Last night marked a historic day in the continuing education of Adrienne K. I finally saw Dances with Wolves. How, you may be asking yourself, did I survive 24 years of life and 6 months of blogging about Native images in pop culture without seeing this piece of American history? Your guess is as good as mine. Frankly, I just …
The Music Festival Hipster Headdress Goes British
(image via Boston.com) Well, it’s official. The hipster headdress has gone British. Last week was the Glastonbury music festival in the UK, a huge music spectacular not unlike Coachella, or The Bamboozle, or Sasquatch! or Lightning in a Bottle here in the US. Boston.com posted an image of festival goers sporting the (no-longer) edgy hipster headdress, maddening, but pretty unsurprising, …
"The Potawatomis didn’t have a word for global business center"?
I was waiting for my connecting flight at Chicago O’Hare, and spotted this advertisement on the opposite side of our gate. Close up on the text: It reads: “Chicago is the Potawatomi word for onion field. Apparently, the Potawatomis didn’t have a word for global business center.” This is an example of the use of Indigenous language and imagery that …
Wisconsin Bans Indian Mascots!
As of this week, schools in Wisconsin using race-based mascots can be fined up to $1,000 a day. This law has been a long time coming, the first form of it was presented to the state over 30 years ago. The way the law works is that parties can submit complaints to the state, and after a hearing, if the …
Savage, Farting Maoris and "The Wives of Henry Oades"
As I was scanning the pile of new releases at the local library, my eye caught a line on the back of a book called “The Wives of Henry Oades.” The paragraph ended with: “…the native Maori stage an uprising, kidnapping Margaret and her children.” You knew that book was coming home with me. Quick synopsis (taken from the back …
Disney Appropriation–"Injun Donald"
One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn’t belong…let’s see: Minnie Mouse, Tom Sawyer’s Island, Fantasmic Logo…In’jun Donald?! Reader Audra sent over this image, taken at Disneyland, of the side of the penny-stretching machine (remember those? you stick a penny and like 50 cents in, and get a smooshed penny with a souvenir design …
Nudie Neon Indians and the Sexualization of Native Women
Neon Indian is a hipster-indie band that has been gaining some notoriety as of late. They performed on Jimmy Fallon, and have been making the music festival circuit as well. Though the name annoys me, I hadn’t actually associated them with any cultural appropriation, since nothing I’ve read about the band references anything Native. I figured maybe they were talking …
Educating non-Natives at Lightning in a Bottle
My friend Ricky (who made this awesome graphic I’ve posted before) headed out to the Lightning in a Bottle (LIB) music festival a few weeks ago, and was prepared to approach the concert-goers in headdresses and other forms of cultural appropriation in the mindset of an educator. He encountered many headdresses, and more. I’ll let him tell the story himself: …
Random Appropriation of the Day ("Navajo Bronze" Hair Dye)
Apparently Clairol has a color of their “Natural Instincts” line called “Navajo Bronze”–a “light caramel brown”. Of course, since Clariol wants you to think that this line of hair dye is “natural” and stuff, they have to use Natives for marketing, since we’re all tied to nature and pure and whatever else they think. Frustrating. Amazon listing: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E5EC4A/?tag=botkrajai-20 (Thanks Scott!)
TLC’s Extreme Poodles includes some Extreme Stereotyping
TLC is not exactly known for its normal, run of the mill programming. While I’m sure we can all admit to paying rapt attention to “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant” at one point or another, the network’s stunts for ratings have gotten weirder and weirder lately. I think the topper might be their recent special “Extreme Poodles,” a show …