Thursday, September 11, 2014

Looked Like and Indian, Acted Like an Indian....NOT AN INDIAN. Non Indians Harming Actual Indians Through Fakery

On Earth Day, 1971, nonprofit organization Keep America Beautiful launched what the Ad Council would later call one of the “50 greatest commercials of all time.” Dubbed “The Crying Indian,” the one-minute PSA features a Native American man paddling down a junk-infested river, surrounded by smog, pollution, and trash; as he hauls his canoe onto the plastic-infested shore, a bag of rubbish is tossed from a car window, exploding at his feet. The camera then pans to the Indian’s cheerless face just as a single tear rolls down his cheek. 
The ad, which sought to combat pollution, was widely successful: It secured two Clio awards, incited a frenzy of community involvement, and helped reduce litter by 88% across 38 states. Its star performer, a man who went by the name “Iron Eyes Cody,” subsequently became the “face of Native Indians,” and was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Advertisers estimate that his face, plastered on billboards, posters, and magazine ads, has been viewed 14 billion times, easily making him the most recognizable Native American figure of the century.
But while Hollywood trumpeted Iron Eyes Cody as a “true Native American” and profited from his ubiquitous image, the man himself harbored an unspoken secret: he was 100% Italian.
America's Favorite Indian
Long before his fame in the 1970s, Iron Eyes Cody had carved out a niche for himself in Hollywood’s Western film community as “the noble Indian.” With his striking, “indigenous” looks, he perfectly fit the bill for what producers were looking for -- and his story correlated. Until the late 1990s, Iron Eyes’ personal history (provided solely by himself) was that he’d descended from a Cherokee father and a Cree mother, and had been born under the name “Little Eagle.” An old archived article filed in the Glendale Special Collections library elaborates on his account:
“Iron Eyes learned much of his Indian lore in the days when, as a youth, he toured the country with his father, Thomas Long Plume, in a wild west show. During his travels, he taught himself the sign language of other tribes of Indians.”
From 1930 to the late 1980s, Iron Eyes starred in a variety of Western films alongside the likes of John Wayne, Steve McQueen, and Ronald Reagan. Clad in headdresses and traditional garb, he portrayed Crazy Horse in Sitting Bull (1954), galloped through the plains in The Great Sioux Massacre (1965), and appeared in over 100 television programs. When major motion picture houses needed to verify the authenticity of tribal dances and attire, Iron Eyes was brought in as a consultant. He even provided the “ancestral chanting” on Joni Mitchell’s 1988 album, Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm. 
By all accounts, he was Hollywood’s -- and America’s -- favorite Native American.

But several (real) Native American actors soon came to doubt Iron Eyes’ authenticity. Jay Silverheels, the Indian actor who played “Tonto” in The Lone Ranger, pointed out inaccuracies in Iron Eyes’ story; Running Deer, a Native American stuntman, agreed that there was something strangely off-putting about the man’s heritage. It wasn’t until years later that these doubts were affirmed.
The Italian Cherokee
In 1996, a journalist with The New Orleans Times-Picayune ventured to Gueydan, Louisiana, the small town Iron Eyes had allegedly grown up in, and sought out his heritage. Here, it was revealed that “America’s favorite Indian” was actually a second-generation Italian. 
“He just left,” recalled his sister, Mae Abshire Duhon, “and the next thing we heard was that he had turned Indian."
At first, residents of Gueydan were reticent to reveal Iron Eyes’ true story -- simply because  they were proud he’d hailed from there, and didn’t want his image tarnished. Hollywood, along with the ad agencies that had profited from his image, was wary to accept the man’s tale as fabricated. The story didn’t hit the newswires and was slow to gain steam, but The Crying Indian’s cover was eventually blown.
Iron Eyes Cody, or “Espera Oscar de Corti,” was born in a rural southwestern Louisiana town on April 3, 1904, the second of four children. His parents, Antonio de Corti and Francesca Salpietra had both emigrated from Sicily, Italy just a few years prior. 
Five years later, Antonio abandoned the family and left for Texas, taking with him Oscar and his two brothers. It was here, in the windswept deserts, that Oscar was exposed to Western films, and developed an affinity for Native American culture. In 1919, film producers visited the area to shoot a silent film, “Back to God’s Country;” Oscar was cast as a Native American child. The experience impacted him greatly, and, following his father’s death in 1924, he migrated to California to forge a career as an actor. 
Once in Hollywood, he'd changed his name to “Cody” and, to attract the attention of producers looking for authenticity, had begun acting under the moniker “Iron Eyes.”
Legacy
Even after his history was revealed, Iron Eyes Cody refused to admit the truth behind it. He continued to wear his braided wig, headdress, and moccasins, and was unrelenting in supporting the Native American community.
He toured on a lecture circuit, reminding Indians of their traditions, and admonishing them against gambling and the use of alcohol. “Nearly all my life, it has been my policy to help those less fortunate than myself,” he later told the press. “My foremost endeavors have been with the help of the Great Spirit to dignify my People's image through humility and love of my country. If I have done that, then I have done all I need to do."
Iron Eyes Cody peacefully passed away in 1999, at the age of 94, leaving behind a poetic homage to the culture he believed in. “Make me ready to stand before you with clean and straight eyes,” he wrote. “When Life fades, as the fading sunset, may our spirits stand before you without shame.”
http://priceonomics.com/the-true-story-of-the-crying-indian/

