Native Video Round-Up: Johnny Depp, Identity, and Poetry

In 1491s, Johnny Depp, native film, Native video round up, poetry, Tonto, Well Red by Adrienne K.Leave a Comment

I know things have been quiet around here for a few weeks, and I apologize. I’ve been traveling all over the place talking, and talking, and talking some more. I had great visits to ASU and Columbia, and was supposed to be on an awesome panel with Phil Deloria, Suzan Harjo, and Carla Fredericks in NYC, but it was unfortunately postponed (I’ll keep you posted when we decide on a new date). I also finally got to meet Simon Moya Smith, the man behind I Am Not A Mascot, and we had a great conversation about Native activism in the 21st century, hate mail, identity, and more. It was great to connect with folks and hear so many ideas about the future of this fight and how my blog might fit into that larger movement, and hearing stories and words of encouragement from fellow activists who have been at this longer than me was so inspiring.
So I’m back at my desk in Boston, and ready to tackle some big things. But first, a lot of great Indian videos have crossed my path in the last few days, so I thought I would share some inspiring and entertaining Native videos to start the week off right. 

First up, my good friend H. (won’t call him out in case he’s embarrassed because he’s wearing tons of eyeliner) makes his 1491s debut playing none other than Johnny Depp. So I know it’s been awhile since we’ve chatted about our dear friend Johnny Depp-as-Tonto, but in case you forgot, posts here, here, here, and here. Backstory: Johnny Depp was adopted by LaDonna Harris (Comanche). This is an actual account of what happened at his adoption ceremony:

Next, as some of you know, I work closely with an amazing organization called College Horizons, and a couple of years ago one of our students, Koli, sang this song at our Traditional Night. She’s a Yurok, Karuk, and Hupa student who’s now at UH, and in this song sings about the politics of “looking Indian.” Love it. She also comes from an awesome family, her dad is a Stanford alum and filmmaker, and her sister is a current Stanford student (you know how I love my Stanford connections):

Then, this beautiful and tear-jerking letter to Native Youth is powerful and important (it was inspired by the 1491s/Dallas Goldtooth’s letter to Native women, which I’ve shared here before, and is also worth a watch):

Finally, one of my twitter-follower-friends R. Vincent Moniz tweeted out this fantastic video of a poem about Halloween/Cultural Appropriation/Redface that he performed at a Native poetry night. It’s awesome. I love the Native Approps references sprinkled throughout. 🙂 The poem starts at 6:48 (though his other stuff is good too!):

Ok, a personal plug too. Back in October I was interviewed by a cool Native filmmaker/scholar Myrton RunningWolf for a webseries called “Well Red”. The trailer for the series is here:

and then the teaser trailer for my interview is here (full interview will be up soon!):

Hope these help you get through the remainder of your Monday, and if you’ve got more Native videos we should see, share the links in the comments!

(Thanks H., Koli, Carly, Lyla, Vincent, and Myrt!)

Guess we can add Victoria’s Secret to the list

In headdress, hipster headdress, Karlie Kloss, sexualization of Native women, Victoria's Secret, Victoria's Secret fashion show by Adrienne K.1 Comment

The list is getting really, really long of companies I don’t like to support anymore because of their egregious cultural appropriation, stereotyping, and marginalizing of Native peoples. Let’s see, in the last year or so alone, there’s Urban Outfitters, Ecko, Gap, Paul Frank (just kidding, they’re awesome now), along with 5 bazillion others, not to mention my local grocery store, all of these food companies, and the musicians I shun, including Outkast, Ke$ha, Lana Del Ray, NeverShoutNever, Frank Ocean, and now No Doubt… and that’s just off the top of my head.

So now you can add Victoria’s Secret to the list. The image above, of the lovely Karlie Kloss, comes from the most recent VS fashion show, which is set to air December 4th. The stills from the show were released to the world earlier this week, and among the strange get-ups, which included poodles and models wearing motorcycle handlebar-corsets, was this monstrosity. 

Here are a few more shots:

I can’t tell if she is war-whooping or blowing a kiss. I don’t know if it matters at this point.

Please, please tell me we all know this is wrong at this point? Do I need to link to the anti-headdress manifesto? The blackface-comparison post? The sexualization of Native women post? (Note: if you don’t know why it’s wrong, those are the places to find out.)

The frustrating thing is this comes on the heels of the No Doubt “Looking Hot” controversy, where the band pulled their music video within a day of it being released because of the use of extremely stereotypical and offensive Native imagery and a huge outcry from the Native (and ally) community. That happened like last weekend. As in less than 7 days ago. And NOBODY at Victoria’s Secret saw one of the hundreds of articles about No Doubt and thought, hm, maybe we shouldn’t include a woman in a headdress and a fake buckskin bikini?

And the bikini. Can we talk about the bikini? I love the inclusion of the leopard. Why don’t we just go full-on generic “savage” while we’re at it. As one of my witty FB followers reminded us, “They say Native Americans used every part of the leopard.” Ha. But serious eyeroll on that choice. Not to mention the fake turquoise/Navajo/southwest jewelry with a plains headdress. LOL, all indigenous pplz, they r teh samez.

Snark aside, there is a bigger issue here. Besides the daily harm of these ongoing microaggressions for Native folks, the sexualization of Native women continues to be an ignored and continuing epidemic. I wrote about it a little in this post, but my amazing friend Sam made this graphic that makes it painfully clear (click for full size):

So Victoria’s Secret, now is the time to apologize. It’s not too late to cut Karlie’s headdressed outfit out and leave it on the editing room floor. This isn’t “fun,” this isn’t a “fantasy” character. This is about our cultures, our bodies, and our lives. Native people demand and deserve far more respect than this.

(thanks to long-time reader and supporter Bree for making it!)

(Bree noted that there are already over 600 comments from Natives and Native supporters)

and please share the graphic widely in your networks.

While this feels like a never ending battle, remember the successes we’ve had as a community, and every little bit chips away at the centuries of colonization and disrespect of Native peoples. We’re making gains, though sometimes it may not feel like it. I’ve been at this for over two years now, and I can’t believe how quickly things have changed for the better. We’re getting there!
UPDATE 11/10: Just received the following apology from Tammy Robert Meyers, a spokesperson for Limited Brands: “We are sorry that the Native American headdress replica used in our recent fashion show has upset individuals. We sincerely apologize as we absolutely had no intention to offend anyone. Out of respect, we will not be including the outfit in any broadcast, marketing materials nor in any other way.” Let’s celebrate the fact they listened (though they may have to work on the “how to apologize” part). Amazing work mobilizing together everyone! I’m so proud of our community fighting together for what’s right.

