Talk:Great Father and Great Mother

Latest comment: 3 years ago by JasonAQuest in topic Serious Issues with this Article

Serious Issues with this Article edit

This article has some issues, is Americentric, and uses some non-RS sources so I have made some significant changes (and added a picture). The "Great Father" metaphor needs to be explained without resorting to tropes and memes as it's the cornerstone of the psychology of European-Native interaction and not simply a term of art, as this article previously insinuated. Further, "Great White Father" is a 20th century Cowboys & Indians term, not an historic phrase that's ever been used in real life. We'll need to redirect this article appropriately. Finally, the terms can be less anglocentrically (and historically accurately) described as being used by European colonial powers during their dealings with indigenous Americans, rather than by native peoples themselves (while they were obviously adopted for use, it was with promotion and encouragement of government representatives). BlueSalix (talk) 03:52, 25 May 2014 (UTC)Reply

The statement that "Great White Father" is a product of 20th century westerns is disputed by the fact that J.M. Barrie used it casually in Peter Pan in 1904. Peter calls himself that, and the "redskins" prostrate themselves to him. Granted, that's a work of fiction, but he got it from somewhere, and he expected an audience of people who just left the 19th century to understand it. It was even the working title of the play! -Jason A. Quest (talk) 15:48, 7 March 2021 (UTC)Reply