"CSI: Miami - Bloodline"

I saw this episode of CSI: Miami entitled “Bloodline,” in the Spring and noticed its racial cues. After looking it up online, I found this synopsis explaining the racial assumptions that the makers of the episode used.

http://www.bluecorncomics.com/stype743.htm

In “Bloodline,” authorities are suspicious that the death of a gaming official who has been scalped was involved in a plot dealing with the County Commissioner and casino money. Authorities DNA test all of the people involved in the case and find that only one of them has the blood to be considered for casino earnings, who ends up being the scalper. He is found to be 1/16 Kipayo Indian, which seems to connect well with the fact that he was the scalper of the gaming official. Many of the suspects happen to be Indian as well for this reason as well as being part of the Indian community in which the casino is located.

This episode of CSI: Miami, “Bloodline,” has many racial notions targeting Native American Indians. It just so happens that the three important “bad people” involved in the show (two murderers and an adulterer) all happen to be Indians. In addition, it is also stereotypical that the way the gaming official (Lansing) is scalped to death instead of being killed in any other manner. Therefore, since this was the way he was killed, authorities of course look to the Native Americans in the area to be the killer. This method of murdering someone depicts the way that Indians are perceived to be savage and barbaric, even in current times in a modern television series. Also, the producers of the show have one of the main characters using a deer antler knife. However, it explains that deer do not commonly exist in the Miami area and that it is hard to believe such a knife would be used, except to racialize one of the suspects to make them seem like a typical Indian. This episode is related to many of the articles that we have read in class, especially “The Tempest,” where Indians are described as “savage” and “barbaric” and treated unfairly by the English, as were the Irish of the time.

I think that this episode of CSI: Miami unfairly depicts Native American Indians. It is cruel how one of the characters was scalped to make it more interesting to the viewer and to have them automatically assume that the killer is an Indian. Also, it isn’t fair how all of the suspects and murders or adulterers in “Bloodline” are of Native American descent. This just goes to show that the racial assumption that have been made in the past are still evident today, and even displayed in a television series that is viewed by millions of people. Not only are the facts of the show not completely true, but they lead those who watch it to develop false accusations and pictures of Native Americans of the past and present.