(Thanks to Sam for the amazing graphic and to everyone who sent this over!)
Earlier:
…and like every other post on the blog. 

So you wanna be an Indian for Halloween?

In anti racist halloween, costumes, Halloween, I am not a costume, Indian costumes, spirit halloween store by Adrienne K.Leave a Comment

I wasn’t going to do a Halloween post this year. I thought about it, but decided I was going to try and let my posts from last year stand on their own. I’ve tried many approaches–the emotional plea, the in-your-face-racism approach, the “I am not a Costume” campaign–but every year, the arguments are the same. No one listens, people on both sides get angry, and then the conversation gets shelved until next year. But then, oh then, I was double-checking that the descriptions I quoted from the Spirit Halloween online store last year were still there…and I found this, and I couldn’t let it go. This is their description of the “Indian Costume”:

“The Indian costume has been a part of the American Halloween scene since the beginning. Kids bedeck themselves in Indian costume jewelry and traditional Indian costumes and are able to live out a slice of American history.  

The American Indian costumes that Spirit Halloween offers vary and come with a number of accessories that can make your Indian costume the best in the tribe. The American Indian Halloween costumes for men and boys are great costumes for any party or trick or treating adventure. Just don’t eat too much candy and go on a sugar induced vision quest! 

The girl Indian costume variety is also a very popular Halloween costume idea. There are varieties for younger girls and women and similarly there are different accessories for the ladies with traditional Indian jewelry replacing the tomahawk and spear. There is also a sexy Indian costume for the more daring ladies out there trying to land their own John Smith.  

Some of the accessories that Spirit offers for these great costumes are traditional Indian tools and weapons, guns, headdresses and jewelry. All of these accessories and costumes may only be a simulation of how these noble people lived, however, showing them deference and respect by keeping their memory alive in the traditions of America, especially one as festive and inspired as Halloween, is a great thing.  

So when your kids want to don a traditional Indian costume with frays and a feather, don’t look at it as disrespectful. See it as a way to teach your little one about American history. Tell them about the rich tradition of the natives of this continent before the European invasion: the deep respect for nature, a rich, textured oral history, tribal society, etc. Let them in on the knowledge that for a thousand years, before there were cities and highways and the internet, there was a race of people living amongst the animals and trees. It will set their imagination on fire while instilling in them a sense of respect for Native Americans as well as a desire to learn more about them.  

Halloween doesn’t have to be just candy and costumes, so this year, have your kid join the noble ranks of the thousands before him or her who wore the costume they will wear and tell them about the great tradition of it.”

Here’s the full list of costumes the website describes, and notice all of them (with the exception of Geisha, which is equally offensive) are things like witch, pirate, cowboy, “sexy schoolgirl,” kids costumes, couples costumes, etc. “Indian” is the only racial group represented. The others are occupations, fantasy characters, sexual fantasies (french maid and schoolgirl, looking at you)–not an entire, diverse, contemporary, marginalized race of people.

So, I’ve taken the liberty to annotate the description for you (click to make full size):

Enjoy. Welcome to 2012, where Indians don’t exist, lived in the trees, and are super honored by trashy, “sexy,” Indian costumes. Cause if you don’t dress up like your a-historical, romanticized, fake, plastic “Indian,” no one will remember the tragic, noble savage. Right.

And for reference, a slew of previous Halloween and other costume posts (Indian costume defenders, please read them before attempting to eviscerate me):

Halloween Costume Shopping: a sampling of the racism for sale
Open Letter to the PocaHotties and Indian Warriors This Halloween 
We are not a costume
But Why Can’t I Wear a Hipster Headdress?
Nudie Neon Indians and the Sexualiztion of Indian Women
A Cowboys and Indians Party is just as bad as a Blackface Party 
Paris Hilton as a Sexy Indian: The Halloween Fallout Begins (includes lots of links about the costume issue) 
Mid-Week Motivation: I am not your costume

When offensive Indian mascots hit too close to home

In I Am Not A Mascot, indian mascots, mascots, stanford indian, Stanford mascot by Adrienne K.80 Comments

I posted on Monday about some of my amazing Native friends that I got to catch up with while on campus for my college reunion. I had an incredible weekend, so much fun, but there was a bit of a dark underbelly to it all when I went to our homecoming football game.

I’ve written several times about how Stanford was the “Stanford Indians” until 1971, and how student activism was the root cause of the mascot change. Just a few months ago, when I was at the leadership team training for reunion, I posted about how heartened I was to see this passage in the training handbook, declaring that “these images perpetuate stereotypes, are hurtful and offensive to American Indians and others, and are particularly inappropriate and insensitive in light of the history of forced assimilation that American Indian people have endured in this country.”

So, imagine my surprise, when in the span of just a few hours I was able to capture all of the following images, without even really trying. I’ll include the stories with each of them–though admittedly, I was often too shocked or angered to engage in long dialogues with any of the offenders.

The image above was the second encounter (I’ll post the first in a second), a young white-looking undergrad, who seemed all-too-pleased that I wanted to take a picture of his shirt. While I wish I could have pulled off the 1491’s response, I just took the picture, and then told him “Thanks for your help, I’m documenting all of the racist mascots at the game.” I didn’t stick around to see his response.

So this one I couldn’t believe. I spotted this pin within 10 seconds of being on campus, on the hat of an older gentleman walking with a cane. I couldn’t get close enough to see what was on it, but then, my friend Elena and I ended up in line next to “Barbara” who had it lovingly pinned to her name tag:

Yeah, that’s a wild-eyed tomahawk wielding Indian holding the SKIN of the Arizona Wildcat. Right, this is honoring, this is showing pride in Native peoples and traditions. I felt sick to my stomach as I took the picture. She was babbling on and on about the mascot back in the day, and honestly, my ears were roaring with shame and rage, and I missed the majority of what she said. I caught the end though; “We always said, when they got rid of the Indian, ‘well, that’s just another Indian out of a job!'” I looked at her with a blank face and turned my back.

As we were leaving the game, we walked past an alumni tailgate with a bunch of kids running around and playing football. They had traffic cones demarcating their space, and on each of them, Stanford Indian stickers:

As I was crouching down to take pictures, a woman from the tailgate walked over smiling. I looked up and said “Way to go teaching all these kids how to grow up racist. That’s really the Stanford way.” She looked confused, I pointed to the sticker, and then walked away.

