Tag Archives: Race

The Reality of Indigenous People

Copyright 2017 Sarah Patriarca, Ryerson University


During World War II, the family dynamic in Canada changed as fathers and brothers went off to fight in the war while the women were left to not only tend to the children, but also take over occupations typically held by males. As children were more or less left in the dark, the rise of comics provided Canadian children with a new source of entertainment. The comics illustrated different super heroes and plots based around the war at the time. Most of these stories included crude stories or depictions of events that helped the children to better understand what was going on without revealing too much for them to worry. In retrospect, the comics are a very good distraction to these kids. However, looking at the comics now as young adults, we can clearly see the crude humor of racism, and the facts of the war are displayed throughout these comics. In my comic, Wow Comic Issue. 16, there was one comic in particular that illustrated crude humour towards Indigenous people specifically. The specific comic I will be looking at is the “Jeff Warring” comic that uses the character of an Indigenous man and native setting to represent the Indigenous people in a certain way.  The research question I will be analyzing will be: How are the Indigenous People displayed in the comics? I believe that this comic displays Indigenous people as inferior to European Canadians, which in turn makes the audience perceive them in a different way. By using the simplistic language and illustrations of the comic, I will be able to show the difference between both characters. This topic will not only shed some light on how First Nations were seen as, but also give some perspective against stereotypical beliefs. Over the years, the First Nations of Canada have been characterized in a certain way that depict stereotypes and representations that are false, usually made by European Canadians.


European Canadians vs. Indigenous Canadians

In addition, the relationship between Indigenous Canadians and European Canadians are both the same in reality and in the comic. This relationship can be seen throughout the comic with the use of its illustrations and the text from speech/thought bubbles to analyze it more closely. In examining this, the reader can see that the European Canadian seems to have a speech of a superior tone over the Indigenous Canadian. The speech shown in the comic can be seen as very simplistic once the First Nation talks compared to when the European Canadian talks. For example, in my comic Jeff Warring would be considered as the European Canadian whereas the Chief of the tribe would be considered to be the Indigenous person. Throughout the entire comic, Jeff Warring speaks down toward the Chief in a condescending manner. It is also good to notice that the speech bubbles when Jeff Warring is talking contains more words, whereas the Chief have very little to no words involved in the speech bubble. Another way of looking at the difference between both races would be through the illustrations provided in the comic. The illustrations and the speech bubbles help the audience to see the difference of both characters when analyzing it. These very small details that show the comparison between both races. The illustrations are built to tell the viewer the story, while also building up knowledge for the reader as well. However, there are other stories that involve Indigenous people that are not

Source: Native American Heroes in the Comics: An Overview (Part 1), Kevin Breen, Blue Corn Comics (2005). © Whitman Publishing Company; 1st Edition (1940)

as inferior to European Canadians. In some comics, the Indigenous people are seen as doctors, business people and other higher positions in occupations (Dither and Larsen, 2010). This shift of representations displays how Indigenous people helped out in the war, even though this is rarely shown in history. On the contrary, there is one example where the comic displays the Indigenous person in more of a popular demand than the European Canadian character. The comic examines a Native hero, Big Chief Woohoo. Originally, he first appeared alongside a European Canadian hero named Gusto, however soon after Big Chief Woohoo, got the lead role in his own comic. Although, in this perspective, the Indigenous character was seen as superior over the European Canadian characters, the reasoning why Big Chief Woohoo became so popular was because of pop culture’s stereotypical approach towards Indigenous people. It is noted that “He fit the role of the ignorant savage” (Breen 2005) and much of the reason he became so popular is because the author made him ignorant to technology. This is a great example of the use of using illustrations and simplistic language to help depict a character. The only reason his character became a favorite to the audience is because of the crude humor and illustrations that made him seem inferior to a white character like Gusto. “You couldn’t find a better example of the ignorant savage than Wahoo. Besides the language cited above, the way he wrote letters in pictures, and his attempts to ride a car like a horse.” (Breen, 2005).  Even though, Big Chief Woohoo, is seen as superior to Gusto, he only became popular because his character lacked knowledge that supposedly more European Canadian’s have. The illustrations in the Jeff Warring comic specifically, reflect this approach in the differentiation of both races.


