Robert Chanate: Stories of struggle in Indian Country are real

My grandpa Ernest used to listen to people a lot. He’d get phone calls, he’d visit over lunch at the Kiowa Elders Center or people would drop by our house to talk with him about what was happening in their lives.

People often shared their struggles with him. Some would ask for money to help them through an emergency but most of the time they were looking for empathy and understanding of what they were going through. I can’t recall hearing him lecture anyone. Instead, he’d patiently listen to them and when they were finished, he would sit quietly for awhile before he spoke. My grandpa would give them money if he had it but he also would give them words of encouragement, advice or even a prayer.

I recall my grandfather's acts of understanding whenever the discussion of poverty porn and Native peoples occurs, usually following a heavily viewed story on mainstream or social media. There are different definitions that Natives use to describe poverty porn but whatever the definition one uses, the reasons given for why it’s a threat to our well being as a community usually goes like this: We are showing the world the worst of who we are as a people and these negative images then set the standard of what it means to be a Native to our youth. For those born in bad situations, they are learning that it is ok not to overcome the obstacles in their lives and not to live up to their full potential.

What follows is usually advice to struggling Natives by which they are told to gather their inner strength and believe in themselves and in that way, they will no longer be victims but victors. Another solution put forward is that we stop telling negative stories and focus only on positive depictions of strength in our communities. By focusing on these positive stories, those who are struggling in our community will find new role models to emulate instead of the dead end stereotypes they see in the media, and in turn dance to the drumbeat of victory.