Native American Wrestlers - Tatanka

We have had many discussions in class regarding Native American mascots. It seems like there are two sides to this debate. One side believes some mascots are preserving Native American culture and tradition while the other side believes that the Native American is being used as a caricature of sorts. Now, I know it is not as black and white as this, but I haven’t been able to figure out what side of the debate I am on. That being said, let me share with you one particular example that I’m having trouble decoding.

Growing up, I was a big fan of professional wrestling and the WWF. One of my favorite wrestlers was a Native American named, Tatanka. A biography of Tatanka can be found here. Basically, “Tatanka” translates to “buffalo,” which seems like it makes sense for a wrestling alias. Here is a short forty second clip of his entrance music/video just to give you some perspective.

Now, I can’t decide whether I think Tatanka is exploiting the stereotypes of Native Americans as “savages,” or if he is truly trying to celebrate the traditions of his ancestors. In the biography I linked earlier he states, “I will represent all the tribes, and I have hopes that one day in the future I will lead a new Native American nation in the W.W.F. I will be victorious, and I will dedicate my victory to all Native Americans of all tribes." This may be what he genuinely wanted to accomplish, but I can’t help but think he is using the stereotypes we have of Native Americans for personal gain.

For example, his finishing wrestling moves are called: The Papoose to go, The end of the trail, The Tomahawk chop, and The Indian death drop. The rhetoric of all these names make the Indian appear dangerous and savage. Although, I will say that I think “The end of the trail” is clever and ironic. In addition to his finishing moves, Tatanka was also famous for doing a war/rain dance in order to taunt his opponents in the ring. All of these signs indicate to me that he is playing the role we want/expect him to be in order to gain popularity. Even so, given the forum he was in, professional wrestling, maybe he had to conform to a stereotype in order to become a role model in the first place.

So if you are reading this, what side of the debate do you fall on in regards to Tatanka? Was he really just celebrating his heritage and trying to inspire younger generations of Native Americans? Or was he capitalizing on Native American stereotypes in order to gain popularity?