The Adventures of Swiss Ms.

My visual aid for this story is lamer than usual; I apologize for that. But I hope you are able to get the gist of the advertisement (surreptitiously captured at this pathetic resolution by cell phone on the bus), for it encapsulates well a bit of European culture. 

The ad is for some sort of cold medicine. The man in the photo is Native American – not sure whence he hails, but Peruvian Indians seem to be a special favorite around here – he is wearing a leather vest and large shell necklace. He holds a box of medicine next to his face and stares ahead stolidly. The text above his head reads "The Indian does not know sickness." 

As a cultural outsider, I very well may be missing something here, because I don't really understand. If Indians don't even know sickness, why do we trust their judgment on cold medicine? Or are they saying Indians don't know sickness because they are always taking this medicine? (Did I just uncover a large medical conspiracy?) A third option, I suppose, is that the drug company stole the idea for this treatment from some Indians and are now using its origin to promote the product. In any case, "the Indian" is evidently a cultural authority here. 

I do not employ the term "European culture" (as if there was one) lightly, but I feel it might be appropriate in this instance. I think it is safe to say that Indians (and their friends, the cowboys) occupy an special place in the imagination of Western Europe at least. Someone's putting them in special museum exhibits, in photo galleries, and on TV.  Someone's using them to sell products and political ideas. Someone's listening to all those Native American bands on the streets across Europe. And (especially in the last case) it isn't us.