January 27, 2012

"Shit People Say to Native Americans"

Following the "Shit White People Say" video, people have made myriads of videos lampooning one group or another. Here are two videos showing what ignorant non-Indians say about Indians:





And an explanation of how the first video came about:

Video Co-Producer of “Sh*t People Say to Native Americans” Responds, Comments and Shares

By She the Bear (Britt Reed)It is always a constant uphill battle on Tumblr, as in life, to see accurate representations of ourselves and to have non-natives see us for who we believe we are instead of the caricatures. We have and will continue to do our best to battle the racism and ignorance thrust at us in our daily lives.

As part of our process, we came together one night as a community and began listing off the things that we have personally had directed towards us or have been directed towards people that we know. The Cherokee rolls/bread was a particular favorite that someone had said to someone. The list was part of a larger effort to get people to realize the kinds of ignorant things they often say.

Ali had been gracious enough to pull together the things that we had all listed and put together this video. Going along with the current meme at hand, i.e. the target of oppression dressing up as the agent of oppression and listing off the b.s. directed at them, she agreed to be the face for us on this video as she is aware that she is passes as white, though she is Blackfeet.

We never expected this video to get big outside of Tumblr (considering all that was going on and our fight to have folks realize that not all native people fit the stereotypical image that the Americans and Canadians have of us).
Comment:  For more on the subject, see Pepper Ann Dances with Ignorance and Truth vs. Twilight.

No comments: