No matter how well-intentioned, this kind of comedy only really works in a world where opportunity itself is equal
By Nico Lang
August 31, 2016
Racist stereotypes in Sausage Party
“Sausage Party”’s race problem: This “equal opportunity offender” is just plain offensive
No matter how well-intentioned, this kind of comedy only really works in a world where opportunity itself is equal
By Nico LangHumphrey also pointed to Firewater, a Native American chief played by Bill Hader, who is distressingly reminiscent of the redface caricatures in “Peter Pan.” Like the Indian Chief in the Disney feature, he speaks in “grunts and uses sign language.”
No matter how well-intentioned, this kind of comedy only really works in a world where opportunity itself is equal
By Nico Lang
August 30, 2016
Totem Vodka
Totem Vodka and Indigenous Cultural Appropriation
When, if ever, is it acceptable to adopt the cultural icons of an outside group?
By Alexandra RodneyTotem poles are important symbolic creations of some First Nations families in Canada’s Pacific Northwest. They are symbols of family lineage that serve to document stories or histories of people, communities, or clans. The Totem Vodka bottle and marketing images erases these families while appropriating their symbols.
The bottle stopper is shaped like a Thunderbird, a supernatural bird that causes thunder and lightning according to First Nations mythology. The Thunderbird crest is traditionally carved on the totem poles of people from the Thunderbird clan of the Kwakwaka’wakw nations (on Vancouver Island).
When, if ever, is it acceptable to adopt the cultural icons of an outside group?
By Alexandra Rodney
The bottle stopper is shaped like a Thunderbird, a supernatural bird that causes thunder and lightning according to First Nations mythology. The Thunderbird crest is traditionally carved on the totem poles of people from the Thunderbird clan of the Kwakwaka’wakw nations (on Vancouver Island).
August 27, 2016
The Indians Are Coming in The Beverly Hillbillies
The Indians Are Coming
Episode aired 1 February 1967When Crowfoot Indians come to Beverly Hills to discuss a boundary dispute at the Clampett oil field, Granny prepares for war. 
John Wayne on The Beverly HillbilliesThroughout the episode Granny wishes John Wayne were present to help fight the Injuns. He shows up at the very end in a brief cameo appearance.
Episode aired 1 February 1967
John Wayne on The Beverly Hillbillies
August 26, 2016
Indians in Laramie
I recently caught one or two episodes of the old Western TV show Laramie. Its attitude toward Natives wasn't bad for the times.
Here are the two episodes that come up when you search for "Laramie TV show Indians."
Wolf Cub
Episode aired 21 November 1961Jess rescues a crippled Blackfoot boy from a scalp hunter. Several of the Blackfoot have escaped the reservation with the Army rounding up most of them. With tensions high Mike and the boy leave putting both into danger from both sides. The Perfect Gift
Episode aired 2 January 1962After saving the life of an Arapaho girl in a fire and helping acquit her in a trial for killing a man, Slim finds her his possession due to Arapaho law. When she won't leave him, he takes her in but soon finds he has feelings for her.
Here are the two episodes that come up when you search for "Laramie TV show Indians."
Wolf Cub
Episode aired 21 November 1961
Episode aired 2 January 1962
August 25, 2016
August 20, 2016
Chippewa adoption in The Good Wife
The Good Wife: A Weird Year (5.22)The lawsuit that hangs over Alicia's head: The $6-million suit that's on the periphery of the episode and gets the central story rolling has been a recurring plot point this season. Alicia is being blamed for David Lee's attempted bribery of the Chippewa Nation, which screwed up an adoption. Why? Because Lockhart-Gardner bribed an associate with a partnership to secure his testimony pinning the blame on Alicia. Some of the facts of the case are based on Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, in which a couple from South Carolina adopted a child in 2009. Two years later, the child's biological father, a member of the Cherokee Nation, contested the adoption on the grounds that he wasn't properly notified, and the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) set guidelines for how parental rights for members of Native-American tribes can be relinquished. In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the relevant sections of the ICWA do not apply when the parent in question never had custody of the child. In 2013, the adoption of "Baby Veronica" was finalized.
August 16, 2016
Aborigines look like dinosaurs?!
'They look terrible... they are like dinosaurs': Outrage over world-famous performance artist Marina Abramovic's 'racist' description of Aborigines in her memoir'Aborigines are not just the oldest race in Australia; they are the oldest race on the planet. They look like dinosaurs,' the passage reads.