Pocahontas by Dingo Pictures

Pocahontas (Dingo Pictures)Dingo Pictures bring us their horrid take on Pocahontas but more importantly this is Wabuu’s origin story!

Trump's racist "Pocahontas" label

Some initial thoughts on Donald Trump's tagging Sen. Elizabeth Warren with the racist label "Pocahontas":

Trump questions whether Elizabeth Warren is Native American amid feud

Trump's casual racism toward Native Americans

Donald Trump's Pocahontas comment draws objection from Calgary writer

Donald Trump Shrugs Off Calls by Native Americans to Apologize for ‘Pocahontas’ Jokes

Trump’s Very Use of Pocahontas’s Name Is Disrespectful

Elizabeth Warren May Not Be Native American, But That Doesn’t Make Donald Trump Right

Column: Pocahontas' reality vs. Donald Trump's racialized misogyny

Trump’s Last Stand

"Inexcusable" Pocahontas Division cartoon

This Funny Isn't Funny; It's Racist and Sexist

By Simon Moya-SmithHere’s what you see in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph editorial cartoon:

A Native American woman in tears, looking circa 18th century in buckskin and fringe, bound at the wrists, barefoot, while some white business-cretin in a suit jubilantly leads her against her will from a building reading “Norfolk Southern Pocahontas Division,” pulling at her like an animal on a leash to somewhere off the page.

As you’ve possibly already surmised, this editorial is not only racist–it’s sexist.

At a time when thousands of Native American women (who are 2.5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than any other demographic) are going missing or found murdered and buried AND BURNED by evil motherfuckers who whimper and cry when caught, this type of assholery is inexcusable. Inexcusable. In-fucking-excusable!

Now, I did a little digging and found out the illustration, published on Facebook on January 17, was a result of Norfolk Southern, a railroad company, relocating its Pocahontas Division about a two-hour drive away–“a move that will impact management and staff positions in Bluefield,” Greg Jordan of the Telegraph reported.

Atlantic's "influential" list omits Indians

Here's another list of the "top" Americans along with my comments:

Atlantic Magazine Listed the “100 Most Influential Figures in American History” And Didn’t Put a Single Native American on the List

A good list in some ways; a bad list in others.

They seem to have confused "important" and "influential." As these lists often do. They aren't the same thing.

They also seem to have confused the person and the accomplishment. The telegraph may have influenced the course of the country, but Samuel Morse didn't. Not enough to put him on the list.

They gave artists and "pop" celebrities short shrift. And despite Elvis, went mostly for establishment figures. Herman Melville? P.T. Barnum? Stephen Foster? William Faulkner? Louis Armstrong? How about Bob Dylan, John Wayne, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, or Michael Jordan? I'd put one or two of these choices against all five of Atlantic's choices in terms of influence.

The Native alternatives

As for Natives, who would be the no. 1 choice? Perhaps Geronimo. From both sides--Native and non-Native--he must be the icon of Indianness. Natives see him as a savage resistance fighter determined to be free. Non-Natives see him as simply the ultimate savage.

Who else? Siting Bull? Pocahontas? I'm not sure how much they accomplished, but they were hugely influential as symbols. One or both of them could go on the list also.

Tecumseh may qualify as the most accomplished Native in American history. But his accomplishment--building a widespread tribal coalition--fell apart at the end. So I'm not sure how much influence it had on the course of US history.

Anyone else? Sacagawea? She had one big accomplishment: keeping Lewis and Clark alive during the winter of 1805-6. But that was a single small role in a major expedition, and it's not clear how influential the expedition was. I wouldn't include her.

Jim Thorpe? He was hugely accomplished, but I'm not sure how his accomplishments influenced anyone else. Or changed the course of history. The historians may have been right to limit sports figures to people like Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth.

The code talkers? Maybe if one of them had singlehandedly created and operated the group. But you can't have a group of 400 or whatever in a list like this. Otherwise you'd have to nominate George Washington's or FDR's Cabinet. Or the soldiers who landed at Normandy.

Why Indians?

Despite the "influential" tag, much of this list is about symbolism. For instance, Jackie Robinson didn't integrate baseball or other sports by himself. He's important as the first person to break the color--as a symbol of change. But if he hadn't been first, someone else would've been.

Like Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, Robinson didn't cause the change himself. He represented the forces of change working their way through society. He "influenced" history by being in the right place at the right time.