Stereotypes in Appearance: What Do You Think?

Furthermore, the illustrations in the comic help to support the case of how Indigenous people are perceived to its wider audience. The illustrations aid the reader to look deeper into the meaning of the comic and pick out certain characteristics that stand out when looking at the relationship between European Canadians and Indigenous people. When looking at the comic character of Jeff Warring and the Chief, the audience can see that the relation between both characters are very different. The comic displays Jeff Warring has an average looking man, with appealing features that captures the eyes of the audience. While in comparison, the

Murray Karn. Panel from “Jeff Warring.” Wow Comics, No. 16, August 1943, Bell Features and Publishing Company: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e447/e011166678.pdf

Chief is made to look non appealing, with features that get overlooked. When looking at the comic now, the reader can see that the illustrations tend to favour the appearance of a stereotypical Indigenous persona, and also display stereotypical movements in the illustrations of how they would have acted. This misinterpretation and inappropriate facts used against Native Americans shifts the audience’s perception on how they are viewed. Comic books, specifically a part of Pop Culture, details the prominence of anti-Indianism in comic books, particularly as means through which Euro-American authors and audiences have made claims on and through Indianness (King, 2008).  The audience when viewing the comic, takes the illustrations of the comic and reads in between the lines and perceives in a way that makes sense to them. For example, if the Chief is displayed with a racial appearance that goes with the stereotypes, as seen in the picture below, then the audience will see the Indigenous Chief in that manner because it was handed to them. These illustrations prove that our perceptions are made based on what the media shows us. In particular, the media and general sources, such as Encyclopedia’s and news documents, only display the negative aspects of the Indigenous people’s history and their war efforts as well.


Are the Media and the Government the Real Culprits?

Moreover, when researching this paper, I took note that most of the information about Indigenous people’s efforts in the war were erased from the mass media. This became very problematic when dealing with this topic because sources for this essay became scarce. In the perspective of the audience, this becomes an issue because lack of information means that many readers are not educated on actual facts. Instead, the media are sources that display these stereotypical approaches, which is the only thing the people know. We as millennials know in the 21st century, the mass media has become one that encompasses all knowledge and is used in everyday activities. As the people, we cannot deny that the media is a very powerful thing that can control how people perceive the world. In particular, history is effective and powerful, as we have come to realize with past historian rulers, whether they produced positive or negative impacts. However, in regards to Indigenous people in the media, it has been left out in majority of sources that Indigenous people did aid in wartimes. However, North American resources have wiped out majority of their efforts and in turn, shifting all the contributions on to the European Canadians, glorifying them in a sense. This is a problematic aspect because society forms a stigma and stereotypical approach to the Indigenous people rather than educating themselves. “The paper concludes that it is a responsibility of society to educate all students to understand that any portrayal of history comes from a particular vantage point and to understand that dominant society privileges some representations and disadvantages others” (Iseke-Barnes, 2005). People lose out on greater knowledge when the government decides to erase their efforts from the mass media. More so, the government is part of the blame for the stereotypical and prejudice the Indigenous people face in the comic, and in reality. In particular, what I have observed from my comic, is that women play a huge role in part of the prejudice that is associated with the Indigenous people. Looking at the comic from a child’s perspective, it can be


