I suspect they're cheering for the age-old reason of seeing themselves in the media, not because they've analyzed the stories' content.

Here's an academic discussion of Scalped. The first few paragraphs that mention Aaron and me are interesting, before it starts going into detail.

I've been one of the most vocal critics of Scalped, if not the most vocal. So you should take my comments with a grain of salt.

A typical (?) drunken party on the Prairie Rose rez:



We should get a campaign going to ensure Natives are involved in every stage of the production. Since the comics are almost 100% an inside view of rez life, and from an outsider.

Scalped vs. reality

The same woman posted another message relevant to Scalped:People say a lot of bad things about Indian country, especially non-Natives. They focus on the negative; and yes the issues we face are real and can seem overwhelming at times, but they aren't seeing the whole picture. Everyday I see thousands of intelligent, resilient, beautiful Native people who work hard to raise families, blaze new paths, and give back to their community. I see relatives who never surrender no matter the odds, and embody the strength of their ancestors by mobilizing to protect land and water. I see people learning their Native languages and teaching them, babies in regalia dancing and singing with the drum, and young people beating seemingly insurmountable odds to go off to college. I see single moms with more energy than I can fathom, and Native dads who are excellent fathers. Who tells their stories? We need to hear more about them. About you. Just so you know, I see you. Thank you for sharing your journey with me. I'm proud to know you. You renew my sense of hope. We're going to be just fine.Let us know how many of these people you find in the Scalped series. <grin>

Bottom line is I'm keeping a somewhat open mind. The show may be less stereotypical than the comics were.

In any case, people need to be aware of it no matter what. If it's headed in the wrong direction, the only way to stop or change it is to protest it now, before everything is set.

For more on Scalped, see "Native Spiritual Adviser" Warns Rob and Aaron on Ending Scalped.

"Native spiritual adviser" warns Rob

I received the following phone message August 11:Robert,

I am a Native American spiritual adviser. What are you doing writing a comic book about us Native Americans? This is wrong...spiritually wrong. You do not need to do this. You are making fun of us Indians--making us look like a bunch of hoodlums, thugs. I don't like this, and us Native Americans do not like this. This is wrong...spiritually wrong. We are not like this.

There is going to be problems with this. We will all gather up and protest this. Go as far as we can with it. This is wrong.

My name is Linda Haddaway. My number is (xxx) xxx-xxxx if you have comments on this. Thank you.Comment:  I ignored this message, since Haddaway obviously hasn't read my comics and is some sort of crackpot.

The phrase "hoodlums, thugs" suggests she might have read my Scalped page. And assumed that someone was criticizing my stories rather my criticizing Jason Aaron's.

Hoodlums and thugs, lady? Not in the first two issues of Peace Party, which you almost certainly haven't read. If you're not a liar or an idiot, tell us which page of which issue shows an Indian as a hoodlum or a thug. Go ahead, we'll wait.

Who is Haddaway?

The woman spoke in a halting and slightly slurred fashion, as if she were old or drunk or reading off a script she wasn't sure of. Her area code suggested a southern Texas location, where there are few if any Indians.

Indeed, I have only her message to assure us she's Native. She could easily be a wannabe or an "Indian" with a tiny amount of Native blood.

I Googled her and found a Linda Hadaway who's a romance writer in Washington state. She might be the person who called, but I'd guess not.

I think Sherman Alexie's recent tweet about the spiritually minded applies here:When a person identifies him/herself as "a spiritual seeker," I seek a quick exit from his/her company.Get a clue, lady

Here's what else I might say to Haddaway if we spoke:

One, you're more than two decades too late. Maybe you could use a time machine to go back to 1990 and undo everything I've done.

Two, I suggest you focus on Scalped, which has about a thousand times the readership and clout of Peace Party. It actually portrays Natives negatively, unlike my comics.

For more on Scalped, see Aaron on Ending Scalped and Aaron Looks Back at Scalped.

Depp "too pretty" to play Natives?!

A question posted on a comics forum:

Native American Comic Book WritersHey guys,

I'm writing a paper on Native Americans in comic books, and was wondering if you would be able to provide some writers or popular books that I should look into.

I'm checking out Scalped, and plan on going into a little bit about Thunderbird, Forge, and Warpath from the X-Men, but could use a few more examples to work with. A guy at my LCS mentioned an old Alan Moore Swamp Thing issue, but he didn't know which issue or anything.

If there are any Native American writers you know off hand, I'd love to take a look at their stuff, or if you just know of any particular storylines or issues that deal with Natives, whether the representation is layered or stereotypical, it would help me out a lot to hear some suggestions!!

I found CBR's feature on Native Americans in comic books which is helpful, and I'm aware of Sheyahshes's book as well.

Thanks for any help!I suspect he's talking about SWAMP THING #86.

Some answers:Tim Truman's Scout starred a Native American, but it was a post-apocalypse story.

Arigon Starr's got Super Indian, over here.

And, my friend and yours, the awesome Steve Judd does comics stuff, including parodies of established characters and some whole-cloth stuff.

Be aware Scalped doesn't resemble the region it takes place in (fictionalized as it is, but it is meant to remind us of Rosebud/Pine Ridge and if you've been there, that ain't it) despite its other qualities; it's not a (particularly sound) ethnography by any stretch. The rez in Batman Inc. may be the most accurate I've seen in a mainstream comic, really, outside of the previous time(s) Morrison wrote about reservations (The Invisibles comes to mind, which also had indigenous-to-the-Americas and Brazilian national Lord Fanny as a major character).

And, because Jack Kirby is that damned awesome, his Wyatt Wingfoot in early Fantastic Four is probably the first Native character to be treated like a genuine, normal, intelligent and contemporary human being.