For the first century, most of America's "foreign" policy concerned the Indian question. Turner's Frontier Thesis argued that we defined ourselves in relation to the wild West--i.e., Indians. Taming the wilderness, turning "savagery" into civilization, is America's founding myth.

Symbolically, Indians loomed huge in our imagination. They played a much greater role than their actual numbers or accomplishments suggested. Therefore, you could easily argue for including one or more of them on the list. They were prominent for half our history, so they deserve some spots.

For more on the subject, see 100 Most Significant Americans? and Indians in the Celebrity 100.

Jenner and Hilton in stereotypical costumes

For this year's offensive Halloween costumes, we have Kylie Jenner as an "Eskimo" and Nicky Hilton as a Pocahottie:

Kylie Jenner and Nicky Hilton Wore Some Pretty Offensive Halloween Costumes This Year

You can see the costumes there. A typical criticism:

Bristol Palin defends Kylie Jenner's 'Eskimo' Halloween costumeHey @KylieJenner Eskimo is an Indigenous people NOT a Halloween costume #CulturalAppropriation #RacistHalloween pic.twitter.com/iNSMOvcWgF

— Nakkiah Lui (@nakkiahlui) October 31, 2015And speaking for ignorant conservatives, we have Bristol Palin with two common defenses of racism: "I'm part Native" and "lighten up."

Bristol Palin Defends Kylie Jenner's 'Eskimo' Halloween Costume

Comment:  For more offenses from the Jenner and Hilton clans, see Khloe Kardashian in a Headdress, Again and Paris Hilton as a Sexy Indian.

Pocahontas float stereotypes Indians

Utah school's ‘Pocahontas’ parade float has some calling for cultural education

By Benjamin WoodAdministrators at Copper Hills High School are getting a lesson in cultural sensitivity after a Disney-themed homecoming parade last week resulted in accusations of disrespect for American Indian history.

In addition to little mermaids, Caribbean pirates, and beauties and beasts, Thursday's parade included a "Pocahontas" float complete with a tepee and cheerleaders dressed as American Indians as portrayed in the animated film.

The next night, during the school's homecoming football game, members of the Copper Hills American Indian Student Association collected more than 190 signatures on a petition calling for cultural awareness and tolerance.

"Our culture is not your costume," said Shelby Snyder, a Copper Hills junior and the association's president. "When people dress up as Pocahontas, it just makes it seem like they're mocking our culture and making fun of our culture."Pocahontas float at high school homecoming parade sparks outrage from Native American students

By Tamara VaifanuaMatt Hunsaker was surprised when his daughter told him about the backlash over her costume and float. He says it was all in good fun.

“I don’t believe in any sense that these girls would have intentionally try to hurt anybody,” Hunsaker said.

James Singer, a blogger, and Native American activist wrote an article blasting the school for perpetuating stereotypes.

“Racism today looks like this. This is 21st century racism. It’s different than looking at something like Chip and Dale or Mickey Mouse dressing up as that. It’s not the same as someone’s culture. We’re looking at all the natives throughout all the Americas and saying, ‘look we can boil you down and centralize you to this costume and make you look like a fool,’” Singer said.'Our culture is not your costume!' Native American students slam Utah high school for letting cheerleading squad dress up as Pocahontas for the homecoming parade

Comment:  For more on Pocahontas, see Sorority Performs Pocahontas Dance in Costumes and Miss NC's Pocahontas Photo Shoot.

Review of Allen's Pocahontas

Pocahontas: Medicine Woman, Spy, Entrepreneur, DiplomatIn striking counterpoint to the conventional account, Pocahontas is a bold biography that tells the extraordinary story of the beloved Indian maiden from a Native American perspective. Dr. Paula Gunn Allen, the acknowledged founder of Native American literary studies, draws on sources often overlooked by Western historians and offers remarkable new insights into the adventurous life and sacred role of this foremost American heroine. Gunn Allen reveals why so many have revered Pocahontas as the female counterpart to the father of our nation, George Washington.