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

sounds like Vincent Ibenez. Nobody know were he came from. the allotment he is on was signed over to him by the old lady he was the care taker of.

White Buffalo said...

Who knew, I would have never guessed. As for non-Indian tribal members. I can think of Bitch Murphy. Does he have children who have been enrolled?

Anonymous said...

This has Butch Murphy written all over it...And all he had to do is accept the Indian way..Where do I sign up.

Anonymous said...

IRON EYES MURPHY

Anonymous said...

General Murphy (custer)

White Buffalo said...

Walking Buzzard Murphy. He is so full of $&#! he can not fly.

Anonymous said...

Suck butt butch

Anonymous said...

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so the wicked!

Anonymous said...

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Anonymous said...

The story was created by the source. Egos can try and change or recreate, but everything will happen as it was created. Liars will be liars if they choose to continue. Pechanga Band of Temecula Indians was created by Elders and was set aside to be protected by "ALL". The band spoke up, but the Bad Actors liars club went against the will of the band, disrespecting ALL the elders of Pechanga in recorded history. Are you are liar or do you believe its ok to lie? Every minute, day, week, year the truth will stay. It's up to the liars if they want to justify the lies now and after existence.

Anonymous said...

This guy looks Pechanga full-blood, if there is such a thing. Looks similar to Maccaro in the proposition 5 commercial days.

Anonymous said...

the bad actors can look, speak and act "All" they want while here in the movie. going against the creator and lying, bullying, practicing apartheid, not following custom tradition, going against recorded historical facts is the Bad Actors club. They can explain their actions now and show "All" now and after who they really are. Hope the best for "All" now and after. Good luck everyone everywhere.

Anonymous said...

the bad actors can look, speak and act "All" they want while here in the movie. going against the creator and lying, bullying, practicing apartheid, not following custom tradition, going against recorded historical facts is the Bad Actors club. They can explain their actions now and show "All" now and after who they really are. Hope the best for "All" now and after. Good luck everyone everywhere.

Lynn said...

And so...who exactly "defines" Indian identity. I used to laugh at people with blonde braids dancing at the pow-wows all out of beat...there are in fact, so many White people who "want" to identify with Indian people. There are white people who seem to practice ways more so than those who are officially enrolled. This whole concept of Indian identity has been stumping me lately. I don't feel comfortable "defining" or "assessing" another human being's actions to be who they want to be...wouldn't that contradict the most traditional teachings? It's similar then---assessing and demeaning Iron Eye's experience and human will---to be "Indian"---to that of dis-enrollment. There are probably people everywhere who are Indian---but continue to deny it because they were ashamed or disconnected by adaption or removal. Who gets to define these people? Who am I to say they cannot? Do other people in other cultures have problems when one of their own professes to be something other? Why are we always so ethno-centric? As though nobody should claim to be Indian? It seems that the Italian people didn't have a problem with their brother claiming or wanting to be something other than Italian...

Lynn said...

He was just an actor...they have the same views in the hispanic community about WHO could play Selina the musician. Jennifer Lopez, a Puerto Rican was chosen, not a Mexican. Jennifer Lopez did a wonderful job, portraying a Mexican woman. It's just acting...