The Role of Racism in "The Searchers"

     The unabashed racism that drives the plot of "The Searchers" is so prevalent that without it the movie wouldn't make much sense. Many of the deep-rooted stereotypes of Native Americans that were first perpetuated by Mary Rowlandson almost 300 years earlier are still used to establish the plot of the movie and the motives of the characters. While the character's  specific beliefs about Indians are not necessarily discussed, there is an underlying hatred towards these "savages" that makes the whole movie plausible.
     Perhaps the earliest indication of Ethan's feelings towards Indians is witnessed when he first meets Martin. He immediately asks if Martin is some kind of "half-breed" and makes no effort to hide his contempt for him after finding out that he is one-eighth Cherokee, continuing to belittle him throughout the movie. After the posse sets out in search of Lucy and Debbie, it seems as if retrieving the girls is of utmost importance and they will stop at nothing to do so. However, the journey quickly dissolves into a hate-fueled mission of vengeance. Along the way, Ethan goes so far as to shoot a dead Indian in the face - twice - simply to belittle the Indian's spiritual beliefs. When Martin accidentally trades for a squaw wife, he is mocked and the thought of marrying an Indian is seen as ridiculous. The hatred and racism are so intrinsic to the story that it becomes believable that the  "hero" is out to perform a mercy killing on one of his own family members simply because they have spent too much time amongst the "savages."  It seems to get less and less clear whether Debbie is of any importance to Ethan towards the end of his search or if he is only after revenge in the form of Scar's murder.
     What is most interesting to me is not the fact that racism was so prevalent, because it was a part of nearly every western movie from that time period. What I am curious about is the intentions of the people who made "The Searchers." A person could make the argument that they are clearly perpetuating the mistrust towards Indians and using racial stereotypes just to drive the plot. However, it seems that they do make an effort to humanize the Indians a bit. After Ethan spends years searching for Scar to exact his revenge, Scar reveals that his actions were driven by the death of his own two sons at the hands of white men. Essentially this puts Ethan and Scar in the same moral standing and makes their motives equally valid. Also, although Martin's squaw wife Look is mocked earlier, when she is found dead it is seen as an atrocity because she is an innocent and the viewer is made to feel sympathetic. Perhaps this was to represent the many innocent Indians who died in the quest for revenge against the "savage" members of their tribes.  Of course, Ethan's conviction waivers at the end and he does not kill Debbie but rather embraces her in a rare show of compassion. This not-so-subtly represents the changing of our hero's mind to see that, although maybe he doesn't exactly love Indians, perhaps they are not so awful that merely spending time with them would make a person a candidate for execution. Clearly John Wayne is the unquestionable, infallible hero of every movie he is in, and perhaps the idea was to show that if his leathery cowboy mind can be changed then there may be hope for us all. With all of the racist imagery that is used quite effectively throughout this movie, I have to wonder if the filmmakers were knowingly perpetuating these racist ideas or if they were trying to represent them from a more satirical angle to make the viewer take stock of their own beliefs.