I still remember the fascination and revulsion I felt when first I saw a photograph of a not-
Native person dressed in what appeared to be Native American ceremonial clothing from
the Plains region. That particular combination of feelings should have alerted me to the
likelihood that something religious was going on.
In his recent book, The Imaginary Indian, Daniel Francis calls the imitation of the "Indian"
a "persistent theme in North American culture" [157]. "Indian" imitation has found
expression in the everyday regalia of North American sports teams, in manufactured
products, in Boy Scout and other summer camps for children including those of the
YMCA. It can be found as well as in the Woodcraft League of Ernest Thompson Seton,
the "Indian" Hobbyist Movement in North America, Germany, England, and Sweden, and
in the Bear Tribe, the followers of the late Sun Bear.
In this catalog of imitative encounters with the "Indian," the most contentious is perhaps
those not-Native individuals who, for a variety of reasons, have passed themselves off as
Native Americans.
Included in this group are: Buffalo Child Long Lance, author of the 1928 Long Lance, who
went on to lecture on behalf of Native Americans all over North America; and Grey Owl,
an "Indian" writer and lecturer who toured Canada, England and the United States in the
1930s. More recent additions to this list include Jamake Highwater, author of the 1981 The
Primal Mind (which was made into a television film), and the resident "elder" of the Blue
Snake Lodge, an American Online electronic chat area.
Drawing in part from my forthcoming Weaving Ourselves into the Land, this paper will
recapitulate briefly the conversation about "Indian" imitators before taking as exemplary
two of these not-Native people intent on imitating the "Indian." I propose to argue that
the "Indian" imitators, while unsettling, are like windows through which we can glimpse
the larger cultural phenomenon of "Indian" imitation. It is my contention that there is a
religious dimension to the experience of the individuals who attempt to become "Indians"
and those who follow them. Further I will demonstrate that some of the strong emotional
reactions felt by many not-Natives when confronted by "Indian" imitators stem from
similar religious yearnings.