Stumptown has a lot of Native American characters. The first volume revolves around them. I haven't read the second or third issues of the second volume yet but it looks like the tribe may play a big role with the plot again.

Blue Corn Comics is a thing, but it's fronted by a purely white guy who's secondary career is playing identity police and having fits when anyone's too pretty to be really Indian in his eyes. Some of the past and present staff are Native/Native-descent, though.Huh? I'm not even sure what this refers to.

Does it refer to my criticism of actors like Johnny Depp, Taylor Lautner, and Brandon Routh who claim to be Native but aren't? Anyone who thinks this is because of their looks is a blithering idiot. Find a posting where I said Depp and company were "too pretty" to be Indians. Hope you don't mind growing old while you comb through my 12,000 postings for this, because it doesn't exist.

And what's the corollary to this? That I think Indians have to look ugly? That actors like Wes Studi, Irene Bedard, and Adam Beach are (un)attractive enough to play Indians, but not attractive enough to play other roles? How stupid can you get?

My primary objection to Depp and company is that they're not Indians. They don't have the blood or the culture that would make them acceptable in Native roles. This has nothing to do with their looks, and you're again a blithering idiot if you think otherwise.

The only thing I've said about looks is that the ideal is to match a full-blooded actor to a full-blooded character. A half-blooded actor to a half-blooded character. And so forth. This applies to whites, blacks, Asians, and other ethnic groups as well as Indians. Hence my occasional comment that Johnny Depp can play Tonto when Denzel Washington plays JFK or Adam Beach plays Superman.

Again, that's not saying that Depp and company are "too pretty" for a Native role. It's saying that full-blooded Indians have a characteristic look that it would be nice to match. Same with blacks, Asians, and the others, which is why we don't use white actors for these roles if we can avoid it. And why we complain when Hollywood gives us an obvious mismatch. Every group deserves to be represented by one of their own, especially if Hollywood has rendered them invisible.

Rob's career = identity police?

So far I've mentioned Depp in about 60 of my 12,000 postings. That's about one half of 1% of the time. In other words, I've spent about as much time on Depp as anyone who reports on Native issues. If one of every 200 postings means I'm "focusing" on Depp and related actors, I plead guilty.

In other words, if that's my "secondary career," how would you rank creating comics, working at Pechanga.net, writing articles, create a website, blogging, Facebooking, tweeting, etc.? Not to mention posting about Adam Beach, alcohol, Amazon Indians, Apache, apologies, archaeology, and art, all of which I've done more than Depp. (And that's only the A's.) How many careers can you find between primary and "secondary"?

Sheesh. People who are ignorant of my work really shouldn't comment on it, should they? No, they shouldn't.

For more on casting issues, see Native Beauty = White and Thin? and Revolution and TV Diversity.

Below:  Too pretty to play Natives? No, the wrong race, dumbass.

Aaron on ending SCALPED

Jason Aaron on the End of Scalped, Comics’ Answer to Deadwood and The Wire

By Spencer AckermanWired: What made you want to tell the story of a Native American reservation—and particularly a Lakota Sioux reservation?

Aaron: It may have been that the Lakota were the tribe I knew the most about coming into the thing. I’ve always been fascinated with the history of the Plains Indians and the history of the American Indian Movement in the ’70s. Those were things I read about before I even had the idea of doing something like Scalped. The imagery of it, the history of it, it all seemed perfect for everything I wanted to do and it all clicked into place.

Wired: What was the research process for creating Prairie Rose?

Aaron: Just a lot of reading and talking to people. I’ve never been to Pine Ridge or Rosebud in South Dakota, which are obviously the reservations that inspired Prairie Rose. I have connections to people who do live on reservations. Like I said, it was something I had been fascinated by for a while. It wasn’t something I had to come to fresh and start reading about.

Once I had the idea for Scalped and continued reading and researching it, there were things that came out about it that I had no idea about before. The Shunka story [an account of Red Crow's underboss], where we find out he’s gay, part of that was the history of Two Spirits, this long history of gender and sex roles in Native American tribes, which was something I had no idea about before I started researching Scalped. I didn’t know that about Shunka when I started. That story, in another form, had been around for a long time and I almost did that story earlier in the run, but if I had done it then it would have been an entirely different story.

Wired: What feedback do you typically hear from Native Americans?

Aaron: I try not to let that influence my stories. That’s a dangerous rabbit hole to start going down—changing what you do in response to what you read on the internet. But the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Not everybody is a fan of the book, it’s not going to be to everybody’s taste—it’s a crime series where characters are morally ambiguous. I’ve never shied away from some things that are stereotypical, like having Indians who drink too much; the book has one of those. Certainly there are characters that are extremely violent. But I don’t think you can look at Scalped and say it’s a book that portrays Native Americans as savages.

Wired: Have you always known how the series would end?

Aaron: I didn’t know exactly when it would end, what issue we would end at. I knew pretty much exactly where the midpoint would be. Around issue No. 33, No. 34, we were halfway there. I had a huge document sketching out those first 30-something issues from the get-go. I put that together as I was working on the second arc.

Beyond that, yes, I knew what the ending point was, and how we would get there, although I didn’t always know how to get from No. 35 to No. 60. I knew where all the characters were heading. Now some of that changed a little bit. There are a couple of characters I realized I either didn’t want to die or wanted to die. A couple characters went in different directions than what I had envisioned. Certainly Red Crow’s ending changed. [His daughter] Carol gets an ending that people may be expecting now but back in that first trade paperback people probably didn’t expect. Dash’s ending has been the same the entire time, Dino’s ending has been the same the entire time, Catcher’s too. The main thrust of the ending has been clear before I put pen to paper on Issue 1.Comment:  Glad to see Aaron finally admitted his book is stereotypical:I’ve never shied away from some things that are stereotypical, like having Indians who drink too much; the book has one of those. Certainly there are characters that are extremely violent. But I don’t think you can look at Scalped and say it’s a book that portrays Native Americans as savages.
Can't I? When the majority of characters are criminals, thugs, and lowlifes? Those are the modern-day equivalent of savages, so that's exactly what I say.

