From Subhuman to Superhuman: Images of First Nations Peoples in Comic Books

Abstract

This article chronicles the ways in which First Nations peoples are portrayed in comic books in the United States. Rendered first as subhuman and then as superhuman, First Nations peoples were consistently presented as different in comics. The superhuman characteristics that are occasionally attributed to First Nations representatives in 20 th century media are, ideologically, not much different from the subhuman characteristics attributed to First Nations representatives in the 19 th century. Both superhuman and subhuman portrayals serve to exclude, isolate, and deframe First Nations peoples from a common humanity. A critical analysis of this phenomenon can provide students with powerful insights into the challenges that educators face as critical multicultural educators and points the way to creating oppositional pedagogies.