From Publishers Weekly

In what is presented as the first study of its kind by an American Indian scholar, Allen (The Sacred Hoop) offers a corrective to the romantic story of Pocahontas told initially by Capt. John Smith of the Virginia Company and most recently by Disney Studios. Euro-American historical accounts of Pocahontas's brief life, asserts Allen, typically depict her as a lovelorn and tragic character (she died in 1617 in the aptly named river port of Gravesend, England, at the age of 20 or 21). Allen's Pocahontas, by contrast, is a real visionary, a prodigiously gifted young woman fervently devoted to the spiritual traditions of her people: a loose-knit group of Algonquin tribes known as the Powhatan Alliance, or Tsenacommacah. When the English colonists who began establishing Jamestown in 1607 invaded the Tsenacommacah, Pocahontas immediately identified it as the fulfillment of a prophecy that foretold the end of their world and the beginning of a new one, argues Allen. It was "world change time," she writes, and Pocahontas (also called Matoaka, Amonute and finally Lady Rebecca Rolfe) was nothing if not mutable--as implied by the book's subtitle. Still, notwithstanding Pocahontas's significant role in American history, Allen's claims that Pocahontas "set in motion a chain of events that would," among other things, "liberate the starving and miserable peoples of Europe and beyond" can seem overstated. More persuasive are Allen's comments about the cultural similarities between the English and Algonquin and the idea that each group changed the other. When casting Pocahontas as "the embodiment of this dual cultural transformation," her role, and the book, are at their clearest, and are made manifest by Allen's often lyrical and powerful writing.Allen's take on Pocahontas

Some statements from Paula Gunn Allen's "Sendings" from Pocahontas: Engaging with an Unusual Reality show how Allen reinterpreted Pocahontas's life:Before Pocahontas is born, the elders receive a vision from the Manito. The Manito reveal that an influential child "possessed of a high-order of spiritual identity" will be born into the Powhatan peoples (235). That child is Pocahontas.

Pocahontas is an "adept"—one who is highly educated in Dream-Vision disciplines (21). She was granted this skill before birth by the Manito, so she could communicate more proficiently with supernaturals throughout her life.

Because of Pocahontas's Dream Vision, wherein she saw Smith's façade float to shore, Smith will be initiated into the Powhatan Alliance to be an ambassador between the English and the Powhatans; to maintain a peace; and aid the Powhatan peoples in the time of transformation.

Allen declares that Pocahontas boarded ship with Argall because "it was the occasion she was waiting for," it was "a continuance of her duties as spy and perhaps as emissary ... and the council needed eyes and ears within the [English] enclave" (131).

Pocahontas married John Rolfe, not because of "romantic impulses" (90), but because marrying him would insure the "spirit of tobacco would find a home in the new world" (235).

Pocahontas's intentions in going to England were quite different from Rolfe's. Her Manito-directed mission was to exchange "arcane knowledge" with the English occult and to deliver this knowledge back to the Native Elders (284).

Pocahontas ... successfully built a bridge between "Manito and Faerie," she introduced the shamanistic herb tobacco to the world, and "she was the mother of a new race"—there are three million mixed-blood descendants of English and Powhatan stock (305).More reviews

Some reviews from Goodreads:Meg rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was intriguing at times, maddening at other times. I really liked the way the author just laid it out there at the beginning that she was going to mix up traditional Western linear biography narrative with a cyclical-time-based spiritual understanding of history. Her opening chapter describing this is really brilliant. While reading the rest of the book, I felt that (on the one hand) she had some super insightful ways of envisioning Pocahontas' history. It never would have occurred to me that Pocahontas was a spy but it makes total sense when put in this perspective. On the other hand, I wanted to be more clear about when she was giving known historical (Western linear etc etc) fact, when she was looking from a more cyclical-time lens, and when she was speculating. And sometimes she got really too into the whole trip of Native Americans having a unitary philosophy/way of seeing things. As a side note, I loved how she made parallels between Native American spiritual worlds and the pagan English alternative spiritual world (alchemy, ceremonial magic, fairies, etc). That was fun and unusual.

Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Although this book is supposed to be a biography of Pocahontas, it is unlike any biography I have read before. Rather than recount what few facts we know about her life, (and, as Allen points out, most of those facts are filtered--several times--through a foreign lens), Allen seeks to provide a context for Pocahontas, to flesh out the world she came from, so that we can reinterpret who she was and what her life meant. And as far as that goes, I though Allen did a fantastic job. In fact, the context of Pocahontas' world turned out to be far more interesting to me than the woman herself, at least as described by Allen. Sometimes the book becomes quite repetitive (Allen says she does it on purpose, as repetition in the oral tradition is meant to emphasize important points), and sometimes she makes what seem to me to be long leaps of logic (though she says she is writing from a perspective outside of the world of rationality). Nonetheless, this book is well worth the read if you're interested in learning more about what a Native American worldview might have been like during a time when tribal cultures were still strong and intact throughout the continentComment:  These postings give you an idea of what the book is like, but it's hard to pin down.