Not two minutes later, spotted this couple walking across the street:

The front said “Stanford Indians.” At this point my friends got embarrassed and walked the other way, thinking I was going to confront a “cute old couple.” I didn’t.

Finally, walking back from a post-game coffee break, we ran into this couple:

They too, were delighted that I wanted to take their picture. I had to google what the Cardinal Council was, and apparently they are the “student-athlete representative body, which acts as the leison between Stanford athletes, the Athletic department, Stanford University, and the NCAA.” In other words, an officially sanctioned university committee. Believe me, they, along with the class of ’62, will be hearing from me. (UPDATE 10/25: I’ve been informed by the university that these particular shirts are not officially affiliated with the SAAC or Stanford. So if anyone knows what “Cardinal Council” this is referring to, please let me know.)

The scary and most upsetting thing to me is that all of these images are new. These aren’t some kids that dug them out of their parent’s basement, or some old alums who dusted off their vintage sweater. I felt, as I was leaving campus, that we were witnessing a scary resurgence in Stanford Indian mascot apparel.

Sure enough, the day I got home, a friend on campus forwarded me this email:

From: NIck H
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2012 11:05 AM
To: 
Subject: STANFORD INDIAN SWEATERSent: Friday, October 05, 2012 11:05 AMTo: Subject: 

To meet the overwhelming desire of, well…everyone, I am starting the process to make a new batch of those magnificent Stanford Indian Sweaters that people won’t shut up about. I don’t mean to toot their horn or anything, but they’re kind of a big deal…if you wear one you could potentially own many leather bound books, and your apartment MIGHT smell of rich mahogany. DON’T MISS OUT ON WHAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME! Here’s the link to the google doc to fill out your name, quantity, and size:   

Here’s the link to look at the design, if you haven’t already seen one already (pfft like thats a possibility):http://www.customink.com/designs/indians2/shg0-000q-3zxn/retrieve  

The more people that get them the cheaper they are. But last time they ended up being around 25 dollars. If you’re a hipster, don’t get one, its definitely already cool to wear these.  

-Nick “but I was wearing mine before it was cool” H

The image? Here you go:


So, Nick, who was “wearing [it] before it was cool”–This is decidedly not cool. At all. The language in the email is flippant and trying oh-so-hard to be subversive and cool, and as a result, becomes even more hurtful. The fact that these are in high demand is extremely concerning to me. Oh, and that google doc? I took the liberty of doctoring it a bit:

You can click to make it bigger, but I basically wrote a note in the first column of the spreadsheet, resisting the urge to erase all the orders, reiterating all the things that I say on the blog, and leaving a list of resources. So now, anyone who clicks through will see that first…until Nick H. sees it, of course. Huzzah

But I can’t even tell you how hurtful it was for me to see those images on campus and in my inbox, and to hear the folks defending it (or celebrating it, in the case of Nick’s email) makes me so upset. The biggest thing I kept returning to was that these images erase our humanity. Mascots are animals, mythical creatures–meant to be “brave” and “vicious” (and don’t get on my case about the vikings or the fighting Irish, I’ve covered that ad nauseum, it’s not. the. same. thing. There is not current and ongoing systematic oppression and racism of Irish or “vikings” in the US)–but we are a real, diverse, and contemporary group of people. I can’t stand being equated with a “wildcat” or a bear. 

There are real issues of power here too–these people that I took the pictures of made me feel, if only for a moment, like an unwelcome outsider on my own campus. A campus of a university that I love with all of my heart, and have donated so much time and effort to, made me feel like I wasn’t deserving of a spot at reunion. In their eyes, I was a savage in a loincloth, with a big nose and wild eyes, not a Cherokee woman who graduated with a double major, has a masters, and is completing her doctorate. A campus that welcomes this kind of open marginalization, and yes, racism, of Native peoples is creating a system wherein Native students, alumni, faculty, and staff, will never be seen as equals.

You may say you’re “honoring” us–but I’m telling you, as a Native person, that this in no way honors me. My amazing friend M. posted this on Facebook yesterday, and I think this sums it up beautifully: 

We would like to be honored by seeing our culture taken down from the shelves of costume shops. We would like to be honored by being consistently included as a whole racial demographic in social and scientific research. We would like to be honored by not being accused of taking some other student’s place at Stanford simply because we’re Native (even though we’re often accused of not looking Native enough). I, and so many others, would be honored if we could – someday soon – stop explaining why we are so deeply offended.

Exactly. I would add that we would like to be honored by the recognition of our treaty rights and tribal sovereignty as well. 

So this trend is extremely troubling. I’ll be writing to the head of Reunion Homecoming, and I feel that a letter to the administration is necessary as well. This needs to be stopped, these images and actions are completely unacceptable. 

This case at Stanford by no means exists in isolation. DeeJay NDN of A Tribe Called Red has been battling a local football team called the “Redskins” in Ottawa for the last few months, and the overt racism and scathing commentary he’s received shows how close to the surface racism against Native peoples truly is. The 1491s also hit up University of Utah (their mascot is the Utes) recently, and had some interesting conversations with tailgaters. Their video is here, and definitely worth a watch.

So to the people I chatted with, Nick H., the students who ordered a Stanford Indian sweatshirt, the Cardinal Council, the Class of 1962, and anyone else who donned a Indian image without thinking twice. Just stop for a moment, and really listen. Push aside the defensive and dismissive feelings, and realize that it’s not totally your fault. You’ve been socialized in a system that has normalized racism against Native people. You’ve been raised in a society that sugar-coats its colonial and genocidal past, and ignores the modern presence of Native peoples. So maybe you weren’t personally responsible for any of that. But now, I’ve taken away your ignorance defense. You now know how hurtful and harmful these images are, you know how it feels for me, a Native person, to see them at my alma mater. It’s what you do with that information that will show your true character. Dismiss it, defend you actions, and you’re now complacent in the system. Fight it, right the wrong, and you’ve shown that you won’t stand by and let oppression continue. Bravo.

