Examines the history of the stereotyped images of Native Americans that have prevailed in American culture and presents the current efforts of Native Americans to promote a more accurate depiction of their life and heritage.

This book provides the first comprehensive overview of how the media portray Native Americans and how Native Americans view and use the media. Whereas most previous works in this area have focused on one medium, Scott Sochay brings together material on news, entertainment and cultural issues, taking in newspapers, film, television, radio, books and the Internet. The book is also the first of its kind to bring to media issues the dual perspectives of a Native American (the author is a member of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians) and of media scholars.Native Americans and the Media poses challenging questions such as:* Why are Native Americans rarely portrayed on TV and what can we learn from the few portrayals there are, for instance in Star Trek?* What can media and communication studies learn from the importance of orality in Native American cultures?* How are Native American filmmakers challenging stereotypical Hollywood representations?* How are Native tribes using new technologies such as the Internet to preserve culture and to share information?Designed to be accessible for upper level undergraduate students, Native Americans and the Media will be essential reading for those studying courses on Minorities and the Media and issues around race and ethnicity in contemporary American society.