As of last Wednesday, University of North Dakota (UND) has reinstated their use of the “Fighting Sioux” mascot, which was banned last year. Residents of the state gathered over 17,000 signatures to put the issue on the ballot in the upcoming elections, and the UND administration says that they wanted to show that they “honor the refrendum process” by reinstating …
Halloween Costume Shopping: A sampling of the racism for sale
“Sexy Indian Adult Costume” After my open letter yesterday, I feel like some people still aren’t getting it (maybe it was the 100+ comments telling me to eff off?). Despite my appeals to emotion and greater human decency, it seems that many people in the world of thar’ intranets need some more physical reminders as to why dressing like a …
Cal’s "Affirmative Action Bake Sale": I want my free cookies.
Yesterday, UC Berkeley’s College Republicans Chapter decided to have an “Affirmative Action Bakesale” to protest a new bill that has been introduced into the CA legistlature that would reverse parts of Prop 209, which in 1996 banned the use of race as a factor in admissions decisions in the UC system. The premise of the bake sale is not new, …
A "Cowboys and Indians" party is just as bad as a blackface party.
2/8/2019: I want to do a more proper update and takedown of my own writing at a later point, but I can’t let this post stand without a note any longer–This post was from the very early days of the blog, when I was still figuring things out. I now know a lot more about making problematic and harmful comparisons …
Katy Perry at Coachella: "A sight for Squaw Eyes"
I thought this one deserved its own post outside of the hipster headdresses. Observe the outright ignorant racism of The Sun in the UK: (original post: here) Notice 4 things: 1. The headline: Katy’s “Poca face”? 2. The text: “Katy Perry looks a sight for squaw eyes”? and she could have “doubled for Pocahontas”? 3. Her pose: please tell me …
You too can own your very own Tommy Tomahawk!
For the low price of $699.99 (It’s on sale!). The description: This Indian Brave Mascot Costume gives a boost to your school spirit. Shindigz is your place to find the fiercest and most affordable mascot costumes. Fierce AND affordable. http://www.shindigz.com/party/Indian-Mascot.cfm (Thanks Scott!)
Stilwell High School’s New Mascot
(image via www.cherokeephoenix.org) I receive the Cherokee Phoenix (the Cherokee Nation newspaper) weekly by email, and today opened my inbox to this article about Stilwell HS (located in Stilwell, OK) and their new mascot, Tommy Tomahawk. Stilwell High School’s student population is 70% Native, the vast majority of whom are Cherokee. The Phoenix article is addressing the controversy surrounding Tommy’s …