seen that there could be a romantic association with Jeff Warring and the Chief daughter, Tana, who is the main female character apart of the comic. However, looking at the comic through the lens of a researcher, you can observe that the relationship between Jeff Warring and Tana is submissive and dominant. Tana’s character goes against her own father, to help Jeff Warring escape and fight against her own kind. This can be related to the events of a women named Dorothy Chartrand, who was a part of the Metis tribe and had to be a service woman because her husband joined the war. In this journal article, she recounts her experience and the reasons she joined, as well as how she was treated and discriminated for her race. Her “grandmother’s teachings about oppression and its operation in the lives of Métis” in which she described the role of government to take away “your pride, your dignity, [and] all the things that make you a living soul. When they are sure they have everything, they give you a blanket to cover your shame” (Iseke and Leisa, 2013). They explain how even though their efforts were purely voluntary and not paid, the government still discriminated against them. This point in time, really shaped the lives of these women and were a critical point for these Indigenous women. The character Tana was stripped of everything, and aided Jeff Warring. In relation to the mass media, pop culture makes it so that when we perceive it as an audience, we see it as two characters falling in love, when in actuality it has a deeper meaning that children reading these comics will not understand. Children at a young age reading these comics take that interpretation and bring the stereotypical information with them into their adolescent and adult years.



To conclude, there is a very big separation between European Canadians and Indigenous Canadians that an observer can see in the comic and in reality. In particular, to the Jeff Warring comic story in Wow Comics, we can see this relationship when looking at both illustrations and speech bubbles that are in the comic issue. The speech bubble’s that the Chief uses is more simplistic language, whereas the European Canadian, Jeff Warring uses more terminology that can make the audience see the superior and inferior complex between both characters. The illustrations are used to make Jeff Warring appealing to the eye, whereas the Chief is the latter, which creates an image in the audience’s head of what Indigenous people are supposed to look like. The audience can take note that the mass media and government play a huge role in how we interpret Indigenous people. Due to the fact that there are no records of Indigenous people which makes people have a lack of knowledge when it comes to the topic. As well, the observer can notice that the relationship between women and government, is related to Jeff Warring and Tana, which can seem to be romantic when in actuality it is something far greater. In result, with the use of illustrations and simplistic language in the comic, we can see the meaning behind the superior and inferior relationship between European and Indigenous Canadians. Indigenous people are seen to be inferior, that even with the efforts of being portrayed in a comic, popularity will always be predominant for the European Canadian.


Work Cited

Dither , Jason, and Soren Larsen. “Originality and the Arctic North in Canadian Nationalist Superhero Comics, 1940-2004.” Originality and the Arctic North in Canadian Nationalist Superhero Comics, 1940-2004, 2010.

Judy, Iseke M., and Desmoulins A. Leisa. “Critical Events: Metis Servicewomen’s WWII Stories with Dorothy Chartrand .” The Canadian Journal of Native Studies, vol. 33, no. 2, 2013, pp. 29–54. Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database.

King, C. Richard. “Alter/Native Heroes: Native Americans, Comic Books, and the Struggle for Self-Definition.” Cultural Studies â Critical Methodologies, vol. 9, no. 2, 31 Dec. 2008, pp. 214–223., doi:10.1177/1532708608330259.

Iseke-Barnes, Judy. “Misrepresentations of Indigenous History and Science: Public Broadcasting, the Internet, and Education.” Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 26.2 (2005): 149-65. Web. 11 Nov. 2017

Breen, Kevin. “Native American Heroes in the Comics: An Overview (Part 1).” Blue Corn Comics — Native American Heroes in the Comics:  An Overview (Part 1), Blue Corn Comics, 28 Sept. 2005, www.bluecorncomics.com/kbreen.htm.




Appropriation and Misrepresentation: Race Issues in WOW Comics, Issue no. 15 © Copyright 2017 Nura Mohamed, Ryerson University

