Biography

Received a Ph.D. from Columbia University, Subcommittee on Film and Theater and an M.F.A. from Columbia's School of the Arts.

Fulbright Scholar, The Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program, University of Toronto (1994).

Presented a written statement to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing on "Stolen Identities: The Impact of Racist Stereotypes on Indigenous People," May 5, 2011. Panelists included Suzan Harjo and Chaske Spencer.

Her book, "Making the White Man's Indian: Native Americans and Hollywood Movies" contains a Foreword by British film historian Kevin Brownlow.

Andrew Sarris was her advisor while she attended Columbia University.

One of the recurring and disturbing themes that I've noticed in my research is that Hollywood Westerns virtually dominate Native American images.... Their portrayals have ranged from negative to sympathetic; nevertheless, Indians rarely appear in contemporary stories.

Vampires are so versatile these days that they can be used for anything.... Over the decades, they have become the most versatile of all the classic monsters and can stand for anything. Twilight (2008) is nothing new; it's a progression of that.

Unlike Black Americans, the distinction between Indians and whites in the American mind is not so much a question of skin color as that of culture. In the motion picture business, many non-Indians can easily pass as Indians by dressing up to fit the current image of what an Indian should be.