For more on SCALPED, see Aaron Looks Back at SCALPED and SCALPED to End in 2012.

Below:  Nice to see SCALPED ends with a cover that isn't as a stereotypical as the first cover was.

Anti-suicide campaign at Lakota college

Native Sun News: Lakota College students inspire hope for youth

By Karin Eagle“What does hope look like to you?”

The introduction to business class at Oglala Lakota College in Pine Ridge posed that question to hundreds of young Lakota people, then asked them to take a picture of their answers. The results were staggering to the organizers of the project, aptly named the Lakota Voice Project.

Jason Alley, creative director and principal of Message and board member of the Black Hills Chapter of the American Advertising Federation, both based out of Rapid City, approached the class with the challenge of developing an advertising campaign that could enact change in their community. The idea was simple, on the part of Alley: Let the class research, plan and develop the campaign with the mentorship of Alley and his group.

The class itself, comprised of Lakota college students, came to an almost immediate agreement that the suicide prevention movement should be the focus of the campaign. Hundreds of disposable cameras were handed out to reservation schools with that one question–“What does hope look like to you?”–as the only instruction.

This collection of photos will figure prominently in a suicide awareness campaign set to be launched in the fall by the Sweetgrass Project, the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s suicide prevention program.

The photographs were presented to the public on the evening of June 22 at the Little Wound Elementary School auditorium. The class participated in the creation of the displays, which featured larger-than-life banners with some of the more poignant photographs. Long streamers of photographs linked together in two-sided fashion formed the centerpiece.Comment:  We stopped here June 25 during my visit to South Dakota. The place was almost deserted--perhaps because it was a Lakota holiday, or the spring term was over, or it was late in the day. Probably the holiday, I guess.

The point here is one I make all the time. If you're depicting life on the rez--e.g., Children of the Plains or SCALPED--by all means show us the dark side. Show us the poverty, crime, substance abuse, and suicide.

But don't show only that. Show that people are aware of the problems and fighting them. Don't show that they've given up and lost; show that they're trying to win.

For instance, I imagine there are dozens of efforts to combat the suicide epidemic. You can show a montage of anti-suicide efforts, or you can show one as an example and allude to the others. Whatever you do, show that the problems aren't beyond hope.

Artistically speaking, if you devote 50% of the time to the problem and 50% to the solution(s), I'd say that's fair. Children of Plains didn't quite meet that standard. It was more like 60-40 or 70-30.

SCALPED isn't anywhere in the ballpark. If it's ever shown a majority of its fictional population doing anything positive--participating in a Sun Dance, going to college, or battling suicide--I must've missed it. Its negative portrayal of rez life is badly stereotypical.

Showing only the negative side is an exmaple of "poverty porn." You're showing the negative to gain sympathy (Children of the Plains) or titillate the audience (SCALPED). What you aren't doing is presenting a realistic portrait of both sides.

A one-sided portrayal is stereotypical even if it's technically accurate. It may depict the problem accurately, but the problem is only half the equation. The missing half makes rez life look more ugly, depressed, and savage than it really is.

In other words, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. SCALPED's stereotypical depiction of rez life is a great example of this.

For more on the subject, see Economic Development on Pine Ridge and Kristof's Pine Ridge Column.

Below:  "From left, Pte Ska Win Poor Bear, Lyle Pilcher and Jason Alley discussing the Lakota Voice Project photo exhibit in Kyle June 22." (Karin Eagle)

Economic development on Pine Ridge

Economic Development Revs Up on Pine Ridge Reservation

By Stephanie WoodardSupporting them is an expanding infrastructure, with public transit throughout the 2 million-plus-acre reservation, good cell-phone coverage in most areas and wireless Internet widely available. Approval of a federally backed credit union is imminent, said Whitney O’Rourke, Oglala, of Lakota Funds, a community development financial institution in Kyle, South Dakota in northern Pine Ridge. There is currently no bank on the reservation, and off-reservation banks make few loans there because much of the land that might act as collateral is held in trust by the federal government or is tribally owned. That will make a credit union the game-changer, easing access to cash and encouraging business formation and homeownership.

“The reservation has 40,000 residents ready, willing and able to participate in the regional economy,” said Mark St. Pierre, chief executive officer of Wounded Knee Community Development Corporation (CDC). Set in Pine Ridge’s central Manderson Valley, a bucolic sweep of hills bounded by pale cliffs, Wounded Knee’s CDC is one of several community groups and nonprofits with seed grants and creative ideas. They’re where the real economic action is, says St. Pierre, with plans ranging from small businesses to housing, a critical need on Pine Ridge. His CDC is looking for funding to build a destination resort on the 600 acres it owns in Manderson Valley and a factory that would make high-end caskets, then expand to other types of millwork.And:Pine Ridge may be ready to participate in the regional economy, but is the region welcoming them? asked St. Pierre, of Wounded Knee CDC. Pine Ridge and other South Dakota reservations already contribute generously to the state’s economy—too generously some say, as money arriving in Native communities is typically spent immediately in nearby border towns, without changing hands and producing income in reservation businesses first. “Keeping money on the reservation and supporting our mom-and-pop businesses is the big issue,” said Emma Featherman-Sam, Oglala, coordinator of Oglala Sioux Transit.

