Take a Picture with a Real Indian

James Luna (1950-)

Performance

2001

When Oscar Howe showed up to the popular talk show This Is Your Life in 1960, it was unexpected for some audience to a Native American wearing a suit. In the golden age of the television, Native American figures were always dressed in typical indigenous costumes and acted as savages in mass media. It made the viewers fail to realize what Native Americans actually looked like in their real lives.[1] 

 

A Luiseno performance artists, James Luna also expresses this issue through the clothing. When Luna wears a Native American costume, audience can easily objectify him. On the other hand, when Luna wears his normal clothes and stand in front of the audience, they clearly show the hesitation because they cannot see his Native American identity visually. In our everyday life, identity tends to be a the cultural background, rather than the way a person dresses. When Luna was asked what does he think a real Indian is, he answered, “It does not really matter what I am. I know what I am. … An Indian is foremost somebody who is culturally Native. They know their tribe, their cultural background. [2] 

 

 

[1] Edward K. Welch, “This is your life, Oscar Howe,” The Journal of Popular Culture 47 (Hoboken: Wiley Periodicals, Inc., 2014), 247-261.

[2] Jess Righthand, “Q and A: James Luna,” Smithsonian Magazine, Jan. 2011, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/q-and-a-james-luna-74252076/?no-ist (accessed 17 May 2016).