Fascinating «Indians»

European Imagination of Native Americans through the Centuries

Starting March 22, 2012 and commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the death of Karl May, the famous German writer of Indian novels, the Nordamerika Native Museum NONAM presents a special exhibition: Faszination Indianer: Vorstellungen, Darstellungen – ein Streifzug durch die Jahrhunderte.

Karl May influenced millions of European readers throughout the 20th century, drawing on popular fantasies about Native Americans that still linger on in the European mindset.

The exhibition centers on the stereotypical «American Indian» and European fantasies about this enigmatic figure.

A chronological section will explain the development of the European image of the Indian and cast some light on historical processes and prominent figures.

The second part of the exhibition is dedicated to material aspects; to the commodity «Indian». Selected from two private collections, an abundance of objects of western mass-consumption toying with the image of the Indian will be on display. On a more sensuous level, the scope of objects will present what «the Indian» means to western society in the 20th and 21st century.