Reading Note #6: The Imagined Indian

            This introductory chapter by Francis (1992) presents the idea of the Imaginary Indian and its ever-lasting legacy in Canadian history. Francis begins by retelling how a visit to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, “one of the most culturally significant places in the world” and a World Heritage Site, prompted him to question how he had come to believe in an Imaginary Indian. As he walked around the museum on site, Francis is confused that the Indians working at the museum did not at all fit the images of what it means to be and looks like to be Indian that he had learned in schools, books and popular culture.

            “The Indian is the invention of the Europeans” (p. 4). The Indians that we “know” do not actually exist. From the time of Columbus’ arrival in America, there were many different and distinct indigenous cultures, but there were no Indians. The distinct indigenous cultures and peoples were unfortunately grouped together as being the same, and the Other. As Francis writes, “The Indian began as a White man’s mistake, and became a White man’s fantasy” (p. 5). This constructed identity of the Indian has benefited non-Native people for years and the “beauty” of this imagined Indian is that their image can continually changed and reconstructed to be anything non-Natives want it to be. He argues that this books is not about Native cultural history, but rather about White cultural history and the images of Native people that White Canadians have created and taught their children over generations. The greatest strength of this chapter, in my opinion, is Francis’ argument that “there is no such thing as a real Indian” (p. 5). His goal is not to argue or refute the stereotypes but rather to think about “where the Imaginary Indian came from, how Indian imagery has affected public policy in Canada and how it has shapes, and continues to shape the myths non-Natives tell themselves about being Canadians” (p. 6). It is so important to move away from the idea that there is any one, “real” or “legitimate” image of the Indian.

            I appreciated Francis’ explanation at the end of this chapter on terminology. As I was reading the chapter, I questioned his use of the term “Native” as I have come to believe/understand that this is often considered to be a derogatory, offensive term. I believe Francis is quite correct in pointing out “It is part of the legacy of the Imaginary Indian that we lack a vocabulary with which to speak about these issues clearly” (p. 9).

            Though I found this chapter overall to be an interesting read, one critique or point of disagreement is Francis’ argument that (indirectly), we all know there is no such thing as an Indian and that the Indian is the invention of the European. I think it is our hope that this is what we are teaching and learning in schools, but this is far from the case. If it were true, I would like to think our treatment of Native people in Canada would be dramatically different today and that we would not be constantly redefining what it means to be a Native Indian. Though our constructed image of Indians has changed so that Indians fit in our modern world, I believe we still teach and learn that there is “one” particular image of what it means and looks like to be Native.

            As a (history) teacher, this reading/book is immensely useful to my teaching practice and how I would approach teaching about Native history. As Francis discusses, certainly our constructed images of what it means to be Native has changed over the years but the images that we continue to reproduce (and teach) are often still constructed images. It is easy in history class and in our everyday lives to admit the wrongdoings of those who came before us, recognizing our mistreatment Native communities over generations in time but it is much harder to admit that we continue this mistreatment though this exclusion might present differently. This reading leaves me wondering if we will ever move beyond these constructed images of the Indian (in my lifetime)? This book was written in 1992, more than two decades ago yet very little “progress” or “change” has taken place in terms of how we perceive and treat Native people in Canada. I wonder if we will ever get to a point where we no longer feel the need to find out identity as Canadians by differentiating ourselves from the Other, the Indian.

Francis, D. (1992). The imaginary Indian. Vancouver: Arsenal Press.