Even worse, much of the spending goes to down-market, predatory vendors, according to O’Rourke. She described payday lending as a terrible problem, along with deed and title loans, through which cash-strapped tribal members put up home and car documents in return for short-term loans at sky-high interest rates, as much as 650 percent. Border town stores sell goods at inflated prices, knowing reservation residents may not have gas money to drive further to find bargains, and alcohol sales in retail stores and bars ringing Pine Ridge—just beyond the dry reservation’s jurisdiction—further empty tribal members’ wallets. “The border towns have a parasite–host relationship with the reservation,” said Tilsen.

Other restrictions on Pine Ridge’s economy are more subtle: When visitors arrive at the Rapid City airport, rental-car companies provide maps of western South Dakota showing a narrow slice of the state along the western border, guiding tourists to state and national parks and neatly eliminating all the reservations. The same map is available in shiny, laminated form at the Badlands National Park visitor centers, a federal operation, where you can get a map of the adjoining Pine Ridge Indian Reservation only if you know to ask for it.

Though cultural tourism is widely considered the wave of the future, browsing South Dakota’s tourism website reveals little about the state’s reservations and their attractions, including pow wows year-round. Entering “Native American” into the search box pulls up assistance for tour companies wanting to organize coach trips to reservations and directions to off-reservation Crazy Horse Memorial—ways for outsiders to look at Native Americans, but little support for Native people’s own enterprises.

Simply finding the reservation can be more difficult than it needs to be; those heading from Rapid City to Pine Ridge will discover that major turnoffs are not well marked. “We’re working on that,” said Featherman-Sam. “We’re talking to the state about installing more signs.”Comment:  I was there the day before this article was published. I can verify that the tourist map for western South Dakota doesn't cover the reservations, and the highway signs aren't great.

We lunched at the single Subway's in Pine Ridge--the one featured in 20/20's Children of the Plains. I asked Jayson Brave Heart, one of our Lakota guides, about businesses on the rez. He said there was a Taco John's, and added that a McDonald's or a laundromat would do incredibly well.

Why doesn't someone start such businesses? Brave Heart gave two main reasons. One, as the article notes, it's hard to get a loan for start-up capital. Two, the town lacks needed infrastructure such as water and electricity. In non-Native locales the government installs these things automatically, but in Pine Ridge they have to go through the BIA's bureaucracy.

So how did the Subway's get started? Brave Heart said the founder was a former BIA superintendent or some similar official. He was able to cut through the red tape, get a loan, and buy a franchise. Not because he was a better businessman, but because he had the connections and clout to get his way.

More attractions needed

As an outsider, even I could see some of the business problems. Pine Ridge is a couple of hours away from the state's biggest towns. There are few attractions between it and Rapid City, where people go to see Mt. Rushmore. When you drive to Pine Ridge, the highway is almost empty. There isn't enough traffic to support a major casino.

I can imagine things that would attract tourists. Work with the National Park Service to offer genuine Lakota tours of the Badlands. Arrange fossil- and rock-hunting expeditions with Lakota guides. Museums are interesting--to me, at least--so build a Museum of Lakota History and Culture. Buffalo are an integral part of the culture, so establish a buffalo ranch where people can see the animals up close. Show off places like the Red Cloud Indian School, which we saw, and the Tanka Bar manufacturing plant, which we didn't.

Wounded Knee is another site the Lakota could develop, but there you want to be careful. The site is small and tranquil, and the typical visitors center with gift shop and parking lot would overwhelm it. Perhaps the Lakota could raise some tourist attractions a mile or so away, out of sight of the site.

Once you have a few marketable attractions, the state will start to include the rez on its maps and signs. People will start visiting and looking for more things to do. This will create a feedback loop, with tourist spending generating jobs and businesses that in turn attract more spending.

Note: I'm sure the Lakota have thought of these things before. I'm not claiming to have any great ideas or insight here. I'm just sharing my naive perspective with readers who may be even more naive than I am.

Rob wrong about rez?

Incidentally, after visiting the rez I tweeted:To me, Pine Ridge looked like any small rural town. I didn't see the abject poverty seen by the likes of Diane Sawyer and Nicholas Kristof.A fellow non-Native traveler challenged me on this, suggesting I was ignoring the poverty and pain behind the facade. He wondered who I was to judge the reservation after a half-day visit.

I'm someone who's read thousands of articles on hundreds of reservations for two decades, that's who. Which gives me an advantage over youngsters who were in grade school when I began. But I'll explain my comment to him and anyone else who didn't get it.

First, let's set the scene. When you drive through Pine Ridge, the first thing you notice is a lot of trailers and portable homes. They're evidence of poverty, of course, but the structures look reasonably well-maintained.

What you don't see is decaying hovels with peeling paint or yards full of junkers and other trash. You know, the kind of "lunar" landscapes you find in ravaged inner cities and outer towns alike. Because of all the negative press, that's kind of what I was expecting.

Nor did I see crowds of idle Indians hanging out because they're unemployed. None of the drunks, whores, or hoodlums you might find in a typical issue of the SCALPED comic book. (There were a handful of apparent drunks in Whiteclay, but that's a different story.) The holiday may have had something to do with it, but I'd expect more loitering on a holiday, not less.

These things may exist somewhere on the rez, but I didn't see them. And we criss-crossed the area several times during our visit.

Things are bad, but...

Here's the point. I absolutely am not saying the poverty, crime, gangs, domestic violence, substance abuse, and suicide don't exist. When I think of small rural towns, on or off the rez, I suspect these things are going on.

What I'm saying is you can't drop in like Diane Sawyer, Nicholas Kristof, or me and get the whole picture at a glance. It's not as obviously bleak as portrayed in Children of the Plains or Kristof's column. Or in SCALPED, which presents the same kind of poverty porn.

I have no problem saying conditions on Pine Ridge are bad. But I side with the Native critics who claim things aren't as bad as they're portrayed by non-Native outsiders who look for the worst. We saw construction going on in town...a college about to graduate a class of students...and horse races where children rode proudly like their ancestors.