Nura Mohamed

Dr. Monique Tschofen


29 November 2017

Appropriation and Misrepresentation: Race Issues in WOW Comics

Illustrations are used as a means to convey messages and information text cannot quite capture. Examining illustrations closely in WOW Comics issue no.15 reveal stereotypes and ideas imparted by the creators based on their opinions and the effect of their environments at the time of production. These comics were produced during WWII, a time where racial conflict ignited all around the world and negative stereotypes about ethnic minorities were widespread. Canada had different ethnic minorities fighting in the war efforts, including Indigenous, Black and Asian Canadians, therefore accurate representation of ethnic minorities in comics, or lack thereof is important to explore. The ways through which ethnic minorities are illustrated in this issue convey animalistic themes and messages of enmity. The illustrations also shed light on racial inequalities prevalent in Canada by always depicting white Canadian characters as heroes and characters of other ethnic backgrounds as villains.  In Marc Singer’s journal article “Black Skins” and White Masks: Comic Books and the Secret of Race”, he emphasises that racial stereotypes are understood through comics. He argues “Whether these stereotypes assume the form of unrealistic portrayals of racial minorities or an equally unrealistic invisibility, they often fulfill this double function of oppression and reaffirmation”, explaining how representation and erasure in illustrations found in comics matter in developing racial understanding. Despite the documented efforts of ethnic Canadians during WWII, literature created during that time often portrays them in a negative light or erases their efforts during the wartime. Analyzing my chosen comic’s illustrations will shed more light on the racial perceptions and stereotypes directed towards ethnic minorities in Canada during WWII.

Misrepresentation and Erasure in Statistics & Media:

Not only did ethnic Canadians face racial stereotypes similar to and worse than those illustrated in WOW Comics issue no.15, their efforts during wartime were misrepresented in government recordings. This inaccuracy assists in explaining the lack of diversity in the comics, as the documented reality did not support diversity, nor do the illustrations in the comics. The government documentation of ethnic Canadian participation in war efforts is directly contrasted by this comic’s lack of ethnic Canadian representation in recognizable military roles. Recorded facts clearly demonstrate participation, however inconsistencies in Canadian statistics make it difficult to gauge how misrepresenting and inaccurate the illustrations are. The Canadian government exemplifies statistical uncertainty through their use of language such as one about the Indigenous community that reports “At least 3,000 status (treaty) Indians – including 72 women – enlisted, as well as an unknown number of Inuit, Métis, and other Natives. The actual numbers were no doubt much higher” (WWII: Facts & Information). More exhaustive research reveals other ethnic groups contributed to Canadian wartime efforts, with records indicating that “‘Hundreds’ of blacks are said to have joined, as did 3,090 status Indians or 2.4 percent of males, a figure that does not include non-status or metis males. About six hundred Chinese-Canadians served, or  so  Chinese  cultural  groups  claim” (Granatsein 177). It is evident that despite poor record keeping, there is irrefutable proof of ethnic participation in WWII. While there are multiple comics in this issue depicting war scenes, no characters represent Canadians from ethnic backgrounds. All soldiers are Caucasian males in the comics, and these illustrations neglect representing ethnic Canadians efforts in WWII.   The comics serve as a representative example of how the documented realities of wartime efforts by ethnic Canadians were erased in mass media.

Indigenous “Savage” Representations in Illustrations:

The minimal representation ethnic minorities receive in the comics are characters that play the antagonist role of enemies, with animalistic illustrations. Regardless of ethnic Canadians efforts in establishing and strengthening Canada’s economy, communities, and war efforts, their role in Canada is diminished to that of an enemy. Indigenous depictions in the comic solidify this notion as Indigenous Canadians are represented as foreign savages because they did not fit the idea of what a Canadian would look like. Analyzing comic books reveal how the “savage” Indigenous character is a popular theme in North American popular culture. Richard King explains, “conventionally comic  books  confine  Native  Americans  within  ugly  images  and  partial  histories” (215), which is seen in WOW Comics through the way Indigenous Canadians are illustrated as well as the role these characters are assigned. “Jeff Waring” by Murray represents is a comic in this issue that represents this idea where Jeff Waring and his partner stumble onto land populated with an Indigenous community after getting lost on one of his frequent adventures. Despite Jeff and his partner entering Indigenous lands while armed, they are illustrated as victims and the Indigenous characters are illustrated as savages in an animalistic manner.

