After a storm of protests from enraged parents concerning issues of (mis)representation and cultural appropriation in the new children’s movie, The Young Chief Winnetou (2022), the German publisher, Ravensburger Verlag, withdrew the companion book and puzzle to the film. Soon thereafter, the main German TV station (ARD) announced they would no longer broadcast the popular Winnetou movies from the 1960s based on Karl May’s novels. Everyone seems to have their take on the current controversy; yet, there’s been some criticism regarding issues of paternalism due to the lack of Native voices in the debate. That’s why the American Studies Blog has gone directly to the source and interviewed Drew Hayden Taylor acclaimed Canadian Anishnaabe author, frequent flyer to Germany, and creator of the documentary, Searching for Winnetou (2018).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvM4V6HLJAI
MH: I can’t believe I’m interviewing you about Searching for Winnetou again. Could you tell me a bit about some of the responses in Canada and abroad?
DHT: The response to our documentary has been overwhelming. I do believe it’s one of the most popular on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and that was something like five or six years ago. Practically every week, because it’s available on the CBC streaming service, I’m contacted by people who are either German or have German relatives who came to visit Canada – and they all seem interested in Indigenous cultures, or what they believe to be Indigenous cultures. I’ve done private screenings in Canadian German clubs who respond with a combination of joy and embarrassment. I even screened it in Brazil.
MH: What feelings does the name “Winnetou” evoke for you as a Native person?
DHT: It’s odd, I’ve heard the name bounced around in our community. A group of Indigenous women performers called The Spider Women, put together a show exploring the concept several years ago. Personally, I thought it was an offshoot of the word, manitou, which means spirit. After my work on this film, I guess Winnetou means a devoted but inaccurate appreciation of Native culture.
MH: Now that Winnetou and Karl May have been cancelled to a certain extent in Germany, what is your take on the current controversies?
DHT: This is a tough topic. Cancelling something, whether it’s a book or a statue, doesn’t necessarily solve the problem. Sometimes you have to embrace and explore the problem. I tried to do that in my play, Dead White Writer on the Floor. Recently, I wrote a play about our first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald, a man pretty much reviled in the Indigenous community. At first, I was tempted to walk away, but I thought more could be learned and understood if I accepted the challenge and wrote about it. I think the Karl May/Winnetou issue should be reassessed but not destroyed.
MH: There’s a fine line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation: Where do you draw it?
DHT: That’s what our whole documentary was about. That’s a line that everybody has to find themselves because it varies from person to person. And I’m not the person to tell people what they can and can’t think. The thing with Indianthusiasm is that these people don’t really believe they are or will be us, it’s just that they want to tag along on the ride in any way possible.
MH: Can you imagine using the current controversy as a catalyst for a new artistic endeavor?
DHT: A lot of great art comes from chaos and controversy. I wouldn’t be surprised if new interpretations of the Indigenous mythos were to come from this. The appetite is there, it just needs better food. I myself am working with a theater company in Dresden to see if there’s something new and innovative we can create together. And I’m very excited about the possibilities.
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