If I were going by the evidence of my eyes, I'd say the situation was inconclusive. I'd want more information before drawing conclusions. Unlike some observers, I wouldn't presume that a poverty-stricken reservation is mired in despair and hopelessness.

In short, any TV show, article, or comic book that doesn't capture the positive as well as the negative is a failure in my eyes. That's a point I have made and will continue to make until everyone gets it.

Any questions? For more on the subject, see Rez Life Avoids Poverty Porn and What Reservations Are Really Like.

Below:  Whiteclay just south of the Pine Ridge border--perhaps the source of wholly negative reports.

Aaron looks back at SCALPED

With the announcement that SCALPED is coming to an end, writer Jason Aaron provides an in-depth look at his comic-book series:

Aaron Looks Back on "Scalped"

By Dave RichardsCBR News:  Jason, let's go back to the beginning and talk about what inspired "Scalped." You obviously have an interest in Native American culture and life--did this lead to the creation of "Scalped" or was this something developed as you worked on the series?

Jason Aaron:  It was definitely before "Scalped." It's something I've been interested in since I was a kid, really. I don't know what sparked it or where it came from. It's just something that I've been interested in off and on since I was little.

When you first started developing the title, it wasn't originally going to be creator-owned. Instead, it was going to be something similar to "The Losers," which took an existing DC Comics property and re-imagined it with a Vertigo sensibility.

Yeah, it was originally going to be a modern day update of the old DC western hero Scalphunter. I think the original idea was that we were going to have a story taking place in the present day and another story taking place in the past that actually involved the original Scalphunter. I don't have any idea how I was planning on connecting those two tales. When my editor Will Dennis and I started talking, we decided to scrap the Wild West stuff and focus on the modern day story revolving around a casino.

"Scalped" is set "now," but a lot of the action has ties to events in the past. One particularly important event in the series is the murder of two FBI agents in 1975. Now, real life Native American activist Leonard Peltier was arrested for the murder of two FBI agents in 1975--was Peltier's story an influence on "Scalped?"

Yeah most definitely. Peltier's story and the whole story of the American Indian movement of the 1970s had a big influence on "Scalped." For a while, Peltier was in prison right down the street from me in Leavenworth. He's since been transferred. I believe he's in Pennsylvania now.

So he's another aspect of more recent Native American history that I'd been interested in even before "Scalped." The book "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse" is a great read that covers the whole stand-off at Wounded Knee and the troubles on the Pine Ridge Reservation in the '70s that lead up to the Leonard Peltier case.

What were some of the other inspirations for the series?

The series was partly inspired by Michael Mann's "Crime Story," which was a great TV show from the '80s about one cop chasing a hood on the rise. That was the original idea for "Scalped." We'd have one undercover FBI agent and follow his struggle to bring down a crime boss on the rise. Once I started working on it, it pretty quickly grew and became about this diverse cast of characters on the reservation.

That focus on crime, community and a large cast of characters has lead many people to describe "Scalped" as the HBO show "The Wire" on an Indian reservation. Was your work on "Scalped" influenced or inspired by "The Wire?"

I was probably just getting into "The Wire" right around the time "Scalped" was coming together, so that certainly had a profound influence on what I was doing.

"Deadwood," another HBO show, was also a big influence. I was already deep into the show at that point. The character of Al Swearengen was a model, in a lot of ways, for what I wanted to do with Red Crow in "Scalped."Comment:  For more on SCALPED, see What Reservations Are Really Like and Jason Aaron = Writer of the Year.

SCALPED to end in 2012

Scalped confirmed to end with Issue 60Scalped, the Eisner Award-nominated crime series by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guéra, will end in April with Issue 60.

While Aaron had repeatedly suggested the Vertigo comic was nearing its conclusion, he resisted naming a final issue, writing just three months ago that, “It’s never been a secret that Scalped had a definite ending point. I still haven’t put a specific issue number on it, but we’re certainly getting closer.”

However, during Thursday’s Vertigo panel at Comic-Con International, Executive Editor Karen Berger got specific, confirming that Aaron and Guéra will bring the story to a close with the 60th issue.Comment:  For more on SCALPED, see Jason Aaron = Writer of the Year and Native Women = Whores in SCALPED.

Sopranos-style Blackstone debuts

Rez Life à la The Sopranos

By Wilhelm MurgIn a closed society that operates under its own rules, things can go very wrong. In recent years, that basic idea has underpinned some of the best series on television: the HBO hits The Sopranos, True Blood, and Big Love, to name a few. First Nations reserve life will get a similar unflinching look when Canadian production company Prairie Dog Film & Television unleashes Blackstone on Jan. 25.

Set on (and off) the fictional Blackstone reserve, the show is an intense, compelling and confrontational exploration of power and politics. “We wanted to take a look at some of the reserves in Canada and to bring some exposure to what are some really big problems: corruption and nepotism,” says Ron E. Scott, executive producer and a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. “Authenticity is one of the hallmarks of this production; a lot of our Native actors have first-hand knowledge of this stuff—people in their family or people they know. That includes me: My mother was Native and my father was a drunken white sailor. I have a lot of aunts and uncles on my mom’s side who grew up close to the reserve, and I looked at some of their behaviors. In the clash of cultures the authenticity really comes forward.”

The quest for authenticity led Scott and his team, which also includes the award-winning Native filmmaker Gil Cardinal, down some dark roads that Native TV and cinema has often avoided. Characters battle addiction to alcohol and gas-huffing. There is tension between those who have left the reserve and those who still live there. Characters with high social status cling to it, while those at the bottom of the pecking order struggle for respect.Comment:  Having watched The Sopranos, True Blood, and Big Love, I can say they all show the good and bad of the cultures they portray. They aren't relentlessly negative liked SCALPED, which also has been called a Sopranos on the reservation.

