Indian princess facts for kids

The Indian princess is a common, but often wrong, idea of what a Native American or other Indigenous woman from the Americas is like. Early American colonists often mistakenly called the daughters of tribal chiefs or other community leaders "princesses." They thought Indigenous people had a European system of royalty, which they did not.

This incorrect image has continued in movies and cartoons. Characters often look like European beauty ideals. The most famous example is Pocahontas. Often, the "Indian Princess" idea is linked to a story where the princess helps a white man who is a prisoner. She then supposedly becomes Christian and lives with him. This story is not true, even for the real Pocahontas. When used this way, "Indian princess" is often seen as a hurtful and offensive term, like a racial slur, to Native Americans.

However, there is one exception. At some Native American Pow wows and other events, girls or young women might win titles like "Princess." But not everyone agrees with this use. Some people want to stop using the term and find "more culturally relevant and accurate" names instead.

What is the Indian Princess Stereotype?

How the Idea Started

Since the late 1500s, European Americans have shown Native American women in books and art. They used them as a symbol for the new, mysterious American land and for freedom. In paintings, North America was often shown as an Indian princess. She wore a feathered headdress, held a bow and arrow, and seemed to be seeking freedom. Sometimes, she led American colonists into battle. Later, she was even shown wrapped in the American flag.

This image, which took parts of Indigenous culture, showed Native women as wild and powerful. But it also, strangely, showed them as loyal to white men. This idea can still be seen in modern stories about the Indian princess. For example, Pocahontas is often shown as connected to nature and saving John Smith, even though that rescue story is not true. While the "grand and liberated" Indian princess was used to represent America, other images also showed Native women as "savages" or used the offensive term "squaw".

Early Popular Stories

Native Americans were often featured in popular "dime novels" in the 1860s. Two famous examples were Mahaska: The Indian Princess (1863) and The Indian Queen (1864). The covers often showed Native American women with darker skin, unique clothes (like fringed dresses and moccasins), and loose hair with feathers.

This popularity in books led to shows like Buffalo Bill's Combination Shows. These shows featured an "Indian Princess" named He-Nu-Kaw on their posters. The shows usually performed Western plays with white actors pretending to be Native Americans. Later, Bill started hiring real Native Americans from reservations to "play themselves." But it's not known if He-Nu-Kaw was a real Native woman. Still, her character helped spread the "Indian Princess" image. White women also played Native women in other theater shows, ads, and book pictures, reinforcing this idea.

Real Roles of Native American Women

In many Native American cultures, women traditionally managed the home and farming. Their roles changed based on where they lived and their culture. But historically, women often cleared fields, planted and harvested crops, and hunted and fished. They provided much of the food for their communities. They also managed food distribution, owned their homes, and in many groups, sat on war councils.

This close connection to nature is often shown, and sometimes made bigger, in how "Indian princesses" are shown in non-Native media. To many, the Native woman's link to American land and farming also made her a symbol of fertility. Native women also played important roles in the fur trade, often working as interpreters. In some tribes, high-ranking Native women historically took part in councils, elected chiefs, served as chiefs, and even fought in battles.

As Native American life changed with colonial culture, Native women played a bigger role in Euro-American life. Settlers hired them as interpreters, guides, craftspeople, and teachers. Some Native women were forced to join colonial society, losing ties to their families and culture. High-ranking Native women, like chiefs' daughters, were sometimes pressured to marry white settlers to form alliances. Settlers thought these women would see this as a step up in society. But many of these Native women were still called the offensive term "squaw", even with their supposed higher status. Also, these marriages were often used by white families to claim Native land through forced family ties.

This idea of Native women joining colonial society is a big part of how "Indian princesses" are shown in history and in current media. This is often shown by the Native woman becoming Christian, being close to white men, and having lighter skin than other Native people.

Indian Princesses in Media

Common Features

The "Indian Princess" stereotype often shows specific traits and relationships with white men. These traits make her seem like the "perfect" Native woman. How Native American women are shown in media is important. For many people, it's their only look into a culture often hidden from the public.

The Princess stereotype suggests that Indigenous people should become more "civilized." She supposedly gains this "privilege" by "allowing" the white man into her land. Native author Denise K. Lajimodiere explains that these "Princesses" are often shown helping non-Natives against their own people. This is how they become more like Europeans. Her help to the white man is usually shown as being out of love and "Christian sympathy," as many "Indian Princesses" are shown as Christian converts. Because of this, the Indian Princess is often seen as a helper to the white hero.

The "Indian Princess" is often shown with lighter skin and follows other European beauty standards. This makes her seem different from typical Native American women. It makes her look like an extension of white women. This highlights the "otherness" of Native American women who don't fit these European beauty standards and are then called "squaws." The "Indian Princess" acts as a bridge between two cultures.

Tiger Lily

Tiger Lily is an "Indian princess" character from the fictional "Piccaninny Tribe" in Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie. In the book, Captain Hook captures her, and Peter Pan rescues her. She speaks in a stereotypical, broken English. Her most famous appearance is in the 1953 Disney film.

Tiger Lily is shown as brave and knows a lot about the forest. She promises to protect Peter Pan from pirates. In the 2015 movie Pan, a white actress, Rooney Mara, played Tiger Lily. This caused a lot of upset because it was seen as "whitewashing" Native American characters. Thousands of people protested the role. Rooney Mara later said she regretted her role and understood why people were upset.

Pocahontas

In the early 1900s, Native American women often played Pocahontas on stage at World's Fairs. For example, Pamunkey women played Pocahontas at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition.