Resources and previous posts galore:

A reminder of why this blog exists, one reader’s experience (Stanford alum who changed his mind about the mascot)
The Fighting Sioux are back, my passionate plea against Indian Mascots
The Fighting Sioux Part 2, the science (citing a study done by Stanford alumna Stephanie Fryberg)
Thanks for the severed head, you’ve proved my point
Stanford Indian, then and now (showing the “official policy I quoted from above)

The Native American Cultural Center at Stanford’s mascot history
Why Indian mascots and costumes are never ok (blog post by a Stanford undergrad–and in support, I agree with the “never ok”! The comments got a little crazy, as per usual)

More resources? Feel free to leave them in the comments.

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples, Not Columbus

In Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day by Adrienne K.Leave a Comment

Sunrise ceremony for Indigenous Peoples Day on Alcatraz Island,
an annual tradition when I was in college

“Every Native American is a survivor, an anomaly, a surprise on earth. We were all slated for extinction before the march of progress. But surprise, we are progress.”

                         — Louise Erdrich, from First Person, First Peoples

Two years ago, I put together a series of posts about what is commonly known as “Columbus Day” here in the US. The posts can be found here, here, here, here, and here, if you’re interested in the reasons why this “holiday” is so messed up. But this year, I decided to do something different. I just got back from an incredible weekend at my 5th year college reunion, and spent some time with just a handful of my amazing Native friends and colleagues from college. I want to share some brief snippets of what they are up to, because in these friends are counter-stories to the common conceptions about Native peoples. In sharing these stories, I’m hoping to switch narrative from just talking about how horrible Columbus was, to celebrating the resilience and excellence that abounds in the Indigenous communities of the Americas. So without further ado, some awesome Natives I have the pleasure of knowing:


I spent time with my friend Waddie, who is a third generation silversmith from Cochiti Pueblo, making his family and community proud by creating gorgeous jewelry, using his Mechanical Engineering degree to combine tradition with new materials and methods. He was hustling all weekend, handing out flyers and business cards, and by the end of the weekend, even I was the proud owner of some Waddie bling.

One of my best friends J. was in town, an Oakland born and raised Apache, who after college, got her Masters in Public Health at Harvard, and is now completing her law degree at Columbia. She already has a bad-ass job offer in DC for after graduation, doing Indian Law at an awesome firm. All through it all she is the most grounded, loyal, kind, and hilarious friend I could ever ask for.

Then there is my buddy A., Navajo from AZ, who has a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and since graduation has been working at JPL (NASA!), part of the team working with the Mars Rover. Despite his impressive job title, he’s remained committed to getting more Natives involved in science and engineering, sitting on the board of AISES, doing outreach presentations, and working to increase diversity at JPL.

My friend S. studied public policy in college, and then returned to Hawaii for law school after graduation, splitting her time between HI and DC. She now is the campaign manager for a senate campaign in Hawaii, using her skills to advocate for the rights of Hawaiian peoples.

Then I ran into my friend D., Northern Cheyenne, who I’ve known since our involvement in College Horizons when we were in high school. After graduation, she stayed on campus and got her masters (and was my intern, ha), then jetted down to New Zealand, doing some awesome work with Maori communities for almost four years. Recently she returned to her reservation, and in her short time home has already been doing incredible things. She decided, at 25, to run for tribal council, and received the most votes during the primary election. We’ve all got our fingers crossed for the upcoming election!

One of my other Native Hawaiian friends J, who studied civil and environmental engineering, is working back home at a architecture/engineering/consulting firm, and taking night classes towards her MBA. She’s also so kind and connected to her home in HI. I love spending time with her.

I’m seriously proud of my friend C., Cherokee and Catawba, who has been working in the world of undergraduate admissions for a few years now, leaving a lucrative career in business behind. She also stepped up and has been living in the Native American house on campus as a resident fellow, a position normally reserved for those much older than her 26 years. She’s been doing an amazing job, the students love her (and her husband), and I can’t imagine anyone better for the position. This year she’ll be taking on Native recruitment for the university, and I can’t wait to see the incredible students she’ll bring to campus.

I got to chat briefly with my classmate V., Navajo, who is working at an independent school in southern CA. She and I talked about the ways she’s been able to bring her Native perspective to the work, starting with small things like adding Indigenous Peoples Day to the school calendar. She has big plans, and I’m excited to see where she goes from here.

Then there’s my biggest fan and advocate, A.M., also Navajo, who got his masters in Management Science and Engineering after graduation, then went on to get a second masters in Education in NM. He’s now back in the Bay Area working at a lab, and anytime I’m feeling down about my blog or the crap I get from commenters about my identity, this kid has my back.

At our Native alum reception, I got to see my friend T., Samoan, who is off being a fancy big banker at Morgan Stanley, and is doing some awesome work with loans for low income communities. He’s also hilarious and so supportive, and managed to squeeze in some time to perform in his acapella group’s reunion show.

Along with T., I got to chat with U., who is from Hawaii, and is now back home working for Kamehameha schools, doing research and working with communities. She also got to sing with her acapella reunion. I remember watching her and T. perform when I was an undergrad, and being so proud that there were Native folks up there on the stage.

I also made a new friend, M., Blackfeet, a PhD student in performance studies, with an extensive and impressive resume already behind him in theater and film. We had a great conversation about representations of Natives in Hollywood, the politics of casting, Indian humor, identity, playing Indian, and more. He’s pushing back against stereotypes in film, and has faced a long and uphill battle. His perspective is desperately needed in hollywood, and I can’t wait to collaborate with him more in the future.

Finally, I went to dinner at the Native American house, and had the pleasure and amazing experience of chatting with the Staff of the house, all seniors, and all students that I admitted when I worked in undergraduate admissions. I got really emotional talking with all of them–I remember so vividly reading their applications, and to now see them as accomplished seniors, so grounded and connected to the Native community on campus, was so moving. I’m so proud of them, and I can’t believe they’re about to graduate this year. I know in a few years I’ll be able to add them to the list above, showing off all the fantastic and important things they’re doing, because they’re already such community leaders.

So why do I share all these stories? Because this is the Indian Country I know. These are the survivors, the anomalies, the surprises on earth. This is the progress that we represent. The side effect of the narrative of Columbus Day is an erasure of our existence back then, and an erasure of our contemporary existence now. The Americas existed before 1492, and despite the best efforts of colonization, we continue to exist, we continue to resist, and we continue to thrive. These snapshots offer just a fraction of my Native friends and colleagues, and an even smaller sliver of all of the amazing people that make up Native America. We are still here, and we’re not all sitting around in Tipi’s, wearing feathered headdresses, or speaking in broken “Tonto speak.” We are able to combine western education and traditional culture as a means to move our communities forward. When Columbus landed on the shores of the bahamas over 520 years ago, he started a legacy of genocide that nearly wiped the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas off the planet. We weren’t supposed to survive, but here we are. These young Native leaders are bringing Indigenous perspectives, innovations, and ways of knowing to science, technology, business, law, education, arts, and more, and this is something to celebrate.

