Quileute Tribe and the Stereotypes of Native Americans in theTwilight Saga

          The Twilight Saga written by Stephanie Meyer is about a teenage girl named Bella Swan who moves from Phoenix Arizona to a small city in Washington called Forks. There she discovers a young man who she falls in love with named Edward Cullen. The Cullen’s are a group of beautiful, popular, and rich people who she later discovers are vampires.  If this wasn't enough she discovers that her childhood and family friend Jacob Black, a Native American who lives in a Reservation nearby, is a werewolf. Throughout the movies we see the rivalry between Edward Cullen and Jacob Black grows since they are both in “love” with Bella. Bella being in the middle of the chaos tries to have both Edward and Jacob and gives hope to Jacob even though she knows Edward is her “true love.” In conclusion Bella marries Edward and has a half-human half -vampire child.  In a twist of events Jacob Black imprints on the child which is the foundation and reason why the Quileute’s and the Cullens’ live in harmony in the end.

          Jacob Black is Native American and is part of the Quileute’s tribe since his great grandfather was the leader of the tribe. He is a young man that is in love with Bella Swan and is always there for her even though she knows she is with Edward Cullen. In the movies we see him as her “toy” in which Bella uses when Edward left her in the movie New Moon. Jacob is seen as less and inferior to Edward, a white man which is something that is seen throughout history; a white person given more importance than a colored person. Jacob is seen as an aggressive, bad tempered person which is another Native American stereotype that they are “savages” by the way he forced Bella to kiss him in the movie Eclipse. As the movie “Reel Injuns” shows ways in which Hollywood movies characterizes Native Americans as having the nicest bodies and are always wearing few clothes in scenes. Throughout the movies we see Jacob without a shirt showing his six pack and fit body which fits the stereotype that Native Americans are over sexualized in films.

            This representation of Native Americans in the Twilight Saga justifies the economic and social marginalization of them by portraying Native Americans as inferior to the “Cold Ones”; vampires by the way they live. The “white” vampires live in a luxurious two story house and having the best and expensive things while the “colored” Native Americans live in a more down to earth, modest environment. Native Americans live in a small Reservation in La Push which shows the accurate representation of how and where they lived. The stereotype that Native Americans are “savages” is portrayed in the film as well when they are seen as animals in this case “werewolves.”The tribe in the movie shows the importance of family and tribe and how they always stick together and have each other’s’ back when they sense trouble.