The Reservation and Jacob

Before writing about the Native American stereotypes that the Twilight Saga’s Jacob Black embodies I would like to share one instance of Native American stereotypes that I witnessed. I was born and raised in a town that is ten minutes away from an Indian reservation. This reservation is primarily inhabited by Yokuts and Wukchumni. Due to the proximity of the reservation to my home, many of my schoolmates were Native Americans. I can clearly recall a peer’s surprised expression during my school’s scholarship night. This peer later expressed that he was surprised because many of the other classmates were given tribal scholarships. He did not know that those classmates were members of the TuleRiver Tribe because he expected Native Americans to dress and act like the Native Americans that the media portrays. Instead, he was surprised because our Native American classmates dressed and acted “normally.” This personal anecdote illustrates some of the Native American stereotypes that are perpetuated throughout the media.

An example of a big screen character that expresses Native American stereotypes is Jacob Black. Jacob Black is a werewolf who is a part of the Quileute Tribe in the Twilight Saga. Jacob is initially a savage sidekick who later develops into a wise warrior werewolf. This description of Jacob is the media portrayal of Native American individuals. The Twilight Saga further employs Native American stereotypes by having supporting characters who are also a part of the Quileute Tribe. These supporting characters are typically wise elders who are extremely spiritual or savage brutes who inflict pain on others. The portrayals of all of the Quileutes closely resemble the historical representations of Native American men. These historical representations portray men as being savage, sidekicks, wise elders, and doomed warriors.

The historical representations of Native Americans discussed in the previous paragraphs justify the economic and social marginalization of Native Americans. The historical representations, such as the ones discussed in my personal anecdote, allow companies to economically capitalize on “traditional” Native American apparel. These companies are allowed to create and reproduce images of powwow and traditional ceremony costumes and gain profit from this exploitation and misconception of “Native American wear.” The historical representations about the attitudes and actions of Native Americans, as shown with the Jacob Black example, are also still widely used in the media and do cause harm to Native Americans. These historical representations make others feel that Native Americans should be towards the bottom of the social hierarchy. This is because the media portrays Native Americans as savages that need to be contained, just like Jacob needed to be contained when his emotions fluctuated and when he would transform into a werewolf. The media should focus on eliminating Native American stereotypes instead of continually utilizing historical representations of Native Americans.

            The media, including movies and shows, have fostered Native American stereotypes through the use of historical representations of Native Americans. Jacob Black, a Native American character from the Twilight Saga, is a prime example of characters in the media that continue to enable stereotypes and oppress Native Americans. Native American oppression is caused by these representations because they preserve and spread the idea that Native Americans should be kept at a lower social class, but used for profit. ​