Mathers Museum exhibit celebrates heritage month

The Native American Community Center of Bloomington Inc. presents its first “This Is Not Who We Are” art exhibit at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures as part of National American Indian Heritage History Month.

To kick off the month-long celebration, the Native American Community Center, in conjunction with First Nations Educational and Cultural Center and the City of Bloomington, organized an opening reception Monday at City Hall.

Some people don’t usually see Native American history as a part of American history, but they are very much connected, said Dell Criscenzo, treasurer and volunteer resource manager for the Native American Community Center.  

Native Americans have been dismantled as tribes, deported and forced into assimilation as a result of European and American expansion.

During World War II, about 44,000 Native Americans served in the U.S. military.
In 1975, the United States passed the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, which recognizes American Indians’ right to self-govern and determine their own futures.

As a result of the “othering” of Native Americans, many Americans have misconceptions of how Native Americans interact and what they look like. Criscenzo said there’s an obvious disconnect, linked to an extreme.  

The purpose of the exhibit at the Mathers Museum is to confront stereotypes that depict Native Americans in a stereotypical manner, said Rebecca Riall, who is president of the Native

American Community Center. Many Americans recognize images of Native Americans in tepees, dressed in buckskin, wearing feathers in their long black hair, Criscenzo said.

She said these are historical representations of Native Americans that depict only one group of Native Americans.

However, they make up a very large and diverse group with hundreds of different nationalities.

These stereotypes of Native Americans are so ingrained in American culture that Criscenzo and Riall said many Americans don’t realize they have these stereotypical ideas.

Riall said this is the second year she has participated in producing an event that battles Native American stereotypes, and the people who come to the event have said, “I never knew Native Americans weren’t really like this.”

Criscenzo said “Pocahontas” and Land O’ Lakes butter both perpetuate stereotypes about Native Americans.

“My expectations for the event are for people to stop by and be surprised at what they see in the stereotypes they grew up with from kids to adulthood,” Riall said.

On display at the museum will be examples of stereotypes that Riall, coworkers and volunteers have collected.

These displays include children’s books and dolls, which Riall said are extreme examples of how Native Americans are depicted as primitive and demonized in American culture.

The purpose of “This Is Not Who We Are” is to expel some of the myths and stereotypes of Native Americans and educate Bloomington about who Native Americans really are, said Riall.  

“I am always amazed by the places where I find racist images of native people,” said Sharlene Toney, who teaches Understanding Diversity in a Pluralistic Society at IU. “These images perpetuate racist stereotypes of native people.”