I'd say Allen's claims are provocative and compel you to see Pocahontas in a new light. But they're speculative more than persuasive. You may end up thinking none of them are true.

Allen's Pocahontas may be a must-read for Pocahontas aficionados. But I'm not sure anyone else will enjoy it. Especially if they're not interested in Native subjects in general. Rob's rating: 7.0 of 10.

For more on Pocahontas, see Fever Sexualizes Pocahontas and "In Defense of Pocahontas."

Fever sexualizes Pocahontas

Some of the lyrics of Fever--originally sung by Peggy Lee and covered by Madonna:Cap'n Smith and Pocahontas
Had a very mad affair
When her daddy tried to kill him
She said, "Daddy, oh, don't you dare!

"He gives me fever
"With his kisses
"Fever when he holds me tight
"Fever! I'm his missus
"Daddy, won't you treat him right?"Comment:  This is a great example of how our culture has sexualized Native women such as Pocahontas. And why Disney's Pocahontas is problematical: for perpetuating a "storybook romance" that never existed.

For more on the subject, see "In Defense of Pocahontas."

"In Defense of Pocahontas"

The following posting raised a ruckus on the Internets. The headline says it all:

In Defense of Pocahontas: Disney's Most Radical Heroine

20 years after the movie’s release, its character and premise still feel notably progressive.

By Sophie GilbertPocahontas was something different entirely. The success of Beauty and the Beast spurred studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg to push for another romance, and directors Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg wanted to pursue a story that had its origins in early American history, while also incorporating the Romeo and Juliet-esque elements of two people from very different backgrounds falling in love. But unlike the naive and uncertain Ariel and Belle, Pocahontas would be far more confident—“a woman instead of a teenager,” as supervising animator Glen Keane put it. As the producer Jim Pentacost says in Disney’s 1995 documentary about the making of the feature, “Pocahontas is the strongest heroine we’ve ever had in a Disney film.”

The main problem with Pocahontas—as expressed by several Native American groups, including the Powhatan Nation, which traces its origins back to Pocahontas herself—is that over time, she’s come to embody the trope of the “Good Indian,” or one who offers her own life to help save a white settler. “Her offer of sacrifice, her curvaceous figure, and her virginal stature have come to symbolize America’s Indian heroine,” wrote Angela Aleiss in an op-ed in The Los Angeles Times. Aleiss goes on to criticize how female Indian characters are defined by their male relationships, are “tossed aside by the white man” for a woman of his own race, and have nothing in their appeal beyond their “on-screen pulchritude.”

But Pocahontas as a character is much more complex than Aleiss allows. She does throw herself on John Smith as he’s about to be executed, emphasizing the value of human life and the destructive nature of war, but her move is reciprocated minutes later, when Smith then positions himself between Pocahontas’s father and the furious head of the English settlers, Governor Ratcliffe, and gets shot in the process. The injured Smith decides to return home, and begs Pocahontas to go with him, but she chooses to stay with her tribe in her homeland. Instead of sacrificing something for love (like Ariel giving up her voice, or Belle her freedom), Pocahontas puts her identity and heritage first. It’s a bold ending, and one that deliberately subverts real history, which saw the real Pocahontas marry a different Englishman, John Rolfe, and travel to London with him, where she was feted as an example of the “civilized savage” before dying at the age of 21 shortly before her husband was due to sail back to Virginia.

Powhatan Nation has a page on its website in which it also criticizes Disney for propagating the “Good Indian/Bad Indian” theme and basing a movie on what is largely believed to be a lie told by John Smith to enhance his own mystique. “Euro-Americans must ask themselves why it has been so important to elevate Smith’s fibbing to status as a national myth worthy of being recycled again by Disney,” the page says. “Disney even improves upon it by changing Pocahontas from a little girl into a young woman.” But an animated feature about the relationship between a 10-year-old (as Pocahontas is believed to have been at the time she met John Smith) and an adult male would presumably have horrified audiences. “We had the choice of being historically accurate or socially responsible,” Glen Keane said.So other than being historically inaccurate, it was a great movie? Okay!

