Cultural Misconceptions Surrounding Indigenous Populations in the Western Hemisphere

This group has researched common misconceptions that american culture holds regarding Native North Americans and Latinx immigrants. This was a significant topic for the researchers because these misconceptions are the building blocks for cultural prejudice within Americans. Many of the misconceptions that are perpetuated within American culture regarding native peoples and latinx immigrants have severe, and negative repercussions on those populations. Moreover these misconceptions are naturalized within American culture and have distinctively shaped the way in which Americans view and interact with these minority populations. This group’s research revealed that many of the misconceptions held about Native North Americans and Latinx immigrants represent these populations as marginal, simple, and fixed in time. These representations have influenced American culture in many ways; most prominently in the way in which the socially endorsed, representative bodies within American culture have interacted with these populations