April 13, 2011

Y-Guides still stereotype Indians

Someone on Facebook posted the following. He couldn't believe the Y-Indian Guides still exist....but they do. Apparently they call themselves the Y-Guides now--omitting the word "Indian," which is kind of stupid since they refer to Indians constantly. More to the point, their terms and customs are as stereotypical as ever:

Great Coastal Nation

West Orange County Family YMCA
Indian Guides




Comment:  Native singing, "tribes," "braves," a drum, a teepee, a "medicine man," the "Great Spirit," a talking stick, Indian names, Tonto talk ("heap good"), and a woo-woo chant to show approval. The only thing they don't do is wear headbands with feathers, although they do don headdresses occasionally (below).

Note:  Perhaps realizing how racist this video was, the "Great Coastal Nation" made it private. But you can still see a bit of their shenanigans in the initial image.

For more on the subject, see The Y-Indian Guides.

8 comments:

Jaine said...

what the hell
so Y Guides is kinda of like an Indian themed Boy Scouts and they play at being Indian whilst living consumeristic middle class lives? Ew

none said...

This isn't real. Is this for real? Tell me this isn't for real!! That's just...wow.

I have this sudden urge to bang my head off my desk and I'm not sure why. o_o

dmarks said...

It's for real... memories come back. I'm pretty sure I was in it.

dmarks said...

"...Tonto talk ("heap good")..."

Question: Does the use of such phrases as "many moons" and "...With Wolves" in an opinion piece about Leonard Peltier smack of racism/stereotypes to you (Rob and other readers) ?

Jaine said...

I would have to read the article you are referring to dmarks. Though "heap good" is not grammatically correct whereas 'many moons' and 'with wolves' are.

Anonymous said...

Dear Lord...I thought they just studied Indian nations and dressed up. I had no idea it was this bad. Literally made my flesh crawl! There are lots of Guide and Princess groups here. I don't go to the local parades because they make up at least a third of them. Ack!

Anonymous said...

So the video is private? what kind of blog posting is that?

Rob said...

It's the kind of blog posting where the organization makes its video private after others point out how embarrassing and offensive it is.

Fortunately, the initial screen still gives you a hint of the "Great Coastal Nation's" stereotypical approach. You can take my word for the rest of the video's content.

P.S. I was briefly a member of the Y-Indian Guides or the Woodcraft Rangers too.