Der Indianer: Why do 40,000 Germans spend their weekends dressed as Native Americans?

I can imagine Native Americans would feel insulted by these semi-naked Germans dancing around, thinking they are reenacting some Native American rituals. Some of the commentators here seem surpised that these Germans aren't really interested in helping indigenous peoples to get their rights. I think these Germans are best compared to "Trekkies" who fixate on Star Trek, who attend Star Trek conventions, dress up and speak Kling-On. They just want to have fun.

There is a long history of German fascination with nature, numerous hiking associations, nudist movements, garden plot associations, etc., all sprung up to "soften" the alienation of the proletariat during the industrial era. Political parties and movements of all stripes tried to use this fascination with nature to further their agendas, culminating in the Hitler Jugend and the FDJ movement of the the former East Germany.

Maybe these Karl May fanatics see their reenactment of Native American rituals as some kind of more pure Nature without the ideological "baggage" many of the past German "back to nature" movements have had. It's unfortunate they have to go dancing on the feelings of the Native Americans!

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Perhaps, this is an understated and mute point that should be pondered by the organization a bit further.

I suppose by running around and playing “Indians”, the Germans can continue to seduce themselves with their fantasies so that it makes it very difficult for them to even recognize that a North American indigenous person has real joys, real sorrows, just like German people do, and further more have continual and real violations of Treaty, land, cultural, and human rights. As Professor Marta Carlson stated, “No one wants to be living below the poverty level on a reservation. It lacks a certain romance.”

Certainly, the Germans do not want their romance killed- it will kill apart of their identity and their cultural myths. This could be quite crushing. I do not find anything amusing or cute about these German “Indians”. They simply are escape artists and hamper the intelligent discourse regarding contemporary North American indigenous conflicts – issues that truly do need meaningful international support, attention, and realism. Not the “romance”.

I am an American temporarily living in Berlin, Germany and working on endeavors to advocate and educate on contemporary North American indigenous conflicts including conflicts over land, Treaty, cultural, and human rights. I work in affiliation and with support from several indigenous grassroots community groups near the United States and Mexico border (who are suffering grave indignities as a result of the border wall, the drug cartels), First Nations in Canada who are battling the multi-national corporate exploitation of the Albertan oil tar sands, and the Western Shoshone in Nevada who are battling multi-national corporate mineral extraction and the nuclear industry in Nevada.

In my work in Germany, I have lectured or given speaking engagements at universities, human rights organizations, and even had the opportunity recently to speak with a European Union government official. Germany, like the rest, signed and committed to the September 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

None of these groups and people believe nor have an interest in supporting, advocating, or educating the Germans about these conflicts. While there is, of course, the behind-the scenes “politics” with international foreign policy and economic developments as the advance-market economies among the United States, Canada, and Germany (and the rest of the G-8 countries) are inextricably linked, there is also the problem in Germany with the cultural clichés, stereotypes, and this “romance” with Karl May “Indians”. It permeates every aspect of German society – whether in minuscule or large ways.

I have contacted the Native American Association of Germany several times in regards to these conflicts, with absolutely no response of support or interest from this organization of any kind. I find it very uncanny that Carmen Kwansy is quoted as saying, “The conflict is they have to find out that Native Americans are just people.” Perhaps, this is an understated

I am an American temporarily living in Berlin, Germany and working on endeavors to advocate and educate on contemporary North American indigenous conflicts including conflicts over land, Treaty, cultural, and human rights. I work in affiliation and with support from several indigenous grassroots community groups near the United States and Mexico border (who are suffering grave indignities as a result of the border wall, the drug cartels), First Nations in Canada who are battling the multi-national corporate exploitation of the Albertan oil tar sands, and the Western Shoshone in Nevada who are battling multi-national corporate mineral extraction and the nuclear industry in Nevada.

In my work in Germany, I have lectured or given speaking engagements at universities, human rights organizations, and even had the opportunity recently to speak with a European Union government official. Germany, like the rest, signed and committed to the September 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

None of these groups and people believe nor have an interest in supporting, advocating, or educating the Germans about these conflicts. While there is, of course, the behind-the scenes “politics” with international foreign policy and economic developments as the advance-market economies among the United States, Canada, and Germany (and the rest of the G-8 countries) are inextricably linked, there is also the problem in Germany with the cultural clichés, stereotypes, and this “romance” with Karl May “Indians”. It permeates every aspect of German society – whether in minuscule or large ways.

I have contacted the Native American Association of Germany several times in regards to these conflicts, with absolutely no response of support or interest from this organization of any kind. I find it very uncanny that Carmen Kwansy is quoted as saying, “The conflict is they have to find out that Native Americans are just people.” Perhaps, this is an understated

make no mistake about it--I am a north american aborigine of the numunuh nation.

Hau! I have visited Germany in the past and I will return there in the summer of 2010. A few weeks ago, I was in Italy for about 10 days and it was an experience that I will never forget. I felt that there was this great interest in our Native American culture, especially, the Dakota / Lakota / Nakota Oyate of the Great Sioux Nation. I have made some life-long friends in Europe and they are always asking me questions about my Oyate. Mitakuye Oyasin - "Everything is related."

The point is, this guy was so imaginative that he completely invented all the adventures he wrote, without even setting a foot on the American soil, until before his death, when it didn't matter anymore. His adventure-genre books were hugely successful and the "myth" lived on.

Now I am split. My childhood memories side with Winnetou, Old Surehand and the Inca warriors. On the other hand, my adoptive country shows me that everything I knew about Indians since childhood is wrong, a product of a writer's mind. Well, I guess I have to take the same approach as with another childhood's lecture: when in the end of Dumas' novel "Robin Hood", the famous outlaw is betrayed and dies, I vowed to avenge him. This resolution is really confusing to me now, since it was all a literary fiction. I decided that the statute of limitations applies. Likewise, I can agree that while Winnetou and his sister Nsho-Chi, are just figments of the imagination of another writer, the real indians are right next to me.

Magically, I am living among the favorite heroes of my childhood. The good part: it's not on the eternal hunting ground. The bad part: these heroes are not exactly how I imagined them, they actually seem pretty similar to me, they drive cars, they even go to school (I had a student with Native American heritage).

In the end it's up to what I make of this story. But I choose to live in a real world, beyond literary imagination. That's why I chose to add here my story, of an European settled on the Native American ground, after having read in UTNE this story of an Indian (BTW, the US "politically correct" term seems to not be "Indian") going to Europe.

As I grew up in Romania, Karl May's novels about Winnetou and Old Shatterhand were the bomb when we were like 10 year old. Even dad, who is in his early sixties now, has read them. It was all about western stories of friendship, enemies, and discoveries. There even were some movies shot in late 70s and early 80s, especially in Eastern Germany and the then Yugoslavia (because of the mountains), inspired by Karl may's novels. There were also a couple of spin-offs that I remember of (plus cartoons galore). First, a Czechoslovak film called Joe Lemonade, a comedy about the Far West, and a Romanian cycle with people from Transylvania also living in the late 19th century America. It's a different kind of "spaghetti westerns", in a way.

Two years ago I read an article in NY Times ( http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/arts/design/12karl.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=%22karl%20may%22&st=cse ) about this cultural misunderstanding, and I remember I even told dad on the phone about it, but he didn't seem to understand. After all, I am now living in Oconee County, and before that I lived on a certain Keowee Trail. So i figured to know better. All was in vain.

But if we analyze this issue a little bit, we come to despair because of the main cause. By this I mean that Karl May was a special character. There is a book written by a German psychiatrist, Karl Leonhard, its Romanian translation title is something like "Accentuated personalities in life and literature" (I wasn't able to find a link now), where Karl May was given as a case study for a certain type of borderline personality, characterized by confabulation, will to convince other people of their own value etc.
The point is, this guy was so imaginative that he completely invented all the adventures he wrote, without even setting a foot on the American soil, until before his death, when it didn't matter anymore. His adventure-genre books were hugely successful and the "