Some professors at the University of Victoria in British Columbia think so.

A forum there in a couple of weeks will examine the question, according to this story by the Victoria Times Colonist:

The [April 21] gathering will look at whether the portrayal of the indigenous character Jacob, who turns into a werewolf, is a breakthrough or perpetuates stereotypes about native men.

“He doesn’t have feathers in his hair and doesn’t live in teepee,” said Janni Aragon, a University of Victoria political science professor.

“So just the fact there are indigenous men in this book and movie is a big thing. We could say that’s a win. But the next step is to say is how are these men portrayed.”

The insanely popular movies, “Twlight,” and “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” are based on the insanely popular teen vampire books by Stephenie Meyer.

Werewolves in the series are ostensibly members of the Quileute tribe, and are played in the movie by Native American actors.

As the story notes, the main Quileute character, Jacob Black, is ” muscular, hotheaded, passionate and often dressed in cutoff-style jeans or shorts. That’s in contrast to the very white vampire Edward, who is well-groomed, elegant and rational.”

And, says Sikata Banerjee, a University of Victoria women’s studies professor and associate dean of humanities, Jacob is also portrayed as somewhat childlike – “irrational and emotive, and not really equal in citizenship.”

That, she says, is dangerous, in the way that it reinforces negative stereotypes about indigenous men. What do you think?

Gwen Florio

Tags: "Twilight Saga: New Moon", "Twilight", buffalo post, Gwen Florio, Jacob Black, Native American news, Quileute, racism, Stephenie Meyer, Taylor Lautner, University of Victoria

Native actors go beyond Westerns to … werewolves?
Well, werewolves, in the case of Taylor Lautner, who stars in “New Moon,” the just-released second movie in the teen hit “Twilight” series. Lautner says he recently discovered Potawatomi and Ottawa roots; what’s more important, according to this opinion piece in the Wichita Eagle-Beacon, is that director Chris Weitz insisted on using actors of Native descent for the “Wolf Pack.” Spencer is Lakota (Sioux), Meraz is Purepecha (Tarasco), Gordon is Hualapai and Pelletier is Cree-Metis. The piece is by Rod Pocowatchit is from the Pawnee, Comanche and Shawnee tribes.

Indians back on Alcatraz Island after 40 years
Four decades after Indian people occupied Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay – in part to call attention to the woeful treatment of the nation’s tribes – they were back. Yesterday, according to this San Francisco Chronicle story, some of the initial occupiers, as well as others, returned with the government’s blessing. Now, says Howard Levitt, chief of education for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, “the occupation is considered to be a milestone in the self-determination and civil rights movements. We honor that.”

“Fried bread, sweat lodges and Nintendo Wii”
That headline in the Sioux City Journal grabbed us. What the heck was it all about? Turns out to be this story about students at the Augustine Indian Mission School on the Winnebago Indian Reservation south of in Sioux City, Iowa. They were talking about how they’d celebrate Thanksgiving.

Tribes see loss of oil, natural gas royaltiess
Here’s a worrisome Bloomberg News story that says: “plunging oil and natural gas prices and a drop in revenue from lease sales cut the money sent by the United States to tribes, states and the Treasury Department by more than half in fiscal 2009. “Lower energy prices drove down royalties and sapped industry demand for leases,” it says.

Flathead Reservation resident is barrel racing champ
McK’la Gonzalez, a 15-year-old barrel racer from Elmo on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, took first place in National Barrel Horse Association Montana State Championships, youth category, in Great Falls last month, the Char-Koosta News reports here. Her aunt, Bernadine Tenas, says Gonzalez has been barrel racing since she was seven and has three championships buckles. She now qualifies for the World NBHA championships.

Gwen Florio

Tags: "New Moon", "Twilight", Alcatraz, Augustine Indian Mission School, Flathead Indian Reservation, McK'la Gonzalez, National Barrel Horse Association, Oil and gas, Taylor Lautner, Winnebago Indian Reservation, Wolf Pack

Just in time for the Nov. 20 release of “New Moon,” the second movie in the insanely popular “Twilight” teen-vampire series, comes this news that the Quileute Nation has granted access to ReelzChannel to film on their reservation.

That’s a big deal, because – despite the tourist boom on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula that’s a direct result of the “Twilight” books and now movies – the Quileute have steadfastly resisted efforts by media groups to film on their reservation, according to this Indian Country Today story.

Although the people and most of the places in the books by Stephenie Meyer are fictional, the Quileute Nation and the nearby town of Forks are real. The movie’s Taylor Lautner who plays Jacob Black, a Quileute werewolf that vies for the affection of protagonist Bella Swan, is part Ottawa/Potawatomi.

Tribal spokeswoman Jackie Jacobs said ReelzChannel got the nod to film there – for a documentary-style episode on their reservation for the “Twilight Weekly: Spotlight” series – because it showed concern and respect for the tribe and its traditions.

“I was very mindful of protecting this nation from exploitation, and from someone who didn’t really understand the dynamics of this story, just looking for a surface level, ‘Twilight’ fan sort of sound bite,” Jacobs said.

The 30-minute episode highlights students from the Quileute Tribal School, tribal language and culture, budding entrepreneurs, and focuses minimally on the vampire buzz, Indian Country Today reports.

On the show, tribal elder Chris Morganroth III explains the Quileute creation story and how the people are descended from wolves, something that dovetails with “Twilight.”

Gwen Florio

Tags: "New Moon", "Twilight", buffalo post, Native American news, Quileute Nation, Stephenie Meyer, Taylor Lautner