In case you missed it, I was a guest on Al Jazeera English’s social media news show The Stream yesterday. I was super nervous going into it, but ended up having a lot of fun and feeling like my voice was actually heard for once. The host asked some tough questions, like “In a multi-cultural society, isn’t a certain level …
Dental school application supports Indigenous languages
My friend K. is applying to dental school (you go!), and sent me these pictures of the online application. The app asks applicants: “Dental students interact with patients from many backgrounds. Other than English, indicate any language in which you feel comfortable conversing with native speakers” The list looks pretty extensive, and awesomely they include Native languages–in the picture above …
Random Appropriation of the Day! (JCrew Storefront)
Just a quick post for today, check out the tipi in the storefront of JCrew out here on the East Coast. We love to encourage “playing Indian“, right? I’m still pulling together a big post on the major transgressions over at Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters, but this is just a preview of what the mainstream fashion scene is doing …
Uh-oh, I just shopped at Urban Outfitters
I’m really hating Urban Outfitters right now. Their endorsement of the “tribal” trend is seriously out of control, and seems to only be getting worse. So today I stopped in to the store near my office to check out for myself what all of my friends had been emailing me about. And it was bad. Bad enough that I will …
The YMCA Responds
(image source) On Tuesday, I sent my local YMCA this letter asking them to remove an offensive picture in their fitness facility and to reconsider the overt cultural appropriation and racism in their “Indian Guides” programming, which I initially wrote about here. I was pleasantly surprised that less than an hour after I sent the email, I received a response …
Midweek Motivation: a few inspiring video clips
Happy Wednesday! Here are a few great videos that have been giving me some inspiration this week: First, Sam Bradford (Cherokee pride!) launches the “Let’s Move” Campaign for Indian Country: More info on the campaign can be found here. EDIT 6/10: There is some ongoing debate about the merits of the “Let’s Move” campaign’s focus on childhood obesity (ie fat-shaming) …
Dear YMCA, I haz the sads.
On Friday, I wrote about the Indian Guides program at my local YMCA. I decided to write a letter to the director of the YMCA, as a community member and former employee–telling them exactly why the practices employed by the Indian Guides are so hurtful. I’m posting it here, but I also sent it directly to the Executive Director. (If …
Hoya Hoya, Cultural Appropriation! Or Why Suburban White Folks Shouldn’t Play Indian
A few weeks ago I was home visiting my family in southern California, and went to my local YMCA with my sister to work out. They’ve done a lot of remodeling since the last time I was there, including adding oversize (like 4 feet tall) photos on the walls of staff, kids, members, and events. Most of them are nice, …
What happened 87 years ago today?
(click to make it bigger, read more at Today’s Document) American Indians were granted US citizenship. Ironic, right? The original peoples of this land were among the last to be granted citizenship (and along with it, voting rights). While the declaration was signed into law on June 2, 1924 by President Coolidge, most Natives were not given full suffrage until …
"Indian Run": Offensive?
I’m currently in NorCal (I was presenting at the NAISA conference in Sacramento–our Native Bloggers panel went really well, thanks for all your help!). I went to get a quick lunch in Palo Alto before I headed to the airport, and spotted this sign as I was walking down University Ave. Notice anything weird? The local Lululemon store has a …