July 09, 2007

Disneyland's small, stereotypical world

It's a small worldSpent yesterday at Disneyland in Anaheim, noting the presence of what I'll generously call "American Indians" at "It's a Small World."

As you can see, the "Indian" is wearing a large feathered headdress. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know this representation is THE image of an Indian, as seen in children's books, toys, and other media.

So, it is no surprise to see this at Disneyland...(Excerpted from Debbie Reese's American Indians in Children's Literature, 7/3/07.)

Comment:  For more on the subject, see Disneyland:  Where Seldom Is Heard a Discouraging Word.
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1 comment:

  1. writerfella2:48 AM

    Writerfella here --
    Long ago and far away when writerfella first visited Disneyland in the 1950s, there once were 'Indian canoes' that roamed a supposed set of Rivers of America, in each of which a guide led children in the rowing. Then there was a village where Natives in movie-type costuming went about supposed Native daily life, and then a frontier fort that had just suffered an Indian attack, with arrow-filled dummies that supposedly were dead settlers and walls that were on fire. All that is gone now and believe writerfella, what you see now is but a shadow of what Disneyland once represented!
    All Best
    Russ Bates
    'writerfella'

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