Since May 2020, we have seen incredible awareness of social and racial justice issues and changes surrounding systemic and institutional racism. Indigenous representational problems are still being invisibilized and marginalized at a time when addressing colonization must happen before we can do any real work regarding social and racial justice.

Our area (Western and Central Massachusetts) is full of historical inaccuracies, stereotypes, and cultural appropriation. One of the most egregious offenses remains “The Big Indian” statue and property on Route 2 in Charlemont, MA.

The caricature images found at Native and Himalayan Views continue to invisibilize hundreds of sovereign Nations and cultures and glorify the settler colonial action of westward expansion and manifest destiny as a way to dehumanize and erase Indigenous Peoples. Native People need to regain control over the representation of our own identities. 

While the owner of Native and Himalayan Views may believe he is “honoring” Native peoples and continuing a tradition of luring customers with the fantasy of “Indians,” we must address intention versus harm. Decades of empirical evidence prove the psychological harm to Native Americans and the encouragement of prejudicial ideas and biases toward non-Natives through caricature stereotyping. 

According to the data collected in The Psychosocial Effects of Native American Mascots: a comprehensive review of empirical research findings, Race Ethnicity and Education, negative psychological effects (impacting Native Americans) include “depressed self-esteem, community worth, and future achievement-related goals, and increased negative feelings of stress, distress, depression, dysphoria, and hostility.”

Furthermore, these images are associated with increased prejudiced attitudes toward Native Americans. Inappropriate and inaccurate images “generate negative effects on some non-Native persons (e.g., increased stereotyping of Asian Americans, lower feelings of belonging among less prejudiced non-Native persons).”

Laurel R. Davis-Delano, Joseph P. Gone & Stephanie A. Fryberg (2020): The psychosocial effects of Native American mascots: a comprehensive review of empirical research findings, Race Ethnicity and Education

These images are not only inaccurate and insolent but also dangerous. These erroneous images and stories constantly surround us. Recognizing the colonizer lens in which these stories and images are being told and who they are being told by is critical when shaping a world where “truth” and “reconciliation” aren’t simply buzzwords. 

We request that you join this movement of removal and renewal by signing this petition. Comments and signatures will be gathered and brought to the owner of Native and Himalayan Views, the local newspapers, and the town of Charlemont. We can, and we must, do better in our community.