I trust Native filmmakers to get rez life right more than I do non-Native writer Jason Aaron. They presumably know that for every gangster, drunk, or whore there's a leader, a healer, and a teacher. Life on the rez isn't unremittingly bad.

I haven't watched Blackstone yet, but I hope to eventually. It'll be interesting to see if it rings true.

For more on the subject, see Blackstone Gets Full-Season Order and Blackstone TV Pilot.

What reservations are really like

Here's what one of the poorest reservations in the US is like according to a resident:

Vi Waln:  Don't believe everything in the media aboutI live on the Rosebud Reservation. I see many things that happen here on a daily basis. There are many problems our people are faced with every single day of their lives. Many people will not come to the reservations because of awful things they read in the newspapers.

Still, I feel my home is one of the safest places in the world to live. Does it seem strange to you that I think an Indian Reservation is a safe place to live? If so, then you might be like one of those bitter sounding writers who do not live on the reservation and therefore do not have a clue.

Not all of us living on the reservation are unemployed and languishing at home with a bottle of booze. Many of us are actually gainfully employed. We pay our own bills on time with the money we earn from a real job. And many of us have learned how to prepare delicious meals with the commodities we receive from our tribal warehouses each month.

Not all of our children drop out of school. There are a number of young people who work very hard to earn high grade point averages in preparation for study at a college or university. Many organizations have been established to serve the young people living on reservations and they are staffed by educated, sober adults who have the best interest of our children at heart.

Not all of us are subjecting our families to an ocean of alcohol in our homes. Many Lakota people are sober and pray every day, sometimes several times a day. Prayers are offered for many things, including other human beings who we don’t even know personally. Many of the ceremonial people living right here on my Indian Reservation offered prayers after the weekend shooting in Arizona which killed several people, including a child.Comment:  Non-Natives keep trying to promote a negative view of reservation life and Natives keep trying to correct it. These false or stereotypical views come up in the media regularly--for instance, in Mines Minister Blames the Victim and Cameron:   Lakota = "Dead-End Society."

I don't think SCALPED writer Jason Aaron is bitter, but he's one of the writers who doesn't live on a reservation and therefore doesn't have a clue. Nor do his readers because of people who claim Aaron is exploring reservation life, showing readers what it's like, or educating them. He isn't doing any of those things. He's presenting a false and stereotypical portrait of reservations and passing it off as honest and real.

For more on the subject, see Native Women = Whores in SCALPED and Okay to Stereotype in Noir Comics?

Below:  I wonder what the average body count per issue is in SCALPED?

Jason Aaron = writer of the year

A hat trick for 'Scalped'

By Jerome MaidaComics Guy looked long and hard to see if any comic book was worthy of being named the best instead of the title that won Best Comic Series of the Year in 2008 and 2009. There were a lot of challengers, a lot of well-done stuff. Some issues of certain books can be called legitimate masterpieces.

However, with such a plethora of quality material to choose from, there still is only one choice when it comes to the best that the comic-book medium has to offer. So for the third year in a row, "Scalped" is Comics Guy's pick for Best Comic Series of the Year.

Once again, Jason Aaron--Comics Guy's choice for Writer of the Year--has given us characters and story lines that are extremely compelling.

He is mining the story possibilities few dare to touch, let alone explore, about life on an Indian reservation, and gives us sharp yet real dialogue.

Most of all, he gives us moments--not only in every issue, but on virtually every page--that readers will remember forever. Whether it's Chief Red Crow proving that he is the wisest, most dangerous mob leader ever put on the printed page, the emptiness and desperation evident in many of the lives there, double-agent Dash being confronted by his deadbeat father or Red Crow's daughter Carol deciding whether she should keep her baby--there is extremely powerful stuff here.Comment:  These nominations are the kinds of things I won't comment on. Because I haven't read enough SCALPED or other current comics to judge which is the best.

In contrast, I have read enough SCALPED to judge whether it's stereotypical. It is.

Aaron isn't exactly exploring life on an Indian reservation. That would mean his stories are true to life rather than stereotypical. What he's exploring is his invented, imaginary idea of how hellish Indian life is. It's an exaggerated version of the worst Indian reservations in America and a complete fabrication of Indian life in general.

Even saying it "explores" rather than "invents" Indian life gives credence to the stereotypes. Would anyone say The Sopranos explores Italian American life? I doubt it. If someone said The Sopranos gave us an honest or revealing look at Italian Americans, people would protest in anger. As they actually did:

Italian-Americans eye 'Sopranos,' HBO protest

Italian Group Weathers The Rain In 'Sopranos' Protest

Italian-American groups protest 'Sopranos'

In short, SCALPED is to Indians as The Sopranos is to Italians. 'Nuff said about that.

The abortion issue

It's nice that Aaron is tackling issues such as abortion. It's about what I would do if I were writing a mainstream Native-themed comic. Stories about corruption, alcoholism, suicide, and other social ills are valid because these things definitely happen on reservations. And stories about legal victories, business openings, and cultural preservation are also valid because these things also happen.

Of course, Aaron has the freedom to write about abortion in a Vertigo comic for mature audiences. It's not as if he's pushing the envelope on a regular DC or Marvel comic. Speedy shooting heroin on the cover of GREEN LANTERN #85 (1971) is still more daring than an abortion story or any other comic in 2010.

I'm not sure Aaron's readers want stories about drug use, prostitution, and abortion...but they probably don't want stories about rebuilding a reservation with schools, clinics, and community centers either. In that sense, he's taking the easy way out: giving readers the dark, despairing, grim 'n' gritty stories they expect. Write a stereotype-free comic book about Indian life as it actually is and then I'll consider you a groundbreaker.

