Native Americans in vaudeville

Native Americans were involved in Wild West shows and vaudeville performances in the late 19th and early 20th century, often playing to prevalent stereotypes. Notable Native American vaudeville performers included Molly Spotted Elk, Will Rogers, Esther Louise Georgette Deer, and Lucy Nicolar Poolaw.

Reasons for involvement

Native Americans became involved in vaudeville performances for a variety of reasons and in a variety of ways. When considering the historical context of the 1880s–1920s, the mistreatment of Native Americans was a focal point. With the passage of the Dawes Act in 1887, reservations were broken up and divided into allotments that would then be given to individual Native American people or families. This was an effort by the Federal Government to encourage assimilation among the Indigenous population. The Federal Government also did not incentivize Indigenous people to stay on reservations or make life there very appealing. Job and other opportunities were lacking on reservations meaning there was not much to do on reservations leading many Native Americans to wanting to leave. As they were increasingly being driven off their lands or crammed into smaller lands, Indigenous people needed to find new ways to survive in the world they were being forced into. With the growth of vaudeville, they found some amount of security.

Life among white people was much different than that of traditional Indigenous tribes. With their land disappearing and being robbed from them, Native Americans' livelihoods went too. The Dawes Act encouraged Native Americans to take up agriculture as a means of assimilating to white culture. However, this was not the way they knew how to live life or survive. Native American tribes are historically that: tribes. They lived traditionally as interdependent communities, working together and relying on each other, rather than as individuals, fending for themselves or their families. Native Americans made a living doing seasonal jobs such as working in lumber or on river drives. When that was unavailable, depending on the season, other forms of earning were needed. Some turned to vaudeville to fill this role. Performing in vaudeville was a means of making money, even if wages were typically fairly low. With the intrigue that came with the exotic unknown of Indigenous culture, people were willing to pay to see these performances done by authentic Indians.

The Carlisle Indian School

Also prevalent during this period were American Indian boarding schools. These boarding schools were another effort by the United States government to assimilate Native Americans to a more Euro-centric, Christin lifestyle. The students were punished for speaking their native languages instead of English, forced to cut their hair and abandon traditional clothing. They were taught Christianity so they would abandon their own religions and furthermore were taught that their own cultures were inferior to white culture. Some of these students ran away to join vaudeville or became performers after graduating. By joining vaudeville, they could once again embrace their culture and traditions on stage and not be punished for it like they had been when attending boarding school. Multiple students from the Carlisle Indian School reported in student surveys that they went on to be vaudeville performers.

Of course the drive to vaudeville being out of necessity to survive was not a universal experience. Others, such as Will Rogers, went into vaudeville and performing in general because of a love of theatrics rather than needing to make a living.

Stereotypical portrayals

Often, the audiences watching vaudeville performances were not interested in seeing accurate portrayals of Indigenous life in the United States. They wanted a show and wanted to see their racist assumptions about Native Americans to be confirmed in performances. While on the stages of vaudeville, Native Americans would often play into the stereotypes, acting in shows where they were portrayed as primitive and savage through face paint, feather headdresses, and war hooping, or "playing Indian" for their white audiences. When Indian dances were performed on vaudeville stages, it did not matter if a performer from one tribe danced a traditional dance from another tribe. Traditions and cultures intermixed on the stages of vaudeville. One Indigenous vaudevillian even went as far as calling herself "the universal Indian" for she would play a character from whatever tribe the show called for. For female Indigenous performers, or female performers playing Indigenous characters, their portrayals were often sexualized and exotic, sometimes even going as far as wearing only a skimpy outfit with a feather headdress.

Wild West shows were the precursor to vaudeville and other on-stage performances and laid the ground work for how Native Americans were to be portrayed on stage. One of the cornerstones of these wild west shows was portraying stereotypical western life in which battles between Native Americans and white cowboys were reenacted. Native Americans in these shows were shown as savages against the white man, showcasing their war chants especially. Many Native Americans that went on to perform in vaudeville got their start with a number of these wild west shows and learned to play their role of the savage Indian through these shows.

Article written about Eva Tanguay

It was not uncommon for non-Native people to play Native characters by dressing up with feathers, war-paint, or even painting their skin so it had a red hue to it. This type of performing is also referred to as redface, similar to blackface used in minstrel shows. Redface was also used in vaudeville to perpetuate the primitive and savage stereotypes of Native Americans. Eva Tanguay is one such vaudeville performer. She played primitive, hyper-sexualized characters that dressed in revealing animal skin costumes and adorned with feathers. The characters she often played furthered the exotic, sexual maiden stereotype associated with Native American women.

Later in the vaudeville period, Indigenous performers - especially those that had achieved more fame - had more of a say in their portrayal on the stage. The relationship between Indigenous performer and audience was more genuine than other forms of media at that time. Because of this, Indigenous performers were able to take more creative liberty in how they were presented to the audience. They took back some of the power in how their cultures and traditions were shown on stage, breaking down the stereotypes of primitivism and savagery in wild west shows and in films during that time and later. In doing so, performers were able to share their culture in a more positive light.

