I wrote this blog post in my last semester of graduate school. A interview with Sherman Alexie in Time prompted me to reconsider this topic, although it is something I should ponder on a more frequent basis.
As I've given more thought to my final project, I have considered the presence
or absence of American Indians from the media. Media professionals sometimes
tread lightly over this terrain, but I think they need to delve into it more
deeply. American Indians, or Native Americans (the debate continues over which
term to use), deserve treatment just as any other ethnic group does. Despite the
fact that they are outnumbered, they still exist and, tribe by tribe, contribute
richly to our American culture.
I follow a sports blog called www.survivinggrady.com. In one post,
one of the authors mentioned Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury's interview in
an issue of Men's Vogue. I immediately clicked the link to read the
article. Of course, the first paragraph mentions Ellsbury's Navajo heritage.
While it is of note that Ellsbury is the first Navajo player in the major
leagues, I still wonder why that facet of his background draws the most
attention. Doesn't his athletic prowess trump everything when it comes to
lauding him as a member of the team? If Ellsbury were white, would the writer
have drawn attention to that? I doubt it.
This presents my struggle with
the topic of American Indian presence/absence from the media. While I assert
that they deserve equal treatment, I also do not want them to be exploited. I
suppose exploitation manifests itself as the ultimate evil of some forms of
journalism. Not everyone believes the media are objective in their methods.
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