So today, instead of celebrating a murdering “explorer”–I choose to celebrate Indigenous Peoples.

(Thanks friends! Miss you already!)

Hey Guys, it’s time to VOTE.

In Election 2012, Native Vote 2012, VOTE, voter registration by Adrienne K.Leave a Comment

I don’t know if you were aware, but there’s an election coming up here in the US. Like, real soon. This is a call to remind all of you (especially the Natives) that you need to register to vote, and then turn out on November 6th and cast your ballot!

The rates of voter registration and voter turnout for Natives are dismal–and I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about that here. If you’re interested in more background, there is a (admittedly frustrating and sad) report pulled together by Demos.org that details all of the obstacles and challenges involved in increasing Native voter turnout. It’s available for download here. This graph below gives an idea of AI/AN voting patterns compared to other ethnic groups:
I also have some Native friends who refuse to vote in US elections because they see it as voting for a foreign election. I fully support that notion of sovereignty, but the reality of our current state is that the decisions the US government makes about healthcare, housing, education, and other funding for Indian Country have direct and real effects on the ongoing well-being of our peoples. We need to have a voice in electing our National officials. 
So, what are you going to do about it? 

(and do it ASAP! State deadlines vary, and you don’t want to miss out! Yes, that’s an Obama site, but by all means be subversive and use it to register as a Republican–I just want Natives to vote. Seriously.)
Read up on the Native Vote at NCAI’s Native Vote 2012 website (and watch some videos of Native celebs like Chaske Spencer telling you to vote).
Send an email to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius requesting that Indian Heath Services (IHS) clinics be made into voter registration sites via the Daily Kos. 
Finally, watch this awesome video that three of my BFFs (Hillary, Yuki, and Aza) made, starring another one of my best friends from grad school, Mikaela, to support the Native Vote 2012. Featuring, of course, some awesome music by A Tribe Called Red. 

Just stop and think about it for a minute. American Indians weren’t even legally US citizens until 1924. My great-grandma, born in Indian Territory (before it was Oklahoma) couldn’t have voted. My grandma just barely made the cut-off. This is not some ancient history. This is our right, and we need to assert it.

And if you need any final motivation, here’s me mailing in my voter registration–my first time voting in Massachusetts!

Have you registered? Have other resources you want to let us know about? Share in the comments!

(Thanks Yuki, Hillary, Aza, and Mikaela! Miss you guys!)

Paul Frank Powwow Party Update: Am I dreaming?

In Apology, beyond buckskin, Dream Catchin with Paul Frank, Fashions Night Out, FNO, History in the making, Paul Frank by Adrienne K.1 Comment

You guys, I don’t really even know how to start this post. Think about how many times I’ve reached out to companies in the history of this blog, how many times I’ve thrown my opinion to the ether and received nothing, or worse, received dismissive, hurtful replies in return. That’s fully what I was expecting when I posted about the Paul Frank “Dream Catchin’ Powwow” on Sunday, especially after the company posted the quick, standard apology on their Facebook page.

So I was surprised, and admittedly skeptical, when I got this email on Wednesday from Elie Dekel, the President of Paul Frank Industries:

Dear Adrienne K,  

My name is Elie Dekel and I am President of Paul Frank Industries LLC. I am writing to see if you would be willing to speak with me regarding the recent Paul Frank event. While we have not yet received your letter [AK note: I only had emailed it to the PR company], we have seen the copy online and would like to address your concerns directly. This is something we take very seriously, and since the event, we have begun to take numerous steps to address this regrettable and unfortunate situation. I’d like to talk with you so I can update you on what we’re doing as well as hear more from you, so we learn from this mistake. If you would be interested in speaking with me, please let me know how best to reach you and when you might be available.  

Sincerely, 

Elie Dekel

There were some hints in the email that this wasn’t going to be my typical dismissive conversation (they want to learn from their mistake?! They’ve taken steps to address the situation?!), so I was already feeling better about the whole thing going into the call. Mr. Dekel also reached out to Jessica Metcalfe (of Beyond Buckskin), so we decided to have a conference call with the three of us. Unfortunately, Ms. Beyond Buckskin is in Canada for a visit, and her phone was being mean and wouldn’t let her call in. So I talked to Mr. Dekel on my own (but then immediately filled in Jessica afterward, don’t worry). She’s going to be following up with him next week when she’s back home.

The phone call went so much better than I could have even imagined. Elie was gracious, sincere, and kind from the beginning, and truly apologetic. He took full responsibility for the event, and said he wanted to make sure that this was something that never happened again, and wanted to learn more so he could educate his staff and colleagues. We talked about the history of representations of Native people in the US, and I even got into the issues of power and privilege at play–and the whole time, he actually listened, and understood. Such a refreshing experience.

I could go on and on about the call, but enough background, here are the incredible, amazing, mind-boggling action steps that the company has taken and has promised to take in the near future:

