My friend Jeremiah sent me this picture last night via twitter, and in my head, I thought “I could make some stereotype biscuits for breakfast!” Which got me thinking. How many products with stereotypical imagery could I fit in one imaginary breakfast? All of these products are readily available (though some are regional), and I decided not to include vintage …
Red Bull Gives You Stereotypes
Red Bull, the energy drink of the masses, presents us with a winner of an appropriation. This commercial reads like a check list of Native stereotypes. Apparently this ad aired heavily overseas (it can be found in many different languages on youtube), and first aired in the US back in 2009. However, it seems that Red Bull decided stereotypical imagery …
"Legend has it…": More Natives in Advertising
Last Friday I headed over to the Harvard Med School (HMS) to listen to the final presentations of the students involved in HMS’s Native American High School Summer Program. I was so blown away and impressed by the students and what they managed to accomplish in three weeks, their presentations were incredible, powerful, and moving. But back to the issue …
"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 …
Have you ever seen a real Indian?: AICF’s ad campaign
(image via http://www.americanindiancollegefund.org) For some reason, this week has offered me a host of examples of insensitivity and ignorance surrounding Indian identity and identity politics. I’ve gotten in intense arguments and conversations in classes, I’ve confronted a colleague who told me, to my face, that the reason the US and Canada were different in terms of policies towards their Indigenous …
Indian River Light Beer: "At Last, a Beer Native to Manhattan"
(image via heartlandbrewery.com) My friend Kayla pointed me (via her friend Tia’s Facebook) to Heartland Brewery, straight out of hipster-haven Brooklyn, NY, and their beer called “Indian River”. Here is the picture that Tia snapped of their advertisement at a bus stop in Manhattan: If you can’t read it, it says “accents of orange, no pulp” and “At last, a …