"I'm not the Indian you had in mind"

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
44,850
192
63
Nakusp, BC
A video exploration offering insight as to how First Nations people today are changing old ideas and empowering themselves in the greater community.

Creative team
Director/writer: Thomas King
Producer: Laura J. Milliken

Director’s statement

Thomas King says:

“I’m Not the Indian You Had in Mind challenges the stereotypical portrayal First Nations peoples in the media. This spoken word short offers an insight of how First Nations people today are changing old ideas and empowering themselves in the greater community.

The actors, in business suits, jeans, and typical urban attire are juxtaposed against the loincloth-wearing, tomahawk wielding Natives of yesterday’s spaghetti westerns.

Through the use of stock footage, language, and common artifacts like a cigar store Indian, the viewer is encouraged to examine the profound role that these one-dimensional media representations have played in shaping their perspectives of an entire group of people. The man living next door, the woman working in the next cubicle, or the stoic wood carving in front of the cigar store – which Indian did you have in mind?

This clip is just over 5 minutes long:
I'm Not the Indian You Had in Mind | National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)