Despite a largely untold history of erasure and violence against their community, Native Americans are leading and contributing to our society everyday. The community is also growing. In the last decade, The American Indian and Alaska Native population increased from 5.2 million in 2010 to 9.7 million in 2020. Native people now make up almost 3% of the U.S. population. Yet, representation on television for Natives is still less than 1%, as of our most recent reporting.
While we continue to see gains in representation from Capitol Hill to Hollywood, expanding the narrative for Native Americans in media has a long way to go. In celebration of Women’s History Month, we spoke to Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and Executive Director of IllumiNative, and a citizen of the Pawnee Nation. She has been a powerful advocate for Native Americans, focused on amplifying the voices, stories and issues of her community in media content.
Im Gespräch von Echo Hawk mit Charlene Polite Corley, VP, Diverse Insights and Initiatives bei Nielsen, erklärt sie, dass eine Organisation wie IllumiNative notwendig ist, um das Bewusstsein in der Medienbranche zu schärfen. Sie erörtern auch den Einfluss der zeitgenössischen Darstellung der amerikanischen Ureinwohner in aktuellen Sendungen wie Reservation Dogs und Rutherford Falls auf die Wahrnehmung und das Verständnis der Zuschauer für die Ureinwohner.
Der Inhalt ist jedoch nur ein Aspekt der Darstellung. Echo Hawk spricht auch über ihre Arbeit zur Aufklärung von Marken und Unternehmen, um die kulturelle Aneignung von Markensymbolen oder Sportmaskottchen zu stoppen.
This is just a glimpse into the broader conversation at SXSW on March 12: Forget Mascots: The Native Representation TV Needs.