Notable performers

Molly Spotted Elk

Main article: Molly Spotted Elk

Molly Alice Nelson, also known as Princess Spotted Elk

Molly was born in Indian Island, Maine, to a Penobscot family. She was named Molly Alice Nelson. From a young age, Molly loved to dance and even performed for tourists in the summertime with other Penobscot children. When traveling circuses or road shows passed through town, Molly would often participate. After dropping out of high school, Molly started performing in the traveling vaudeville circuit. During this time she found herself mistreated by her manager and left to pursue a college education at the University of Pennsylvania instead. Molly participated in the Women's Glee Club and performed traditional Penobscot dances and songs with accompanying lectures to explain the traditions she shared. Eventually, Molly left this scene and joined the more stereotype perpetuating wild west shows down in San Antonio, Texas. While dancing in a chorus line in San Antonio, Molly gained recognition and soon began performing cliché solo Indian dances. After going to New York to perform on vaudeville stages there, Molly had the opportunity to be the star of a silent film. During this time, Molly struggled with feeling caught between two worlds of being an Indian woman but being celebrated and accepted by the white people around her while other Indians were not given the same treatment. During her time in vaudeville, the Princess Spotted Elk found the revealing, inauthentic costumes she wore on stage to be embarrassing and degrading after a time, hating how her value on stage was becoming sex appeal rather than purely talent. While her performances were important for her as a means of making money to sustain herself but also to send home to the Penobscot reservation on Indian Island, she grew tired of the sexualization and stereotyping of her own culture in vaudeville.

Will Rogers

Main article: Will Rogers

Trick roping master, Will Rogers

Will Rogers, born William Penn Adair Rogers in Indian Territory, Oklahoma and of Cherokee descent, went on to become one of the most well known vaudevillians and movie stars. As a young boy, Will loved all things cowboy and disliked formal education, showing that his future did not lie in that realm. His first form of performing was doing Indian stomp dances in Saturday night exhibitions with a childhood friend. They would wear the face paint of Plains Indians, wear headbands, and do war hoops, effectively playing Indian. During this time, Will also worked on his roping skills and became proficient in trick roping. Eventually, Rogers found his way to Texas Jack's Wild West Show in a tour around South Africa where he gained the name "The Cherokee Kid". This was the first time he was able to perform his trick roping abilities for a crowd and he loved it. After forming a strong bond with the showrunner, Texas Jack, Will saw the potential for show business to be his life rather than just a side job to make some extra money. After his time in South Africa, Will eventually found his way back to America where he joined the Mulhall Congress of Rough Riders and Ropers, his first big performing role in the United States. In the Mulhall show, Will would switch between playing the cowboy and playing the Indian in certain performances.

When Will eventually moved to vaudeville with his trick roping, he began performing a horse act where he would rope a horse and rider on the small vaudeville stage. Soon he gained fame for his roping abilities and comedic commentary that accompanied his acts. Will Rogers did not typically do performances in vaudeville that specifically demonstrated his Indigenous heritage and focused mainly on his cowboy, ranching background in his acts. Later in his career, Rogers went on to star in westerns on the big screen.

Esther Louise Georgette Deer- Princess White Deer

Esther Louise Georgette Deer (Princess White Deer)

Main article: Esther Louise Georgette Deer

Esther Louise Georgette Deer, recognized by her stage name Princess White Deer, started her journey in performing early in life. Born into a family of performers, she toured various nations performing with them. Princess White Deer eventually ventured to the United States starting her solo career on the stages of Vaudeville. Stated as the most accomplished Mohawk entertainer of her time, she collaborated with other renowned performers, appeared on Broadway, and formed her own ensemble. Princess White Deer also wrote her own play in which she starred in entitled "From Wigwam to White Lights". This production celebrated the profound contributions of Native Americans to the realms of art, music, dance and theater, embodying Princess White Deer's fusion of cultural heritage with a modern professional women.

Lucy Nicolar Poolaw (Princess Watahwaso)

Main article: Lucy Nicolar Poolaw

Lucy Nicolar Poolaw, renowned by her stage name Princess Watahwaso, graced the American Circuit as a Native American performer. She would sing and dance in the Vaudeville shows. Lucy Nicolar Poolaw while traveling, united talents from diverse tribal backgrounds such as Penobscot, Kiowa, Cherokee and Mohawk. During her travels, she encountered Bruce Poolaw of the Kiowa Nation, whom she later married, and together they became a dynamic duo, portraying Indians in various productions. Notably in "The Courtship of Rippling Water", Princess Watahwaso and Bruce Poolaw as Young Chief Poolaw, encapsulated their performances. After retiring from performing, they retreated to the Penobscot reservation on Indian Island, Maine, marking the end of their stage careers.