Sheyahshe Interviewed for Cowbows & Indians Mag

Writer Steve Philips, Web Content Manager at Cowboys & Indians Magazine and Western & English Today interviewed me for an article about Cowbows & Aliens (summer, 2011), directed by Jon Favreau (you may remember him from such films as: Iron Man and Iron Man 2).

Cowboys & Indians is an
"international magazine...[that] speaks to everyone from the people who live it
to those who simply love or long for the Western lifestyle" and "balances past
and present, tradition and innovation, and classical and cutting edge as it pays
respectful tribute to the Old West and offers exciting previews of new
horizons."

Read the online article here: http://www.cowboysindians.com/art-entertainment/books/2011/07/native-american-superheroes.jsp

Phelps provides a lot of succinct points about Indigenous representation in pop culture media. One additional concern is the "Dances with Wolves" ("DWW") syndrome. To best explain this syndrome, the joke goes something like this: while Dances with Wolves (Kevin Costner, 1990) is arguably a fine film - and has Native characters that are well-written, well-researched, and well-played (by Native American actors) - it is basically about two white people that fall in love...oh, and there are some Native people there, too. :)

Cowboys & Aliens ("C&A") may fall victim to the DWW syndrome, as well. Sadly, a quick scan of the cast members (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409847/), supports this, as there are very few Native American actors listed. Given Favreau's many successes over the last few years, as well as his passion for film and storytelling, Cowboys & Aliens will most likely be worth viewing.

Yet, the main point is this: Indigenous people need stories, films, video games, whatever that are just as good/cool/popular as Cowboys & Aliens comic or film... only with Native characters as the centralized story elements AND created BY us (rather than Hollywood or others doing it FOR us).