North American Native art

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Native Americans in Drama. The immediacy of whites‐versus‐Indians wars and the proximity of many settled Indians to American 18th‐century cities made Native Americans figures of interest to several early American dramatists. The first play to center on them, however, was written not in English but in French. Le Père‐Indien was the work of LeBlanc de Villeneuve, a French officer stationed in New Orleans, and was given an amateur mounting there in 1753. Although it had no influence on later plays, its story of an Indian father who sacrifices his life for the sake of his son foreshadowed numerous pictures of noble, tragic primitives that would long characterize plays of Native American life. In 1766 the maverick Major Robert Rogers published his semihistorical if romanticized tragedy of Ponteach, but no record of performance survives. One reason for its failure to find a stage may have been an implicit contempt or at least condescension on the part of most whites toward Indians. This could explain why the earliest Native‐American–themed plays to reach the stage and sometimes find success, although they, too, generally depicted the Indian as wronged and doomed, were couched in musical terms. Tammany (1794), The Indian Princess (1808), and Harlequin Panattatah; or, The Genii of the Algonquins (1809) are examples. The Indian Princess is probably the first play to deal with Pocahontas, who for decades remained a favorite of dramatists, including George Washington Parke Custis, Robert Dale Owen, and John Brougham. But the immediate inspiration for the deluge of Indian stories that flooded American stages in the 1830s and 1840s certainly can be ascribed to John Augustus Stone's Metamora (1828), which was turned into one of the raging successes of contemporary theatre by Edwin Forrest. Perhaps because by this time most theatrical centers were far removed from Indian territory, such plays could generally offer a romanticized view of these imposed‐upon natives, often fighting to the death to protect what they saw as their heritage. The lengthy list of now‐forgotten works would include Sassacus, or, The Indian Wife; Onylda, or, The Pequot Maid; Ontiata, or, The Indian Heroine; Osceola; Tuscalomba; Carabasset; Narramattah; Wacousta; Wissahickon; and many others. Apart from Metamora, the most popular play on the subject during the first part of the 19th century was undoubtedly Brougham's burlesque, Pocahontas; or, The Gentle Savage (1855). Taking a light‐hearted look at both Native Americans and settlers, it served as a sort of bridge between the basically humanistic, romanticized pictures that preceded it and the more indifferent, even negative depictions that arose after the Civil War. Native Americans in the late 19th century almost never served as heroes or heroines as they had before; they were generally minor figures or, more often, a band of drink‐crazed marauders doing the villain's bidding. Across the Continent (1871) is a typical example. The Wild West shows offered by Buffalo Bill ( William Cody) and others also fostered period perceptions. The pendulum swung back at the beginning of the 20th century with such plays as Strongheart (1905) and The Squaw Man (1905). But a further rise in the popularity of Native‐American themes in the theatre may have been discouraged by the growth at the time of silent films, which offered a greater range and freedom of action when recounting tales of the Wild West. Thereafter Native Americans rarely appeared in American drama. At best they were consigned minor roles, often comic. The wise Sitting Bull in Annie Get Your Gun (1946) exemplifies this treatment.

Two exceptions were Arthur Kopit's Indians (1969), which attempted to make modern audiences share the guilt for their forefathers' behavior toward Native Americans, and Christopher Sergel's Black Elk Speaks (1981), based on John Neihardt's book about the history leading up to the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890. Both well‐intentioned plays failed to find an audience in New York but enjoyed many productions in regional and amateur theatres. Theatre by and about Native Americans has not been very widespread in modern times, though ritual dramas, in which the audience were all participants, was very common throughout the hundreds of North American tribes that existed before the arrival of Europeans. These performances were built around legends and the history of the community, so the art form died out when the communities were broken up. In the 1970s attempts were made by contemporary Native Americans to revive this form of theatre. The Red Earth Theatre in Seattle and the Native American Ensemble Theatre in New York were two early groups, later joined by others. But a revived Native American theatre still was experiencing growing pains at the end of the century.

Native North American art Traditional art produced by the indigenous peoples of North America. The Inuit of the Arctic area have been producing ivory carvings since prehistoric times and are also noted for their ceremonial masks (made from driftwood or whalebone). The nw region is best known for its totem poles, while in California, basket-weaving and pottery were specialities. Similar crafts were practised by the Pueblo peoples of the sw, who also created remarkable prehistoric wall paintings. The decoration of animal hides was popular in the Great Plains, while in the Eastern Woodlands, there was a preference for copper ornaments and stone carvings.