Conclusion

Anyway, I guess I missed the moments that "readers will remember forever." Other than Red Crow's murdering and scalping someone in SCALPED #1, that is--a heinous act for which any tribal leader today would be imprisoned. But that's probably not the kind of moment Maida is thinking of.

As I've said before, I found the comics good but not great. If you've never read or watched any noir fiction, SCALPED may impress you. If you have, you'll deem it a decent variation on hundreds of crime/mob/gang stories.

For more on the subject, see Native Women = Whores in SCALPED and Okay to Stereotype in Noir Comics?

Native women = whores in SCALPED

Author Richard Van Camp finally gives SCALPED a piece of his mind:

This week in comics and my rant on Jason Aaron's "Scalped"I've been collecting Jason Aaron's Scalped from the first issue because it was his take on Native American country right now. I loved the grit at first, but I've noticed something in the past few issues that others have been warning me about for a long time now: Jason Aaron loves to perpetuate negative stereotypes about Native American women.

Last night as I was reading issue 43 I was saddened to see yet another Native American woman sexualized and used without any power at all by two men in the same night.

In issue 41, we open with a pregnant Native American woman smoking and then throwing herself off of a set of stairs to kill her unborn baby. Then she uses a coat hanger to try and give herself an abortion.

I have yet to see a single strong, self empowered Native American woman in Scalped and I think this is just so sad because Jason Aaron is a great writer, a fantastic storyteller, but he's made up his mind so far to use his comic book series to be hurtful towards Native American women.

As a writer and editor of Aboriginal comic books, I've been watching Jason Aaron for years now so I do not do what he does. I can't be the only person out there who's being vocal about this. I know Blue Corn Comics publisher Rob Schmidt has never been happy with Scalped, and I've been wishing for over a year now that Jason would use Scalped to show how it is Native American women now who are usually running the schools, health departments, curriculum development, libraries, band offices, etc. etc. I could go on and on.

Jason Aaron could say (and probably will say) that he continues to show how Native American women have no voice or power in modern day society, and this is why he continues to write like this. To this I say: bullshit.

To Vertigo Comics, I say shame on you for publishing such hurtful literature.

To editor, Will Dennis, and Associate Editor, Mark Doyle, I say shame on you, as well.

At what point was it okay for three men to get together and agree it was okay to brutalize Native American women by continually portraying them as whores, sluts and junkies?

Way to go, guys. I'd like you all to respond to what I'm saying here. Scalped is hate literature, in my opinion. I'm now cancelling my subscription. I can't stomach or support this anymore.

The Native American women I know are self empowered, strong, leaders, matriarchs.

Yes, there are Native American women who hurting, but show the leaders. Show the strength. Show the dignity.

I can't imagine how heartbeaking reading "Scalped" must be for a young Native American woman or girl.Comment:  I'm glad Van Camp came around. He realized what I realized after reading the first issue, and confirmed after reading #2-6. Namely, that SCALPED is stereotypical.

Moreover, he's read every issue, which I haven't. He's confirmed that SCALPED has made zero progress toward presenting a more complex view--at least of Native women. They were whores, sluts, and junkies in #1 and they're still whores, sluts, and junkies in #43, almost four years later.

In Mile Post 398 vs. SCALPED, I wrote:The ratio of good to bad in Mile Post 398 is something like 60/40. Being troubled half the time may seem grim to people like me, who have lived a charmed life, but it's not hopeless. It's the kind of situation you might find in any impoverished small town, where times are tough but people still care.

In SCALPED, the good/bad ratio is more like 10/90. This is relentlessly, unalterably bad. It's far worse than the rez life depicted in Mile Post 398 or in any real or fictional reservation I've seen. Hence my dismissal of SCALPED's stereotypical vision.I think Dashiell Bad Horse's mother may have had a few good moments, so I'll stick with estimate that SCALPED characters are 90% bad. An excellent estimate if I do say so myself.

Where's the reality?

Over the last year or so, violence against Native women has received a lot of press. Women forced into prostitution and sex slavery, women gone missing or murdered, etc. The problem is still acute, but people are becoming aware of it. They're organizing protests, holding hearings, and passing laws to address the situation.

Is any of this evident in SCALPED? According to Van Camp, no. The series is missing the leaders and matriarchs who are fighting for Native women. It's missing anything other than its nightmarish (noirish) view of reservation life.

Would anyone accept a comic book or TV series about blacks that featured only gangsters, pimps, and "hos"? No, which is why there's never been such a thing, basically. The cries of racism would be instantaneous and overwhelming. But the same approach goes unremarked or gets praised in SCALPED. People really think Indians are degenerates and reservations are hellholes, so they tout SCALPED for its "realism."

For more on the subject, see Media Ignores Victimized Native Women, Irene Bedard Abused, and 500 Red Dresses for Victimized Women.

Growing disenchanted

Another interesting point is the evolution of Van Camp's views. He initially seemed gung ho about SCALPED, sharing the prevailing "finally, a hard-hitting series about modern-day Indians" attitude. But he's a smart and sensitive guy, so eventually his views changed. After 40-some issues, it became obvious that SCALPED wasn't setting the stage for a more complex, less stereotypical view of Indians. This was pretty much it: Indian men as criminals, thugs, and lowlifes and Indian women as whores, sluts, and junkies. In other words, a clever rehash of the standard Native stereotypes: Indians as savages, drunks, and squaws.

I wonder if any other Native supporters of SCALPED have changed their views. It would be interesting to see the trend lines on that. How many Natives have gone from thinking SCALPED = good to SCALPED = stereotypical like Van Camp? How many started off praising SCALPED for its honesty and ended up criticizing it for its dishonesty?

