Always with no tribe, no identity, and mainly male, there was different types of Native Americans, drunken, lazy, and all lacking religion and morality (Bataille & Silet). In the movies, "Indians were always presented as problem people, as obstacles to progress," said one Journalist from the University of Montana. "They were consigned to history, literally moved off the screen. We didn't have to take Indians seriously."(Stephens). Along with this inaccurate stereotype, there was also inaccuracies in appearance of the Native American. Northwestern Indians were shown wearing Plains Indians clothing, and living in Southwest Indian dwellings. Hollywood created the "homogenized" American Indian, lacking tribal and regional differences (Bataille & Silet).
In most of the early westerns, and some into the mid-1900s, Native Americans were not even played by Native Americans. White actors would play as Native Americans, especially when people began to know different actors and actresses as stars. Many of the vicious Indians were played by stars such as Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., or Boris Karloff. In many of the comedic films with Indians, the Marx Brothers, Buddy Hackett, Joey Bishop, and Buster Keaton would usually play them. Audrey Hepburn, Julie Newmar, and Donna Reed all played as Indian women in the few roles Indian women were portrayed in. Even box-office giants like Rock Hudson, Elvis Prestley, Richard Harris, and Raquel Welch at one point played the role of Native American in a film. The only exceptions were "real" Indians such as Jim Thorpe, Chief Walachie, Red Wing, and Chief Thundercloud (Bataille & Silet). .
Present.
In the film industry today, new steps are being taken to show Indian culture accurately. Documentaries on the Native Americans are being filmed by many independent film makers. In Santa Fe, New Mexico a group of producers from the Institute of American Indian Arts began this movement.