The Newspaper Indian: Native American Identity in the Press, 1820-90

by John Coward

Newspapers catalyzed public opinion in the nineteenth century, and the press's coverage and practices shaped the representation of Native Americans for white audiences. John M. Coward delves into the complex ways journalism both perpetuated and created the many stereotypes of the American Indian.  The newspaper Indian emerged not only from centuries of stereotypes but also as an Other standing in the way of economic growth and national expansion. As economic entities hungry for profits, newspapers sought colorful and exciting stories that attracted readers and confirmed the correctness of American values and goals. Journalists came to rely on easily understood formulas and clichés to explain American Indians while the changing technology of newsgathering promoted a fact-based but narrow native identity that standardized the representations of indigenous peoples. The result was a harsh, paternalistic identity that dominated American newspapers for decades—and still influence misrepresentations of Native American people in our own time.  Fascinating and thought-provoking,  The Newspaper Indian  shows how the press wove Native Americans into the fabric of a modernizing America.

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Anjali]

One of the most thorough books I've read on this particular era and the angle of newspapers inventing a homogenised group for their own commercial profit.

[Willy]

The Newspaper Indian is an excellent and eminently readable book that will help the student understand a framework of deception and bias that directed public sentiment toward adopting an attitude of intolerance and subsequent violence toward the indigenous population. During the end of the 1800’s as the reform movement gained support, eastern newspapers attempted to mold public opinion using a combination of moral indignation and the use of propagandized tours of speakers, including Bright Eyes and Standing Bear. Unfortunately the editors acceptance of reformers beliefs in assimilation and forced education would solve the Indian problem were terribly misguided.

The importance of this book lies in the thoroughness that Coward details the influence of newspapers and provides the careful reader to maintain vigilance in maintaining a degree of skepticism when reading and watching media reports. While the press operates as a part of the society at large, its power is sometimes out of proportion to other influences. This lesson is no less true today.

[Kevin Bradshaw]

An excellent scholarly review of 19th century depictions of Native Americans in the American press. I came across this book when I wondered aloud to a friend whether the papers represented the Indians as an existential threat- one that was inherently savage, irrational, and absorbed by a monomaniacal obsession with exterminating civilized white people. This was certainly the case with Sitting Bull, though the overall picture is more complex.

[Kim Adamache]

This book is an excellent source for anyone interested or researching Native Americans and how they were reported and illustrated to the public during the nineteenth century.