  • They have already removed all of the Native inspired designs from their digital/online imprint 
  • The company works off a “Style Guide” that includes all of the digital art for the company, and then separate manufacturing companies license those images and turn them into products. Elie and his staff have gone through the style guide, even into the archives, and removed all of the Native imagery, meaning no future products will be produced with these images.
  • They have sent (or it will be sent today) a letter to all of their manufacturers and partners saying none of this artwork is authorized for use and it has been removed from their business
  • Elie has invited Jessica and I to collaborate with him on a panel about the use of Native imagery in the industry to be held at the International Licensing Merchandisers Association (LIMA) conference in June. This would reach a large and incredibly influential audience all in one place.
and the MOST exciting part:
  • Paul Frank Industries would like to collaborate with a Native artist to make designs, where the proceeds would be donated to a Native cause!
Elie said he wants to learn how this can be done in an appropriate and respectful manner, and that they’re not “looking to profit” from this. On top of it, we’ve set actionable next steps to make all of this happen, and he’s even assigned staff members to stay on it so it doesn’t slip through the cracks. 
I’m seriously still in disbelief–this is beyond a best case scenario. This is taking a relatively isolated event, and bringing it to a history-making level. These interactions with Mr. Dekel and Paul Frank can set the stage and create a model for any company in the future to follow, and by taking steps like the artist collaboration and the conference presentation, we’re reaching far beyond the walls of Paul Frank. 
I often hear push back about the impossibility of pulling images or dealing with manufacturers on a large scale, but this just goes to show that when there is actual interest and dedication by company leadership, amazing things can happen. 
I want to thank all of you who’ve been involved with this since the beginning–this was truly the result of some incredible community mobilization. The outpouring of tweets and facebook comments throughout this all has been what has kept the company accountable and started the ball rolling to make some real and meaningful change. This was all you! 
I also want to thank Elie and the staff at Paul Frank for being proactive with the steps they’ve taken, and for being so sincere on the phone call. I have no doubts that this is going to happen, and it’s going to be done right. I’m also very excited that Jessica and I can bring our two areas of expertise together!
Welcome to 2012 friends, when an incredibly spread-out, incredibly diverse community of  Native people and allies can unite for a cause, and use the internet to hold multi-million dollar companies accountable. I’m so proud to be Native right now. Today is an awesome day. 
Earlier:
Paul Frank offends every Native person on the planet with Fashion Night Out “Dream Catchin’ Pow wow”
Beyond Buckskin: Paul Frank’s Racist Powwow

PS–I also wanted to draw your attention to this letter released by Mr. Paul Frank, who no longer works for Paul Frank Industries. He wants to make sure we all know that he (as a person) had nothing to do with the event.

Paul Frank offends every Native person on the planet with Fashion Night Out "Dream Catchin’ Pow wow"

In Dream Catchin with Paul Frank, Fashions Night Out, hipster headdress, Paul Frank, playing indian, stereotypes by Adrienne K.Leave a Comment

Fashion’s Night Out is now in its fourth year–an annual night for residents of New York, LA, and other fashionable cities to get dressed up in sky-high heels and totter from retail outlet to retail outlet, pushing through hoards of similarly clad city dwellers attempting to partake in free cocktails and canapes. Stores host “celebrity” appearances–though it seems to be mostly reality stars and folks whose 15 minutes may have faded a few years ago. Overall it’s a fun-filled chance to celebrate fashion and leave a huge mess behind for working class folks to clean up.

Do I sound bitter and jaded about this “fun” and “fashionable” night of joyous revelry? I am. I am, because this year for Fashion’s Night Out, the PR team at Paul Frank in LA decided they would host an event called “Dream Catchin’ with Paul Frank” a “pow wow celebrating Fashion’s Night Out.” The Hollywood Reporter described the event as:

…a neon-Native American powwow theme. Glow-in-the-dark war-painted employees in feather headbands and bow and arrows invited guests to be photographed on a mini-runway holding prop tomahawks.

Jessica Metcalfe at Beyond Buckskin posted the photos of the event last night on her FB page, and I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Just looking at the flyer posted above was enough to send me into a cultural appropriation Hulk rage. How clever, the font of the “Dream Catchin'” looks like teepees! How clever, the Paul Frank monkey is wearing warpaint and a sacred headdress! How clever, we put him in the center of a dream catcher, complete with pony beads and neon feathers!

The Paul Frank Facebook page posted well over 1,000 photos of party-goers posing on their runway with plastic tomahawks and headdresses. After the firestorm of criticism last night (more on that in a minute), all the photos are down off the page as of this morning. But minor internet sleuthing still produces plenty of evidence. Photos like this one:

and this one:

Luckily our friend @bright_moments was able to fix the photos for us:

That’s singer Christina Milian, by the way. Here’s a close-up of the provided “props” for the runway shots:

Headdresses, plastic bows and arrows, plastic neon tomahawks, even some antlers. But it gets even worse. Check out the bar:

here’s a side shot:

First off, that’s a painted cow skull, on a bar. Then the sign says, cheerfully, “Pow Wow and have a drink now!” and the three drinks are labeled “Rain Dance Refresher,” “Dream Catcher,” and “Neon Teepee.” There is absolutely nothing offensive about that set up, at all. Nope. Arghalkshjfbghlsfdh.

Here are a few more assorted pictures from the evening, and Zimbio has a bunch more if you’re curious:

There are so, so many things about this event that are upsetting to me that I don’t even really know where to start. It is such a statement about the state of our society that this event was allowed to go off without a hitch. Think about how many layers of approval these things go through, and not one person at Paul Frank, or in the PR company they hired (Red Light PR), thought this was problematic.

One thing that made me happy about the whole thing was the outpouring of anger and rage by the facebook and twitter community. There were hundreds of comments and tweets in the course of a few hours last night, and there was only one (literally, one) comment I saw that defended the party as “fun” and told commenters to “get over it.” Compared to pretty much every other event or issue I’ve discussed on the blog, that is remarkable. It gives me hope that the word is starting to get out about how seriously effed up the continued misrepresentation and stereotyping of Native people is, and that it is high time for it to change.

One other troubling aspect to these photos is the number of people of color engaged in “playing Indian.” I don’t kid myself to think that these issues are limited to the dynamics of power between white folks and Native folks, but its honestly hard to see people from other marginalized communities jumping on the bandwagon to oppress another group. Definitely a bigger discussion for another time, but just wanted to draw your attention to it.

Without further ado, in typical Native Approps/Adrienne K. fashion (ha, punny), here’s my open letter to the company:

Dear Staff of Paul Frank LA and Red Light PR, 

My name is Adrienne K., I am a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and I write a blog called Native Appropriations. I write about representations of Native people in the media and popular culture, and last night (9/8/2012), photos from your Fashion’s Night Out event “Dream Catchin’ with Paul Frank” were brought to my attention. I am extremely troubled and concerned with many aspects of the event, and I honestly felt like someone had punched me in the stomach when I first loaded the photos posted on your Facebook page.  

To begin, the image of the Paul Frank monkey in “warpaint” and a headdress is incredibly problematic. Headdresses are considered sacred in Native communities and are reserved for the most respected and revered leaders. To place one on the head of a monkey trivializes the sacred and respected nature of the warbonnet, and paints Native people as sub-human. There is an entire painful history of people of color being equated with primates, and images such as this echo to that past. I’ve written an entire post about why wearing “hipster headdresses” is offensive, which can be found here, and breaks down the argument more completely.  

