Native Imagery to Claim “Native” Status

Grade Levels: Middle School, High School
Subject Areas: Social Studies, U.S. History
Questions: How have groups used claims to “native” identity to define who belongs in America? What are the consequences of erasing Indigenous peoples from narratives of American belonging?

By Erin Suh

Overview

In the 1850s, a political movement known as the Know Nothings mobilized against Catholic and immigrant communities—particularly Irish and German newcomers. Central to their ideology was a claim to “native American” identity: the assertion that white Protestants with Anglo-Saxon roots were the only true Americans.

To make this claim, the Know Nothings adopted imagery associated with Indigenous peoples—the actual Native peoples of this land. This appropriation was not accidental. It worked to accomplish two things simultaneously: it positioned white Protestant Americans as the rightful inheritors of the continent, and it erased Indigenous peoples from the national story altogether.

This lesson examines a Know Nothing advertisement from 1854 to explore how claims to “native” status have been used to exclude some groups while erasing others entirely.

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Historical Context

The Know Nothings emerged during a period of significant immigration to the United States, particularly from Ireland and German-speaking regions of Europe. Many of these newcomers were Catholic, which alarmed Protestant Americans who associated Catholicism with foreign allegiance and authoritarianism.

At the same time, the 1850s marked an era of intensifying violence against Indigenous nations. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 had forced southeastern nations from their homelands. Conflicts between Indigenous peoples and white settlers were escalating across the Midwest and Far West. Indigenous nations were fighting to maintain their sovereignty, their lands, and their lives.

It was in this context that white Protestant Americans began claiming “native” status for themselves—appropriating Indigenous identity while actively participating in the dispossession of Indigenous peoples.

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The Source

This advertisement for “Know Nothing Soap” features two figures depicted as Indigenous people flanking an American flag. The imagery associates the Know Nothing party with an imagined Indigenous authenticity—claiming the legitimacy of being “native” to this land.

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Key Vocabulary

Appropriation: Using elements of another culture without permission, often stripping them of their original meaning and context.

Erasure: The process of removing or obscuring a group’s presence, history, or ongoing existence from public narratives and memory.

Sovereignty: The authority of a people or nation to govern themselves. Indigenous sovereignty refers to the inherent right of Indigenous nations to self-governance, which predates and exists independently of the United States.

Xenophobia: Fear or hatred of people perceived as foreign or outside one’s own group.

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Discussion Questions

Analyzing the Source

1. Examine the Know Nothing Soap advertisement carefully. What specific visual elements connect the Know Nothing party to Indigenous peoples? What messages might viewers in 1854 have taken from these images?
2. The Know Nothings called themselves “native Americans.” What did they mean by this term? How does their usage differ from how we understand “Native American” today?

Understanding Consequences

3. Historian Erika Lee writes: “Erasing indigenous peoples, the real natives, from history and obscuring their ongoing presence and active participation in contemporary society also served the purpose of undermining Native American sovereignty and ongoing claims to land and rights.”
   • What does Lee mean by “erasing” Indigenous peoples? How can a group be erased even while images of them are being used?
   • How might claiming “native” status help justify taking Indigenous lands?
   • Why would this erasure matter for Indigenous sovereignty—both in the 1850s and today?
4. Research what was happening to Indigenous nations in 1854, when this advertisement was published. How does understanding that context change how you interpret this image?

Connecting to Larger Patterns

5. The Know Nothings were not the first to use Indigenous imagery to claim American identity. During the Boston Tea Party in 1773, colonists dressed as “Indians” while protesting British rule. What pattern do you see? Why might white Americans have repeatedly adopted Indigenous imagery when asserting their own American identity?
6. How does this history connect to debates today about who belongs in America and who gets to define American identity?

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Extension Activities

For Middle School:

• Create a timeline showing Know Nothing political activity alongside major events in Indigenous history during the 1840s-1850s. What patterns emerge when these histories are placed side by side?
• Using the resource from the National Museum of the American Indian (link below), discuss why the language we use to describe Indigenous communities matters. How does this history inform those choices?

For High School:

• Research other examples of “playing Indian” in American history (sports mascots, fraternal organizations, summer camps). How do these practices connect to the pattern you see in the Know Nothing advertisement?
• Analyze how current debates about immigration and American identity echo or differ from Know Nothing rhetoric. What has changed? What remains similar?
• Investigate how Indigenous nations in your region were affected by federal policy in the 1850s. How does local Indigenous history connect to this national story?

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A Note on Language

This lesson addresses how the term “native” has been used and misused throughout American history. When referring to the Indigenous peoples of the United States, we capitalize Native as a proper noun acknowledging distinct peoples and nations. The National Museum of the American Indian offers guidance on respectful terminology: https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/informational/impact-words-tips

Many Indigenous people prefer to be identified by their specific nation (Diné, Anishinaabe, Cherokee Nation, etc.) rather than collective terms. When possible, use specific nation names.

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Resources for Further Learning

• Erika Lee, America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States (2019)
• Philip Deloria, Playing Indian (1998)
• National Museum of the American Indian, Native Knowledge 360°: https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360
• Illuminatives and IllumiNative, resources on accurate representation of Native peoples: https://illuminatives.org

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For Educators

This lesson works well as part of a larger unit on immigration history, but it’s important not to treat Indigenous history as merely a sidebar to that story. Indigenous peoples are not “immigrants” to this land, and their histories of resistance and survival deserve attention in their own right.

Consider partnering this lesson with resources that center Indigenous perspectives and voices. If possible, invite Indigenous community members or scholars to contribute to classroom discussions. The National Museum of the American Indian’s Native Knowledge 360° project offers classroom-ready materials developed in partnership with Indigenous educators.