Native Americans in German popular culture immigrants underwent less of a close synthesis and interaction than, for example, Scottish Americans, with some notable exceptions such as Ben Reifel. Prominent German-Americans with a certain role in the image-building of Native Americans include the painters Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902) and Louis Maurer (1832–1932). Important contribution in the humanities include anthropologist Franz Boas (1858–1942) and Native American Renaissance writer Louise Erdrich (born 1954). Germans still have an easygoing approach to using blackface or redface; there is a varied and continuing tradition of temporarily immersing oneself in different customs that is part of Carnival. "Indianerhobby" reenactment or living history is in
Dutch Americans South Carolina and Cornelius P. Van Ness of Vermont were also born to Dutch American families. According to the 2013 American Community Survey, an estimated 4.5 million Americans claim total or partial Dutch heritage. Today the majority of the Dutch Americans live in Michigan, California, Montana, Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin, Idaho, Utah, Iowa, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. In 1602, the Dutch government chartered the Dutch East India Company ("Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie", VOC). It sent explorers under the command of Henry Hudson who arrived in 1609 and mapped what is now known as the Hudson River. Their initial goal was