Example of the depiction of Native characters in WOW Comics. Found in WOW Comics, No. 15, Bell Features Publishing, Canadian Whites Comic Book Collection, 1941-1946, RULA Archives & Special Collections, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.

Jeff Waring struggles to fight an Indigenous character, who is illustrated looking similar to what can be described a hybrid between a human and an ape. Jeff is subdued by this character, and is illustrated looking meager and helpless. His partner is taken by two Indigenous characters that tower over her, twisting her arm behind her back. The illustrations emphasize the notion that Indigenous Canadians would always be seen as foreign savages and would be considered as enemies. These illustrations made during WWII are accurate representations of how the Indigenous community was being treated at that time, as well as how other Canadians viewed them. The Canadian government operated as a white institution when recruiting soldiers for the army, only enlisting Indigenous Canadians when there were labour shortages (Riseman 905). Despite blatant discrimination while enlisting and fighting the war, Indigenous Canadians fought bravely during WWII. However, they continued to be represented through negative racial stereotypes in the media that contrasted the reality of Canada, as seen by the illustrations in the issue of my comic. Racial stereotypes were demonstrated through the illustrations in the comics of Indigenous Canadians who were portrayed as savages. Minimal thought is given to the understanding that illustrations such as these serve as a reinforcement of racial stereotypes. King argues that creators never “consider the impacts of such images or sought the input or interpretations of indigenous peoples” (215), which proves these illustration only further cement racial ideologies in media such as the savage portrayal of Indigenous Canadians.

Racial Stereotypes and Cultural Appropriations in Illustrations:

Throughout the comics, there are references to different ethnic groups within Canada and around the world. The illustrations depict how Canadians would perceive these ethnic groups to look like and the text bubbles accompanying the illustrations reveal how Canadians think these ethnic groups would speak like. Understanding the importance these illustrations possess is crucial, as the illustrations convey racial perceptions that are understood by the mass population of Canada, which are the intended population for these comics. Race in comics isn’t only understood and conveyed through the colour of a character, but the statements, phrases, body language, and clothing depicted by these ethnic characters. These characteristics shed light on racial stereotypes, and research reinforces the idea that “representations not only motivate individual readers toward prejudice, but affect society as a whole by normalizing racist standards through repetition” (Singer 108). In the comic, “Whiz Wallace and The Desert Demon” by E.T Legault, an American soldier Whiz Wallace and his partner Elaine get lost in the dessert and encounter a band of horsemen. Immediately the horsemen capture Whiz and Elaine, and tie up Whiz by all four limbs to prepare to brutally murder him. Not only are the bands of horsemen referred to as “desert savages” and are quoted swearing by Allah, they are illustrated to fit the description with long facial hair and turbans. These illustrations convey an understanding held by the intended audience of the comics, Canadians, of how people from the Middle East would look like. “Whiz Wallace and The Desert Demon” also highlights cultural appropriation as racial stereotype in the comic’s illustration. Whiz’s partner Elaine is seen wearing what appears to be a scarf or turban when she is travelling through the dessert and dealing with the dessert men. However when she is caught by the Germans, Elaine no longer has a scarf on and is back looking like a regular American.

Cultural Appropriation in WOW Comics
Change in Elaine’s head covering, illustrating cultural appropriation. Found in WOW Comics, No. 15, Bell Features Publishing, Canadian Whites Comic Book Collection, 1941-1946, RULA Archives & Special Collections, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.

Elaine’s wardrobe change is an example of cultural appropriation rather than appreciation, as she wears clothing depending on whomever and wherever she is. Appropriation such as the one in this example are extremely offensive to ethnic groups, as it is seen as mockery towards the customs and culture of such groups. Illustrations are artwork that can be understood as offensive by ethnic groups, while not seen as offensive by the creators, and research demonstrates that “The knowledge that artworks are being produced by means  of  cultural  appropriation  may  be  offensive  even  to  people  who  do  not  experience  the works themselves” (Young 135). Cultural appropriation is offensive and racist, and illustrations such as the ones in this comic depict how Canadians internalize these appropriations as well as racial stereotypes.

