Redface is the wearing of makeup to darken or redden skin tone, or feathers, warpaint, etc. by non-Natives to impersonate a Native American, Indigenous Latin American or Indigenous Canadian person, or to in some other way perpetuate stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States. It is analogous to the wearing of

Blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

. In the early twentieth century, it was often white performers, who wore blackface or redface when portraying Plains Indians in Hollywood Westerns. In the early days of television sitcoms, "non-Native sitcom characters donned headdresses, carried tomahawks, spoke broken English, played Squanto at Thanksgiving gatherings, received 'Indian' names, danced wildly, and exhibited other examples of ''representations of redface''". Redface has been used to describe non-Native adoption of Indigenous cultures, no matter how sympathetic, such as the painters in the Taos Society of Artists during the early 20th Century portraying themselves in their own works wearing Indigenous clothing.

Redface in sports, fashion and pop culture

Often associated with the behavior of sports fans of teams with Native American names or mascots, "redface" has also been used to describe "Indian" Halloween costumes that are seen as offensive by Native people, or imitations of sacred headdresses worn as fashion accessories.

Redface in art

In 2011, Harmony Korine directed the short art film Snowballs for the fashion brand Proenza Schouler. The film features Rachel Korine and an unnamed actor wearing "elaborate Native American headdresses and layers of skirts, capes, pants, and tops from Proenza's fall collection."

Redface in Hollywood movies

Westerns were a popular film genre from the 1930s to the early 1960s. A common plot involved conflict between Native Americans and the cavalry, settlers, or both. Native Americans were usually portrayed by non-Natives in redface. Espera Oscar de Corti, an Italian-American, had a decades-long career portraying Native Americans as Iron Eyes Cody. Beginning in the late 1960s, westerns attempted to depict a more realistic and balanced view of the Old West in movies such as '' Little Big Man''. However, the casting of non-Native Johnny Depp as

Tonto Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native Americans in the United States, Native American (either Tonto Apache, Comanche, or Potawatomi) Friendship, companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western (genre), Western character crea ...

in Disney's 2013 revival of ''The Lone Ranger'' was labelled as "redface".

Notable films

* ''Broken Arrow'' (1950) - Jeff Chandler as Cochise and Debra Paget as Sonseeahray ('Morningstar'). Mohawk actor

Jay Silverheels Jay Silverheels (born Harold Jay Smith; May 26, 1912 – March 5, 1980) was a First Nations in Canada, First Nations and Mohawk people, Mohawk actor and athlete, descended from three Iroquois nations. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the ...

portrayed Geronimo * '' Winchester '73'' (1950) - Rock Hudson as "Young Bull" * '' The Searchers'' (1956) - Henry Brandon as Chief Cicatriz ("Scar") * ''Apache'' (1954) -

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

as the main character, Massai. ( Monte Blue, who was part Cherokee and Osage portrayed Geronimo) * '' Cattle Queen of Montana'' (1954) - The story includes several members of the Blackfoot tribe portrayed by non-Native actors. * ''Sitting Bull'' (1954) - J. Carrol Naish in the title role and Iron Eyes Cody as

Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( , ; – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota people, Lakota war leader of the Oglala band. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by White Americans, White American settlers on Nativ ...

(also as "technical advisor" for the film) * ''Chief Crazy Horse'' (1955) - Victor Mature in the title role * '' The Indian Fighter'' (1955) - Kirk Douglas in the title role fights "Red Cloud" portrayed by Eduard Franz, "Grey Wolf" by Harry Landers, "Crazy Bear" by Hank Worden and "Onahti" by

Elsa Martinelli Elsa Martinelli (born Elisa Tia; 30 January 1935 – 8 July 2017) was an Italian actress and fashion model. Described by ''The Guardian'' as a "versatile star of Hollywood’s international years whose work spanned romantic comedies, period epi ...

* ''The Unforgiven'' (1960) - Audrey Hepburn as "Rachel Zachary", a native child adopted by a white family * Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed (2021)

''The Last of the Mohicans''

The James Fenimore Cooper novel '' The Last of the Mohicans'' was filmed many times. Not until

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

were Native Americans cast in all the major roles in the story of Uncas son of Chingachgook who was the last "Mohican" until he was killed by Magua, a Huron chief. The actual Mohicans continue to live in the Hudson River Valley.

References

External links

"TED Talk: Walk a mile in my redface" by Cornel Pewewardy
{{Native American mascot controversy Anti-Indigenous racism in the United States Native American cultural appropriation Native Americans in popular culture Indigenous Canadian cultural appropriation