In addition to the monkey imagery, party goers were encouraged to “play Indian” with plastic tomahawks and bows and arrows, resulting in photos of fake “scalping,” “war whooping,” and other extremely hurtful stereotypes. I have also written extensively about the issues surrounding “playing Indian” and dressing up as Native peoples for Halloween and other theme parties. This practice is exactly akin to providing props for party guests to dress in blackface for photos, a practice that I’m sure would not bode well for your brand.  

Powwows in Native communities are social events, but are also spiritual and closely tied to traditional culture. Photos from your event show a sign on the bar reading “Pow wow and have a drink now!” with drinks called “Rain Dance Refresher,” “Dream Catcher,” and “Neon Teepee.” The vast majority of contemporary powwows celebrate sobriety and are very explicit about the prohibition of alcohol and drugs on powwow grounds. To associate the consumption of alcohol with a powwow is disrespectful, especially given the history of alcoholism in our communities.  

There were also many children at the event, and your celebrity appearances were tween Disney stars. As a result, now these children in attendance are being acculturated into thinking that Native peoples are one-sided stereotypes of feathers, warpaint, and weapons, and that playing Indian is perfectly acceptable and fun. My young cousins worship anything to do with these starlets, and I know there are many other young girls who do the same, and that worries me to no end.  

The bottom line is this: your event stereotypes and demeans Native cultures, collapsing hundreds of distinct tribal and cultural groups into one “tribal” mish-mash, thereby erasing our individual identities and contemporary existence. Until 1978 with the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, Native peoples could be arrested for practicing traditional spirituality–many aspects of which you mocked in your party theme. While the theme may have seemed “fun” and “playful” to you, to me as a Native person, it just represents our continued invisibility. When society only sees us as the images you presented, it means that our modern issues of poverty don’t exist, nor do our modern efforts like schooling and economic development through sovereignty and nation building. We have sophisticated tribal governments and communities, but how will we be able to be seen as modern, successful people if we are continually represented through plastic tomahawks and feathers?  

You may have mental images of Native people stuck in the historic past, sitting around in tipis and smoking peace pipes, but if last night’s reaction on Twitter and Facebook showed you anything, I hope it showed you that we are contemporary peoples who enjoy fashion and fun, but don’t tolerate when our cultures are stereotyped and sacred aspects are trivialized. We don’t all run around with tomahawks and bows and arrows, or war whoop and say “how.” We do, however, mobilize as a diverse yet connected community through technology, and continue to fight for our living cultures to be celebrated in respectful and meaningful ways. 

While I commend you for taking down the thousands of photos from the Paul Frank facebook page, I encourage you to issue an apology or statement surrounding the event, and let us know how you plan to remedy the situation. Hundreds of Native people and allies responded to the photos last night, and we are all waiting to hear from you.  

Thank you,
Adrienne K. 

UPDATE 9/10:
Mere minutes after my post went up, Paul Frank issued this apology on their Facebook page:

Paul Frank celebrates diversity and is inspired by many rich cultures from around the world. The theme of our Fashion’s Night Out event was in no way meant to disrespect the Native American culture, however due to some comments we have received we are removing all photos from the event and would like to formally and sincerely apologize. Thank you everyone for your feedback and support.

The fact they apologized is good, but clearly it’s the classic “sorry you were offended” rather than “sorry we were offensive” response. They should read this post next time. But baby steps, I guess?

Especially since Ms. Metcalfe at Beyond Buckskin came across these designs last night:

I also emailed my letter to the PR company directly, and have yet to hear a response.

Other coverage of the party:

Beyond Buckskin: Paul Frank’s Racist Powwow
Indian Country Today: Paul Frank Offends with Dream Catchin’ Party
Oh No They Didn’t: Disney Stars (& Others) Attend Paul Frank ‘PowWow’ Mocking Native Americans
Uncle Paulie’s World: Designer Paul Frank’s Technicolor “Dream Catchin’ Pow Wow” Furthers Native American Stereotypes

Ecko "Weekend Warrior" Update: "the intentions of the Weekend Warrior line were never to be racist, but to be fun."

In Ecko, headdress shirt, non apology, skull headdress, stereotyping, weekend warrior by Adrienne K.Leave a Comment

On Thursday I posted about Ecko Unltd’s disturbing “Weekend Warrior” line featuring headdresses on skulls, and tied it into a larger trend featuring similar images. A reader went over to the Ecko FB page and posted a link to my blog post, as well as another link that shows adorable Native kiddos talking about mascots and stereotyping. Ecko’s response?

“Hi , the intentions of the Weekend Warrior line were never to be racist, but to be fun and take a look at youth culture in 2012. It’s highlighting the melting pot of cultures that now make up our wonderful culture. Email me at social@ecko.com if you wish to continue this discussion.”

I normally don’t get fired up enough after 5pm to blog, but this pisses me off. Guys, don’t worry, it’s not racist because the “intentions…were never to be racist”! DUH. Who the heck besides maybe some white-supremacist or crazy anti-Obama hate group sets out to make something intentionally racist? If Mark Ecko sat in a room and was like “Hey designers, I think it would be really great this season if we did something intentionally racist towards Native Americans,” then we’d have a bigger issue on our hands.


Dudes, just because you didn’t *mean* to do something racist doesn’t excuse you from the consequences of your actions. I feel like I say this a lot on the blog. I will now draw an example from one of my favorite pieces of writing on the internet–“Intent: It’s Effing Magic”–if you got all drunk and hopped behind the wheel of a car and killed a pedestrian, does it matter if you didn’t intend to kill them? Absolutely not. You made decisions that led to an outcome that you’ll have to deal with, regardless of if you’re actually a good person who just made an incredibly stupid mistake. Now don’t freak out and think I’m trying to draw an even comparison between these two events. I’m trying to make a point. Actions have consequences, regardless of intent.

But let’s also talk about the other parts of this response. So we’ve established they didn’t intend to be racist. Great. But instead of racist, it was supposed to be “fun”! This reminds me a lot of the Spirit Hoods and Yay Life Tribe convos we had a while back. Tucker, the “chief” of the Yay Life Tribe said, in the quote that started it all, “You guys are amazing. You are taking a product that actually adds happiness to the world and make it come off as some jab at native americans.” Right, it’s our fault. It makes us out to be the overly-sensitive party poopers who are ruining something that is SO awesome, and how DARE we take offense when it was supposed to be light-hearted and fun. That, my friends, is some colonizer gaslighting right there. That’s a means of asserting power, even if subconsciously. If I, a member of the group being depicted in your “fun” clothing line, take offense to it, it. is. offensive. 

