Demille Indians: The Native American experience in classical Hollywood

Abstract

Native American actors in Studio Hollywood were engaged in extensive work to form and shape their persona through extensive off screen performance. An outsize presence in studio publicity provided Native actors with notoriety and they leveraged their status as public figures to advocate for better conditions for Native film workers in Hollywood. In addition to labor advocacy, Native actors used their statuses as public figures and their connections to the industry to build and advocate for a Native American Community in Hollywood and Los Angeles. Native Americans in Studio Hollywood were involved in complex negotiations about identity in an urban, modern industry. While films exploited the depiction of a supposedly “vanishing people,” Hollywood in the 1930s and 40s became home to a large and vibrant Native American community.