Non-Natives portraying Indigenous* characters in media since I had trouble finding a record of it, a thread🧵:
*I’m defining Indigenous as Native American, First Nations, & Pacific Islander. Although this isn’t encompassing of ALL Indigeneity, it’s what I’m most knowledgeable talking about.
Johnny Depp as Tonto in “The Lone Ranger”. Depp claimed that his great grandma was “Cherokee, or maybe Creek” but he isn’t a registered member of any tribe. 
Jane Krakowski as Jacqueline White, a closeted Native American, in the show “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”.
Rob Schneider played a Native caricature a scene of “Bedtime Stories” (left). He ALSO played Ula, a Hawaiian character in “50 First Dates” (right). Plus he’s played Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mexican caricatures (all in Adam Sandler movies)
Joaquin Phoenix voicing Kenai, an Inuit character, in “Brother Bear”.
Iron Eyes Cody famously portrayed a crying Native American in “Keep America Beautiful” PSA’s. He was, in reality, Italian American.*
*It is important to note that during his life he did a lot of activism work for Native causes.
*It is important to note that during his life he did a lot of activism work for Native causes.
Audrey Hepburn in “The Unforgiven”. She played a Native child assimilated into white society.
Jennifer Jason Leigh played Dr. Ventress in “Annihilation”. In the novel the film is based on, the character is half Native American. The same film has Natalie Portman cast as a character written originally as Asian.
Donna Reed played Sacagawea in “The Far Horizon”. For the role she wore dark makeup.
Rooney Mara played Tiger Lily in “Pan”. The original tale of Peter Pan saw Tiger Lily being a part of a non-specific Native tribe. A petition protesting her casting received 97,000 signatures.
Nicola Peltz as Katara in the film “Avatar the Last Airbender”. In the TV show the movie is based off of, the tribal individuals and culture are heavily influenced by Inuit people.
Jackson Rathbone in “Avatar the Last Airbender”, another Inuit influences character being played by someone who is not Indigenous. Also, important to note that the film white-washed a number of roles portrayed originally as Asian in the tv show.
Emma Stone played a woman who is white, Pacific Islander, and Chinese in “Aloha”.
Tony Curtis played real life Native individual Ira Hayes in “The Outsider” (real life Hayes seen on the right)
Josh Hartnet in “30 Days of Night” played the character of Eben Oleson. In the comic books the movie is based on, the character is Inuit.
Burt Lancaster in “Apache”. The movie sees a Native dealing with forced relocation by White populations. For the role Lancaster wore dark makeup.
Daveigh Chase, who played Lilo, a Hawaiian child, in “Lilo and Stitch”*
*Despite this, I personally feel this movie does a lot right for Indigenous people in its representation, story, & music. Additionally as Chase was a child, Disney should be held accountable, not her.
*Despite this, I personally feel this movie does a lot right for Indigenous people in its representation, story, & music. Additionally as Chase was a child, Disney should be held accountable, not her.
Kelsey Chow played a Native character in the show “Yellowstone”. Chow claims to be descended from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), but the tribe put out a statement that “no documentation was found in our records to support any claim that she descends from” the EBCI.
I want to acknowledge that I myself, a member of the Lumbee Tribe, directed “Manahatta”, a play about Indigenous people at UPenn. In casting the production I cast “self-identified people of color” in the Indigenous roles. While Natives were present in the process, both onstage…
…and in the production staff, I cast this way since I go to an institution that has prevented the visibility and gathering of Indigenous people in many ways. I had a limited pool of students to choose from for roles. While I encouraged Natives to audition, not many Natives go…
…to Penn. To tell my community’s stories, I needed help from BIPOC to provide representation (and the actors did a phonemonal job).
In Hollywood, only Indigenous actors should represent Indigenous people on screen. Thousands of Indigenous actors are looking for roles in the industry, yet get turned down for (usually white) actors. Hollywood needs to be held more accountable for its BIPOC representation…
…and I hope threads like this promote a dialogue that brings Native people into the conversation.
TL;DR Redface is unacceptable. Hollywood needs to do better.
TL;DR Redface is unacceptable. Hollywood needs to do better.
There are a ton more examples I wasn’t even able to fit here because of Twitter’s thread limit. This issue is huge and needs to be called out. If you have any examples I left out, please add them below❤️❤️❤️