In Conclusion:

The illustrations in Wow Comics issue no. 15 emphasize how racial stereotypes were enforced within the comics and understood by Canadians. The company that produced these comics, Bell, were extremely popular with Canadians and represented what it meant to be Canadian, as Library and Archives stresses “Bell’s line of comics was unabashedly Canadian” (Beyond the Funnies). Whether it was a war comic, a detective story or an advertisement selling arts and crafts for children, the content related to material Canadians would be able to relate to and understand. The illustrations convey the misrepresentation of statistics by the government through the lack of diversity present in military roles assigned to characters in the comic. There is also an erasure of certain ethnic groups such as Chinese and Black Canadians in the comics, despite documented assistance provided by Canadians from these ethnic groups in WWII on the home front as well as on the battle ground. The comics also assign ethnic characters the role of protagonists and further this portrayal by drawing them in animalistic and racist manner. The savage Indigenous character is a perception that has been ingrained within Canadian mass media, and continues to perpetrate racist ideologies.  Racist illustrations are conveyed through the way ethnic characters are illustrated and the demeanor through which they carry themselves. Furthermore, characters depict racial appropriation which is extremely offensive but is in line with the lack of representation and diversity within the characters in this comic. It is essential to recognize that the illustrations in these comics are a medium for understanding racial ideas prevalent in Canada during WWII. The illustrations assist in comprehending the contradicting documented realities of ethnic Canadian contributions to how they are represented in mass media. Research conducted in a journal article, “Comics—A Medium for Racism” firmly establishes this idea, noting that “Comics have failed to recognize the multiracial society, let alone join it and they consequently remain a medium for racism and an artifact of cultural imperialism” (Carrington and Geoff 14). The representations conveyed through illustrations such as the ones found in WOW Comics issue no.15 lack diversity and convey clear racial stereotypes which are unfortunately all too common in comics.




Work Cited:

ARCHIVED – History of Comic Books in English Canada – Beyond The Funnies. https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/comics/027002-8000-e.html. Accessed 24 Nov. 2017.

Carrington, Bruce, and Geoff Short. “Comics—A Medium for Racism.” English in Education, vol. 18, no. 2, 1984, pp. 10–14. Scholars Portal Journals

Erik, Hillis. “WWII: Facts & Information – Canada at War.” Canada at War RSS, 4 July 2009, 20:33, www.canadaatwar.ca/content-7/world-war-ii/facts-and-information/.

Granatsein, Jack L. “Ethnic and Religious Enlistment in Canada During the Second World War.” Canadian Jewish Studies / Études juives canadiennes, vol. 21, 2013, pp. 174-180

Iseke, J. M., & Desmoulins, L. A.. “CRITICAL EVENTS: MÉTIS SERVICEWOMEN’S WWII STORIES WITH DOROTHY CHARTRAND.” The Canadian Journal of Native Studies, vol 33, no. 2, 2013, 29-54.

Kelley, Venita. “Negotiating Black Masculinity While Reading Comic Books.” Review of Communication, vol. 3, no. 3, 2003, pp. 192–99.

Patrias, Carmela. “Race, Employment Discrimination, and State Complicity in Wartime Canada, 1939-1945.” Labour / Le Travail, vol. 59, 2007, pp. 9–41.

Peppard, Anna F. “Canada’s Mutant Body: Nationalism and (Super) Multiculturalism in Alpha Flight vs. the X-Men.” Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 26, no. 2, May 2015, pp. 311–32.

Singer, Marc. “‘Black Skins’ and White Masks: Comic Books and the Secret of Race: Document View.” African American Review, vol. 36, no. 1, 2002, pp. 107.

Young, James O. “Profound Offense and Cultural Appropriation.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 63, no. 2, 2005, pp. 135–46. Scholars Portal Journals

