F Troop

When people think back to the 19th century what usually comes to mind is the
African American Civil Rights Movement that occurred between 1954 and 1968.
With the goal to end racial segregation and discrimination against black Americans
and secure legal recognition and federal protection of the citizenship rights
enumerated in the constitution and federal law. We rarely think about the other
races that were also struggling with racial discrimination, specifically the American
Indians. Who experienced racism on every level without a real sense of justice.
Whats worse is people didnt really put to mind that the American Indians were
experiencing racism during the Civil Rights Movement. TV producers like Warner
Bros. Television made light and helped establish some of the stereotypes that are
out there about American Indians with sitcom productions like F Troop. Which is a TV
series that is about U.S. soldiers and American Indians in the Wild West. It portrays
natives in a way that makes them seem inferior and mostly drives on the stereotype
that American Indians are peaceable souls. The series played fast and loose with
historical events and persons and deliberately parodies them for comical effect.
Such as the Play Brave Club, which is a parody of a Playboy Club indirectly
referencing the culture of the 1960s and infusing it with native culture.
The first thing that really struck out to me as just disrespectful towards what
the American Indians had to suffer through in their history was the theme song that
plays before each episode. There is a line that sings, Where Indian fights are
colorful sights and nobody takes a lickin' where paleface and redskin both turn
chicken. To me they try hiding the fact that they just said, Indian fights are
colorful sights by singing the rest of the song that seemed to try to put the Indians
and Americans on equal grounds. That doesnt make it right though that they made
light of the battles that I think the theme song is referencing, which is either the
Battle of Little Bighorn or the Massacre at Wounded Knee. Historically those were
very gruesome battles and it doesnt seem right to say those Indian fights were
colorful sights.
In F Troop the natives that were acting in the show werent even actual
American Indians. Chief Wild Eagle, who was a shrewd, cranky but essentially a
good natured leader of the Hekawi tribe, not to mention a business partner in a
shady companies schemes called ORourke Enterprises was played by a Italian
American actor, Frank De Kova. The character Chief Wild Eagle was also known as
the son of Crazy Horse, the brother in law of Sitting bull, and the cousin of
Geronimo. I found this disrespectful to the historical figures because of the way they
portrayed Chief Wild Eagle. They made him and his native counter parts seem
submissive and unintelligent because of the way they avoided any corral between
their tribe, the Hekawi and the American settlers at Fort Courage. The TV series also
had the natives speak in broken up English when they communicated with the
cavalry men. For example there is a scene in the first episode where the cavalry
men want the natives to make a few blankets in order to sell them for Thanks
Giving. Chief Wild Eagle agrees by saying something like, You give us cannon for

moon festival! They end up giving him the cannon and Chief Wild Eagle uses it by
firing it multiple times into the sky to try getting the clouds to move away from the
moon. Implying that natives didnt really know what cannons were really used for,
giving an audience member the sense that Chief Wild Eagle is of smaller
intelligence.
The TV series continued to make Indians look inferior and mock their image
with episode 33, The Day the Indians Won. In this episode the Hekawi are told to
go on a war path by an Inspector, counselor of Indian Nations because they
havent done things like have a massacre, attack wagons, and fight other Indians
like the Apache. Making it seem like it is normal Indian behavior to do those kind of
things. The episode even goes on to make it look like Indians dont know how to win
a battle without the help of white people because in a segment of the episode the
two white people involved in a trading business with the Hekawi try helping them
win a battle by training them on how to use weapons like tomahawks and bows and
arrows. Then after the Hekawi were unsuccessful at using tomahawks and bows and
arrows effectively, the two white people agree to just stage a battle between the
Hekawi and the cavalry men from Fort Courage to satisfy the Inspector from Indian
Nations. Leading to The Day the Indians Won, which I found disrespectful because
its like saying the only way an Indian could possibly win at anything is if they
cheated and got help from white people.
In the end this TV series influenced a image of the American Indian that was
disrespectful to the culture and their history, it tried to add a comedic element to
people and historical events that It shouldnt of. Which it successfully accomplished
due to the fact someone watching would have to be looking at it with a critical eye.

Bibliography:
"F Troop." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
"African-American Civil Rights Movement (195468)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
"Racism against American Indian - Native Americans." Racism against American
Indian - Native Americans. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.