The Disney character Pocahontas, from the 1995 Disney film, is the most famous modern example of an Indian princess. She is part of the Disney Princess group. Her look was based on several people, including actress Irene Bedard (who voiced her), Powhatan historians, and models like Christy Turlington and Dyna Taylor.

The fictional Pocahontas is shown as different from the rest of her Powhatan tribe. She falls in love with the European character, John Smith. Unlike her tribe, who are shown as violent, Pocahontas is gentle and loving. She represents the "noble savage" idea. She is willing to go against the usual ideas about Indigenous people and instead takes on traits of the colonists, like being adventurous.

Indian Princess Costumes

"Playing Indian" means dressing up in a stereotypical Native American costume. This practice has been around since colonial times in America. Historians like Philip J. Deloria say that people often do this to find a national identity. But it also ignores and disrespects real Native people living today. During The Boston Tea Party, colonists dressed as Indians by wearing feathers and blankets. They drew on their faces with black soot before throwing tea into the harbor.

Dressing up as an Indian princess is a form of "playing Indian." Many non-Indigenous people think it's harmless and fun. However, using Native traditional clothing in this way is often seen as offensive. It ignores the deep cultural and religious meaning of real Native American regalia. Traditional regalia is usually modest. There are rules about how it's made, when and how it's worn, and by whom. Some items show a person's earned social and ceremonial status in the community and are considered sacred.

A new word, pretendian, is used for people who wrongly claim Native American identity, especially if they do it often. This is seen as an extreme form of cultural appropriation. One common claim from pretendians, or from those trying to excuse dressing up as Native Americans, is that one of their non-Native ancestors was a "Cherokee Princess."

Uses by Native Americans

Native American Performers

Sarah Winnemucca, a Northern Paiute educator, writer, and activist, was a well-known performer. She was sometimes called "an Indian princess" for her stage shows. She spoke about Native American rights and treaties. She was called a "Paiute princess" or "Princess Winnemucca," even though the Paiute people do not have princesses.

Some argue that by using the English term "princess," she gained a type of power that the press understood. This helped give her and the Paiute nation more respect in non-Native discussions. However, some also say her costumes were not accurate for a Paiute woman. They suggest she was giving in to non-Native expectations. Winnemucca reportedly said that people would understand her lack of traditional materials because it was a performance. She used these performances to show her own and Native Americans' stories.

Pow Wow Pageants

The title "Princess" is sometimes used in pageants for girls and young women at pow wows. But unlike typical beauty pageants, Indigenous women in these "Indian princess" pageants are judged on how well they keep, practice, and share traditional Indigenous cultural values. They are also judged on their skills in traditional arts, like making their regalia, and their talents in traditional dances.

The term "Princess" was never part of traditional Native culture. Now, many participants want to change the term. Yanenowi 'She Guards the Corn' Logan, a New York State Fair Indian Princess from the Seneca Nation, wants to stop using the "Indian Princess" title. She wants a more culturally proper way to honor young Indigenous women.

She explained that being called an "Indian Princess" can be uncomfortable in mostly white places. She felt "tokenized" when white co-workers called her princess. She believes the issue is not just discomfort, but also the stereotypes and historical inaccuracies linked to the term. She wants to move forward with "more culturally relevant and accurate nomenclature."

History of Indian Princess Pageants

In 1940, Ella Cara Deloria, a Yankton Sioux scholar, created a pageant called The Life Story of a People. It was for Native Americans in Robeson Country. This pageant helped build community and accurately show Native Americans in theater. It became a tradition. The Lumbee Indians have mentioned Deloria's pageants in their history. This shows how the pageants helped keep "Indian identity" alive through stories and performances.

Deloria's pageants started by fitting into European-American ways. But later, they explored "Indian identities under siege." Native American people performed their own stories. Historian David Glassberg says pageants often try to keep traditions while also moving forward with modern times. Native American pageantry has done this. Deloria said her pageants aimed to "reclaim, with pride, the cultural resources of the past" through theater. Scholars agree that pageantry helped correct historical stories that media had twisted.

Feminist writers like Wendy Kozol note how beauty pageant winners show Native American tradition within a Euro-American setting. For example, Viola Noah, a runner-up for the Choctaw Princess award in 1973, had a photo that was different. Previous winners were often shown in traditional Native American clothes in natural settings. This made them seem like "living relics of the past," as if their society hadn't changed. Kozol says Noah's photo, which showed her in traditional clothes with modern American items, showed a different kind of connection. Native tribes have used pageants and parades to keep their traditions alive. Anita Ahenakew, the 1981 Saskatchewan Indian Princess, was also a medal-winning Judoka (Judo practitioner), breaking stereotypes.

Miss Indian World

The Miss Indian World contest started in 1984. It happens every year during the Gathering of Nations pow wow in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is the largest and most respected contest of its kind.

Requirements to Participate

Recent Winners

Calgary Stampede Indian Princess

The Calgary Stampede Indian Princess contest began in 1964. This princess joins the Calgary Stampede Rodeo Queen and Princesses as part of the Calgary Stampede Rodeo Royalty. She has her own separate competition.

Evelyn Locker (née Eagle Speaker) of the Kainai Nation was the first First Nations woman to be crowned Calgary Stampede royalty in 1954. There was controversy because she was of Aboriginal descent. People argued about how she should represent the Stampede and what she should wear (her traditional regalia or cowgirl gear). The Calgary press often called her the Indian Princess instead of her correct title, Rodeo Queen.

Requirements to Participate:

How They Are Judged:

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