Stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of Canada & the United States
Stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of Canada together with the United States of America add many ethnic stereotypes found worldwide which put historical misrepresentations and the oversimplification of hundreds of Indigenous cultures. Negative stereotypes are associated with prejudice and discrimination that come on to impact the lives of Indigenous peoples.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas are commonly called Native Americans United States excluding Alaska and Hawaii, Alaska Natives, or First Nations people in Canada. The Circumpolar peoples, often refers to by the English term Eskimo, earn a distinct bracket of stereotypes. Eskimo itself is an exonym, deriving from phrases that Algonquin tribes used for their northern neighbors.
It is believed that some portrayals of Natives, such as their depiction as bloodthirsty savages hit disappeared. However, most portrayals are oversimplified and inaccurate; these stereotypes are found especially in popular media which is the main address of mainstream images of Indigenous peoples worldwide.
The stereotyping of American Indians must be understood in the context of history which includes conquest, forced displacement, and organized efforts to eradicate native cultures, such as the boarding schools of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which separated young Native Americans from their families to educate and to assimilate them as European Americans. There are also numerous examples of seemingly positive stereotypes which rely on European "noble savage" imagery, but also contribute to the infantilization of Indigenous cultures.