"Just a Test"

... Analyzing Tommy Orange's There There

Aiming a gun scope at an Indian Chief's head, in every home in America sent messages of nightly fear among U.S. citizens for 40 years in the 20th Century. This was a message about the "savage" Indian that enforced the massacre mentality among Whites. See and hear the actual recording of the test by clicking here. 

Indian Head Test Pattern
Some believe this artist is unknown, however:

• Designed in 1938 by Radio Corporation of American (RCA) artist named Brooks (no other name found). 
• Broadcasted 1930s - 1970s to millions of Americans' televisions at night after all the shows ran.
• Ran for ~40 years during the events that were affecting our Indigenous peoples:  
  • 1930s - 1950s - Indian Reorganization Act - part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 'New Deal' policies designed to respond and focus on relief, recovery and reform for Native Americans. But it was not always a Good Deal.
  • 1950s - 1960s - Indian Termination Era - U.S. policy designed to assimilate Native Americans by terminating our status as Indians, disband our tribes, relocate us and sell our land.
  • 1953 - Urban Indian Relocation Program - trickery to relocate Indians from their homelands to cities. The book There There by Tommy Orange is a result and impact of this U.S. initiative.
  • 1960s - Self Determination Era - Influenced by the American Indian Movement that breathed in a new era. 

Just a Test

• Meant to instill fear among American citizens.
• Fed into the idea of “savage Indians” on a “warpath.” 

A Target

• The test-pattern was a "target plate" that involved focused beams of electrons, which were originally called cathode rays.
• As the beam struck the image, the result gave information about image color. 

HOME

Work Cited
Wikipedia (Indian Head test pattern designer; target plate)

---