What We Can Learn From These Native American Comedies | Historian’s Take

Explore how representation in media can reinforce or challenge commonly held assumptions about Native Americans in this video from Historian’s Take. Native American representation in film and TV used to be confined to Westerns and storylines of defeat. Today, a new wave of Native American comedies, written and created by Native peoples, are taking back their narratives.

Using this resource, students will dive into United States history and media literacy concepts as they consider why representation in media matters and how shows like Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls challenge stereotypes and address big political movements like #LandBack.

About the Author: 

Mary Kate Lonergan teaches 8th grade Social Studies at Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District in New York. She empowers students to critically engage with media and information by making media literacy the heartbeat of her Social Studies curriculum. Mary Kate has developed and implemented media and digital literacy professional development courses and has presented at conferences from the national to local levels. She is a KQED Media Literacy Innovator, serves as a Teacher Collaborator with Ithaca College’s Project Look Sharp, and is a faculty member of the Media Education Lab’s Summer Institute in Digital Literacy. She recently wrote a media literacy centered lesson to support Ken Burns’ film Benjamin Franklin featured on PBS LearningMedia.