And how many have gone in the other direction? How many have read 40-something issues and said, "You know, I thought SCALPED was stereotypical at first, but now I've changed my mind. It's presenting a three-dimensional view of Indians totally unlike the thousands of racist portrayals of the past"? I'd love to see the numbers on that.

Conclusion

Anyway, kudos to Van Camp for taking a stand against Jason Aaron, SCALPED, and Vertigo. Van Camp is trying to tell the truth about Natives in his books and comic books. He's doing that here, too.

For more on Van Camp's views, see Van Camp's New Comic Books and Van Camp on Aboriginal Comics. For more on SCALPED, see Native Noir Comic Books and Okay to Stereotype in Noir Comics?

Below:  A slutty woman on a SCALPED cover. Because the vast majority of Native women are like that, you know. They're big breasted, flat-bellied sex objects just like in SCALPED. (For my less intelligent readers, note the heavy sarcasm.)

Native noir comic books

Derek Parker Royal reviews three Native comics about crime and crimefighters: STREET WOLF, SKINWALKERS, and SCALPED.

Native Noir:  Genre and the Politics of Indigenous Representation in Recent American Comics

Royal has e-mailed me once or twice to ask about Native comics. I think his questions were about Native comics in general, or about PEACE PARTY. I don't think they were about Native noir comics. I suppose I could look up what I said to him, but it doesn't matter.

Royal seems a bit surprised that I reviewed SCALPED after one issue. My initial critique was based on the first issue because that was all that was available then. My opinion didn't change after issues #2-6. Really, if it takes you 10 or 20 issues to develop fully-rounded characters, I'd call your comic a failure. A good comic (e.g., WATCHMEN or DARK KNIGHT RETURNS) does it in one.

For more on the subject, see Comic Books Featuring Indians.

Okay to stereotype in noir comics?

In his review of SCALPED #34, Greg Burgas wrote:At some point, I want to address Rob Schmidt's objections to Scalped. I think that would be fun. I certainly agree with him that it doesn't portray Indians positively. However, as I've pointed out, it's a noir title. It doesn't portray anyone positively. From Scalped, we can assume that all white FBI agents are racist assholes, and that all black people are shifty con men. From Criminal, we can assume that all white people are, well, criminals. And sluts. Schmidt has pointed out that Aaron claims this is "how things are" on the rez, and he has a point there, too. That's why I want to address it some other time, because he has a lot of interesting objections to Scalped. But I still think it's fantastic.Here's my response to this:

Everyone is bad in SCALPED, but 90% of them are Indians. It's fundamentally false to portray a whole society as bad. The Sopranos didn't do that, and it's the gold standard Aaron is aiming for. Who says a noir comic can't portray a substantial number of people as decent and wholesome--like the friends and families of the Sopranos clan?

CRIMINAL and other comics may present white people as bad, but there are several hundred other comics to balance them out. To give the public a range of views of white folks. No one's looking at CRIMINAL rather than SUPERMAN, BATMAN, or SPIDER-MAN to understand whites.

There's no counterbalance in the market to SCALPED. It's the sole representation of Indians most comics readers will get. To me that implies a social or ethical burden to get it right, not to do what you please.

Otherwise, you're just doing what a thousand creators have done before you: stereotyping Indians as criminals, thugs, and lowlifes because you feel like it. Because savage Indians have sold ever since Wild West shows and Western movies became popular. Because you want to earn fame and fortune by exploiting people.

Let's reiterate this point. Aaron isn't just doing his own thing. Indians in outer space or in a life raft would be his own thing--a creative vision that was uniquely his own. In SCALPED he's doing the same old thing: portraying Indians as modern-day savages. As people wallowing in their own poverty, filth, and despair. That isn't new or creative, it's old and offensive.

Why SCALPED "works"

Take a step back and ask why Aaron set a noir comic on a crime-ridden reservation. And why this is getting praise rather than scorn from critics.

Would you buy a blood-drenched crime comic set in a quaint English village with tea cozies? At a Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas? At the Strawberry Fields Forever daycare center? I'm guessing not.

But you have little or no problem believing in crime and corruption on the rez. Why is that? Because you associate Indians (like Italians before them) with crime and corruption. Because this feels natural and "right" to you and other readers.

To sum it up, Aaron is using negative stereotypes, you're buying them, and you're perpetuating them by praising SCALPED. Do you disagree? Because I don't see any way around this point.

You mentioned other minorities. I suspect any comic that portrayed 90% of blacks, Latinos, or Asians as miscreants would get the same criticism. And rightly so. The only comic that wouldn't deserve this criticism is a white noir comic like CRIMINAL. Again, because there are alternatives to it but not to black, Latino, or Asian noir comics.

Rights and wrongs

Whether he intends to or not, Aaron is helping to shape the public's perception of Indians. He'll do more if SCALPED becomes a TV show. He can take responsibility for this or he can deny it, but he's still doing it.

To me that's the issue here. Not his freedom to do whatever he wants, but the effects of that freedom on others. Not his rights, but his responsibilities.

I'm sure the makers of minstrel shows, Birth of a Nation, and old Westerns said they were pursuing their artistic vision too. Does that mean it was okay for them to stereotype blacks and Indians? Most people today would say no. These things were perfectly legal, but they weren't right.

If you ask me, the right to be free of racism and stereotyping is just as important as the right to express oneself. That's why we criticize things even when they're legal, widespread, even "traditional." So school X has the right to choose an Indian mascot. Band Y has the right to dress up as Indians and dance. Store Z has the right to sell "drunk Indian" t-shirts. And we have the right to say these things are wrong.

For more on the subject, see "Cool" Moments in SCALPED and SCALPED = Comic of the Year? For more on the subject in general, see Comic Books Featuring Indians.

Below:  A fairly standard scene in a SCALPED comic: whores, a gunman, and dead bodies in a pool of blood.