Then it continues. The line wanted to “take a look at youth culture in 2012. It’s highlighting the melting pot of cultures that now make up our wonderful culture.” The celebration of the myth of the melting pot always gets me. Melting pot requires assimilation. Melting pot requires that cultures give up their individual characteristics for the benefit of a broader unifying “culture” (which is why some multi-cultural educators now push for the metaphor of a “salad bowl”), which is how colonialism works. We’ve had plenty of that assimilation stuff, and it didn’t work out too well. But that’s an aside. The other subtext is that Native people aren’t included in this “wonderful culture” you speak of. Because you’re “highlighting” dead Indians. Not live ones. There is not a highlighting of the current contributions of Native peoples–just a reminder that Indians are extinct in your eyes. 


So apologies to the poor social media intern at Ecko that I just eviscerated, but after over two years of blogging about these issues, it just gets frustrating to see the same, tired, offensive responses to Native peoples’ objections to being portrayed in stereotypical and demeaning ways that make light of sacred traditions and practices. 


Here, this is what you should have said (totally wishful thinking, I know):


“Hi , on behalf of the Ecko Unltd brand, I offer my deepest apologies for the disrespectful and offensive imagery that we employed in our most recent line. While we had no intention to cause pain to Native communities, we now realize how our actions were hurtful and harmful. We will be pulling all of the advertising and signage featuring the “warrior” image, as well as removing the image from the homepage of our website, especially the image of the model wearing the warbonnet. While we unfortunately cannot pull the rest of the line from stores, we will be donating all of the proceeds from the sales of the “weekend warrior” line to charities that benefit Native communities. This incident has caused us in the Ecko offices to reflect on the ways that we, even unconsciously, have contributed to the stereotyping and misrepresentation of Native peoples, so we have decided that our next line will be a collaboration with a Native artist, who can represent Native cultures and perspectives in a contemporary and respectful way.” 


A girl can dream. 


Earlier:
Ecko’s Weekend Warrior Line and Headdressed Skulls Everywhere

Ecko’s "Weekend Warrior" Line and Headdressed Skulls Everywhere

In Ecko, headdress, headdress shirt, hipster headdress, Macys, skull headdress, urban outfitters by Adrienne K.21 Comments

Yesterday my BFF and biggest fan Marj texted me this image from the Ecko outlet in Washington. I believe my exact response was “OMG wtf?!?!” Notice at the bottom the tagline is “Party your face off.” Yeah, not offensive at all.

So I turned to the googles to see what this was all about. A quick search brought me to the Ecko homepage, which prominently features the line up front and center, called “Weekend Warrior.” The image is below. So, the headdressed skull is bad enough–more on that in a second–but look a little closer…


Um, NO. Your model is NOT wearing a headdress too???

Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t seem to find the line for sale on the actual Ecko website, though it is available in other online stores, like Macy’s:

This headdressed-skull thing is a problematic trend that has been popping up everywhere. From “mainstream” retailers like our good friend Urban Outfitters: 
To more “Indie” designers like “No Wire Hangers” (they have a TON of questionable ish on their site):
A couple of weeks ago in SF, my friends and I even went stalker status on a guy in Bootie SF wearing a a similar tee (thanks to John for the 50 variations of this picture on my camera, ha):
There’s plenty more all over the internet, but I think you may be starting to see my point. 
Let’s break it down. Clearly this is problematic on many levels. Beyond the usual arguments against the hipster headdress, there’s something deeper here. I don’t think anyone can argue with the fact that skulls are associated with death. So if you put a skull with a headdress, the first jump I make is to “dead Indian”–just me? I don’t think anyone can go for the “honoring” argument here (although I won’t be surprised if they try). This, to me, is playing into the narratives of Indians existing only in the past, or Indians are extinct, or Indians were brave warriors who no longer exist today. It also, like all the Plains Indian stereotypes, solidifies the one-dimensional “warrior” image that doesn’t represent the hundreds and hundreds of tribal nations still around today. 
Back in 2010, James Branum, a lawyer in Oklahoma, posted about his interactions with a company in OK City called “War Paint Clothing” who were selling a similar shirt (Rob at Newspaper Rock covered it as well). He makes some excellent points, and I definitely recommend heading over to his post to read the entirety of his interactions with the company:

I first think about the famous line, “the only good Indian is a dead Indian,” (a quote sometimes attributed to General Sheridan, but more likely a paraphrase from a line out of Congressional floor speech of Congressman James M. Cavanaugh from 1868) and the way our society in past generations honored the “noble savage” who either died off or was assimilated into white society, but refused to give any honor to real live Indians in the present day who resisted both death and assimilation. 

Or to say it another way, if you want to honor native Americans, why not make a shirt of a hero from our history, or even show the face of someone alive today (who is resisting genocide, simply by living out native values and culture)? Why is it that only dead Indians, and abstract/stereotypical Indians who get celebrated? 

The image of the skull also brings to mind the Indian remains held in many museums to this day. There is an ongoing fight to return those remains to their people and to the earth (see Return2theearth.org and the wikipedia article on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act for a bit of this history), but the fight isn’t over. The graves of Native dead have been desecrated for many years, and many remains are still in museums. 

Finally, I’m not aware of any Plains Indian tribe that would be comfortable with this imagery (and I’m discussing it in that context, because the stylized image is of a stereotypical plains style headdress — I know Natives in other culture, especially in Mexico have different cultural ideas about skulls). Some plain tribes use animal skulls for ceremonial purposes (i.e. the buffalo skull in the Sun Dance), but those skulls are normally used in a sacred manner. The use of a human skull on a t-shirt would be incomprehensible.

I think those major take away points–“The only good Indian is a dead Indian,” the continued celebration of only dead or stereotypical Indian imagery, the ongoing fight over Native remains in museums and educational institutions, and the overall sacredness of human remains (and headdresses) in our communities–are exactly spot on. This trend is symptomatic of an overall disrespect of Native peoples and cultures, as well as a convenient amnesia of the genocide of Native peoples in this country. As with most of the images on this blog, one shirt in isolation may not be a problem. But when you start to peel back the layers and see how deep these issues run, and how ubiquitous these images are, you begin to realize the depth of the problem. This isn’t a one-off shirt in a window. This is a lens into how Native people are viewed in the United States. 
For more info: 
Earlier: