American Indians. No beards.

[cycleruk]

Something that just came to mind, Why do native American Indians never have beards ?
Watching a cowboys and indians film the other night made me think I don't remember ever seeing any Indians with beards. On film or in photos.
Do they not grow facial hair or do they always shave ?

[Mick F]

Sort of comment on this.

Mrs Mick F was in a Mountain Warehouse shop the other day ......... bought me a couple of jumpers.
The shop put a catalogue in the bag.
Looking through, I was interested in "dog-walking" coats, and saw that all the lady's stuff had lovely good-looking slim models of various ages, and the children's stuff had happy smiling children.

The blokes stuff?
All seemed the same age.
All of them had beards.

Beards in men are fashion items, and also racial items, let alone having them traditionally.

Maybe the American "indians" didn't have the tradition.

[mumbojumbo]

The indigenous tribes plucked facial hair to enhance attraction. However you cannot rely on cowboy films as a source. Few had tomahawks, less had totem poles etc. Do you think Henry Ford carried out research before filming "yellow ribbon", and that Custer was shot with a ' Winchester 73 ?

[Mike Sales]

The indigenous tribes plucked facial hair to enhance attraction. However you cannot rely on cowboy films as a source. Few had tomahawks, less had totem poles etc. Do you think Henry Ford carried out research before filming "yellow ribbon", and that Custer was shot with a ' Winchester 73 ?

The English and the French introduced scalping to Indians. The governors of the colonies instituted scalping as a way for one Indian tribe to help them eliminate another tribe, and to have colonists eliminate as many Indians as possible.

https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/ ... in-america

And of course there were many different modes of life amongst them. Not all were the "Plains Indians" portrayed by Hollywood.

[horizon]

Something that just came to mind, Why do native American Indians never have beards ?

IIHUYQC, AIUI, native Americans naturally and genetically do not have much facial hair. AFAIK, this is a genetic trait. It may well vary to a greater or lesser degree across different tribes and is subject to some plucking but (again AFAIK) beards and thick facial hair aren't possible - some thin facial hair however is.

[cycleruk]

Thanks Horizon for the explanation.
I have looked at quite a range of actual photos and none show any bearded native American Indians.
Obviously photos could only depict from the mid 1800s.
By the way Native Americans span down from Alaska for the whole of North America and as far as I can tell none are shown as having beards.
I don't quite understand what Henry Ford or Custer has got to do with the Indians not having beards.

[Mike Sales]

From The Uttermost Part of the Earth, by E.Lucas Bridges.

.One day some natives caught sight of him, chased him and took him prisoner. They stripped him of all his clothes except his belt and a ring on his finger, and plucked; out his beard;, moustache and eyebrows, leaving him only with the hair on his head. This treatment was not necessarily prompted by cruelty, for it was in accordance with their own custom. ...

This is a fascinating account of the family of missionaries who first settled in Tierra del Fuego amongst the natives.
The unfortunate plucked man was the first. lone missionary, who preceeded them, and had a hard time.
Lucas and his brothers grew up with the Fuegians, and got on well with them. The family prospered and tried to defend their native friends from the violent invasions of white settlers.
There are no native Fuegians left.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id= ... =1up&seq=9