Saved by the Flying White Boy

“There was Tiger Lily tied up in the back, Smee rowing and Captain Hook searching the land, determined to find Pan’s hideout”. In this classic 1953 movie, the menacing Captain Hook is on the hunt to find Peter Pan and uses the Indian Princess Tiger Lily as bait. She is the slender, tanned skinned beauty with black braids, a blue headband with an eagle feather, and the traditional native dress. She epitomizes the classic Native American woman. And from the early years of my childhood, I would refer to Tiger Lily as what a Native American is. This unique princess conforms heavily to the typical stereotypes of Native women.

“Help!”. This is the only word that she says in the entire movie, yet this one word tells me all I need to know about Tiger Lily. The very essence of Tiger Lily is captured within this one word. This word was spoken in reaction to being drowned by Hook at Skull Rock. And as we all remember, of course Peter Pan comes to the rescue to save the helpless princess. This early cartoon movie highly correlates to the ol’ Western movies in which the cowboy saves the Native American girl and becomes the hero. Similarly, Peter Pan is highly praised in this rescue of Tiger Lily, so much so that the Native Chief renames Pan the “Flying Eagle” and places on him a large head-piece of white feathers. This reinforces that Native American women are delicate creatures in need of rescue by the white man. Not only does this single word give way to stereotypes of Native American women, but also Tiger Lily’s actions showcase the “attitude” expected of them.

There is the famous quote that says, “Actions speak louder than words”. In the scene after her rescue, Tiger Lily’s actions bolster the idea that Native American women are flirtatious and infatuated with the white man. Tiger Lily initiates the tribal dancing in which she dances in front of Peter in a G rated (yet obvious) seductive manner. She comes closer to tease Peter Pan and then proceeds to kiss him. This unwarranted action depicts the affection of the Indian princess and the white man. This representation of Tiger Lily works to justify the marginalization of Native Americans.

The marginalization of Native Americans is reflected in the rescue of Tiger Lily. In this scene, the white man becomes the warrior and becomes the only one who can stop atrocities from happening. This rescue displays the idea that the Natives are at the power and at the mercy of the white man. This perpetuates the belief that the white man provides, and that Natives are to be dependent on them. Thus this normalizes the reality that massive amounts of Native Americans are in poverty on their reservations. This reliance on the white man reflects the relationship that Natives have now with the U.S. government. According to Forbes magazine, “Reservations contain valuable natural resources worth nearly $1.5 trillion, but the vast majority of these resources remain undeveloped because the federal government gets in the way”. As long as tribes are denied the right to control their own resources, they will remain locked in poverty and dependence.

“There was Tiger Lily, tied up in the back…”. Native American women are still to this day tied up by the many stereotypes. They are restrained and limited. However, I know these beautiful women Native women are working to cut the ropes of these misconceptions that bind them!