Disney World Performance Featuring Racist Stereotypes Of Native Americans Draws Criticism
18.03.2022 - 22:33
/ deadline.com
What’s been a bad stretch for Disney Parks’ self-declared “Inclusion” initiative got a little worse this week as video surfaced online of a high school cheer team from Texas performing a routine at Walt Disney World that contained racist stereotypes of Native Americans.
The Port Neches-Groves “Indianettes” High School drill team wore fringed costumes and did dance moves reminiscent of those seen in Native American cultures on the park’s Main Street this week. Their cheer included the words “scalp ’em Indians, scalp ’em” repeated as they performed.
Tara Houska, an Ojibwe tribal attorney and former advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders, tweeted the video and wrote: “Cuz a bunch of kids in fringe chanting “scalp ‘em Indians, scalp ‘em” is honor, right? And any Natives who attend @pngisd should prolly just accept their classmates dehumanizing them cuz “tradition”, right? Shame on @DisneyParks hosting this.”
Houska ended with, “Nostalgic racism is RACISM.”
Cuz a bunch of kids in fringe chanting “scalp ‘em Indians, scalp ‘em” is honor, right?
And any Natives who attend @pngisd should prolly just accept their classmates dehumanizing them cuz “tradition”, right?
Shame on @DisneyParks hosting this. Nostalgic racism is RACISM. pic.twitter.com/ELsJHRgJlw
— tara houska ᔖᐳᐌᑴ (@zhaabowekwe) March 18, 2022
Kelly Lynne D’Angelo, a writer on TNT’s Miracle Workers retweeted Houska’s post and added, “99% percent of the people sharing their outrage about this are Native people. Can’t you see that’s the problem too?
“Why must WE be the ones to speak up of all the blatant racism against us? Of our constant mistreatment? Why must we fight, tooth and nail, for you to understand we are human and alive and thriving too?
“Because the thing is: our ways were