An unrelated posting inadvertently echoes some of Gilbert's arguments:

17 reasons why Pocahontas is the best Disney film

Natives respond

Many Natives didn't like this full-throttled defense of Pocahontas. Debbie Reese posted the first response I saw in her American Indians in Children's Literature blog:

A Native Response to Sophie Gilbert's Article "In Defense of Pocahontas"Gilbert is doing the same thing Disney did. She is promoting this dishonest and self-serving myth at the expense of the Powhatan Nation and all the people who are led astray by the narrative of that film.

By focusing on "female agency" and an "environmentalist message," Gilbert is throwing millions of people under the bus.Reese linked to the Powhatan Nation's statement on the movie but didn't go into it. Her point, if I read it correctly, is that a Native viewpoint should be central to any critique of Pocahontas. You wouldn't critique Birth of a Nation without noting its racism against blacks. This is the same kind of thing.



A roundup of responses included the one below from Kenzie Allen. She goes deeper into the issue of a white frame vs. a Native frame:

Does Disney's Pocahontas Do More Harm Than Good? Your Thoughts

Sophie Gilbert found the film progressive and feminist. Readers feel it whitewashes a horrific past. Perhaps it’s both.

By Chris BodennerI’ve struggled with Disney’s Pocahontas as a source of pain and stereotype. Both Pocahontas and Sacagawea are often held up as heroines in the Western perspective, their stories reduced to kinder details rather than serving the interest of the dominant culture. Yes, there is visibility in telling their stories, but it is a tainted visibility, a false reality rendered through the dominant culture, which seeks to ameliorate, always, the horrific methods by which they came to occupy an entire nation’s worth of landmass.

Nobody wants to feel like a settler. Disney’s Pocahontas gives just enough of a flogging to the “real” bad guys to leave the non-native viewers coming away feeling as though they’ve done the good work of recognizing their own faults, while the pain of forced assimilation and erasure continues for the Powhatan Nation and others.

It is the Western lens that sees a progressive narrative in the way the settlers of Disney’s movie are mocked (but eventually befriended), the way Pocahontas rejects a voyage overseas (but was in reality kidnapped—and in the sequel, even this part of the story is made family-friendly and song-worthy), and the way she chooses family over love (when in reality her “choice” was anything but).

Disney goes so far as to try to turn the narrative around by having the Powhatans call the settlers the “savages,” but it’s only done half-way. Much like coverage of mascot issues often features white voices in the interest of “fair and balanced coverage,” the movie ends with the two groups considered even, with no indication of the devastation yet to come.

If Disney’s choice was between being “accurate” or “socially responsible,” my question would be: socially responsible to whom?Native Barbie doll

These critiques touch upon portraying Pocahontas as an attractive young woman rather than a preteen girl. An old posting discusses how phony Disney's representation of her was:

Representations of PocahontasGertrude Custalow, a Powhatan Indian, remarks, “The real Pocahontas was a child, not a voluptuous woman. And one thing’s for sure—she didn’t own an uplift bra (quoted in Tillotson C8)” (Edwards 154). This stresses the sexualized nature of representations of Pocahontas not only in art but also in children’s movies. This also addresses Disney’s indifference to what Pocahontas actually looked like. Instead, they make her into a “brown-skinned Barbie Doll” (154).

The artist who created Disney’s Pocahontas concerned himself less with recreating what Pocahontas must have looked like in reality and more with creating a generic racial other. He literally combines women of various non-white races to generate a very sexualized representation of Pocahontas. Edwards states, “Pocahontas becomes an historically-impossible multiethnic body—an anachronistic image composed of ‘aesthetically-pleasing’ body parts drawn from American Indian, African American, Asian American, and Caucasian models. Disney animator Glen Keane describes his Pocahontas drawing as ‘an ethnic blend whose convexly curved face is African, whose dark, slanted eyes are Asian and whose body proportions are Caucasian’ (qtd. In Tillotson C8). In addition to historical representations of Pocahontas herself, the visual models of various ethnicities that Keane used for his drawing included Irene Bedard, the American Indian actor who provides Pocahontas’s voice, American Indian consult to the film Shirley ‘Little Dove’ Custalow McGowan, Filipino model Dyna Taylor, black supermodel Naomi Campbell, and white supermodels Kate Moss and Christy Turlington” (151-152).Okay, Disney animator Glen Keane. Thanks for letting us know how fake your version of Pocahontas was!

Rob's reaction

I liked Pocahontas, but I knew her real story. I took the movie as a fantasy largely divorced from reality. Like The Hobbit but with characters who vaguely resembled historical figures.

In fact, I suggested that Disney should've changed the characters' names to show audiences this wasn't history. Make the characters generic Anglos and Indians, or even generic fantasy figures--e.g., dwarves and elves.

Of course, that would've ruined Disney's marketing plans, so no way was it going to happen. But it was the kind of solution I would've liked.

As for the question of how progressive Pocahontas was, I'd say it moved the dial from near zero, in Disney's older movies, to maybe 25. That's only 1/4 of the way to a goal of 100.

So you could say the glass was one-quarter full or three-quarters empty. But ignoring the three quarters for the one quarter isn't exactly responsible writing. It's like saying the Titanic's initial voyage was great except for the iceberg.

For more on the subject, see Pocahontas Bastardizes Real People.

Sorority performs Pocahontas dance in costumes

UNCC Apologizes for Sigma Kappa Redface Act, but Sorority Remains Mum

By Vincent SchillingOn Friday April 11th, members of the Sigma Kappa Sorority at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte performed a “Disney Dancing with the Princesses,” for an event called "Air Band Dance," part of the campus' Greek Week activities. The presentation included a Pocahontas dance in which sorority members wore in Indian costumes and were painted with "tribal" markings.

Photographs of the event hit social media and drew criticism from the school’s Native students as well as at a National level. In response to the event, Arthur Jackson, the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs issued a statement via the UNCC Public Relations website that read, in part:Regrettably, as part of the Pocahontas dance, the dancers wore Native clothing and displayed tribal-like markings on their faces and arms. The symbolic representations proved offensive to Native Americans in North Carolina and nationally, some of whom have contacted the University or the Sigma Kappa sorority.

We apologize. Although we have every reason to believe that the sorority intended no offense, we consider this a teachable moment for them and for our entire campus community to deepen our sensitivity on issues of race and culture, and to ensure that we maintain a welcoming campus environment for all people.Being Lakota, Becoming Greek

By Megan Red Shirt-ShawWere there girls on my own campus who dressed up as Native Americans for Halloween? Yes. Was it an incredible feeling when another sister came to me asking about conversations surrounding having a “Cowboys and Indians” themed party a year after I had graduated? How it was stopped in its tracks because of their understanding of everything I had taught them? Absolutely. Should it take a Native girl joining the sorority chapter for these things to be acknowledged and identified? Absolutely not.

On behalf of other Native American girls who stepped out of their comfort zone and to those who someday will too in order to join the Greek system, I implore and encourage the Sigma Kappa chapter and Nationals to apologize to the UNCC Native American Student Organization for promoting “Redface” and war-paint. Pocahontas has never been a reflection of who I am as a Native woman and it is not a reflection of contemporary Indigenous people today. As young Natives, we have a right to stand our ground and protect what makes us proud to be who we are--which was something I was always comfortable doing within my chapter of Sigma Kappa. I cannot imagine being a soon to be Native freshman at UNCC and seeing those women promoting cultural appropriation--it makes me very sad to see this coming from girls who, if we had been at Penn or UNCC together, might have, been my “sisters.” That is not and never could be the sisterhood I came to know.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Thanksgiving Pub Crawls in Indian Costumes and Pocahotties Show Depth of Microaggressions.

Miss NC's Pocahontas photo shoot

Miss NC's Pocahontas Photo Shoot: No Big Deal, or Teachable Moment?

By Vincent SchillingNearly two weeks ago, Johna Edmonds, Miss North Carolina 2013, posted several photos of herself portraying a glamorized version of Pocahontas. Though she received some appreciative comments on social media, Edmonds also received a considerable amount of backlash from Native communities. Edmonds herself is Lumbee.

"I do not like it when there are sexual overtones to many of the cartoon figures portraying our Native Women," reads one representative comment, from Facebook user Carolyn Martell. "A grave message is sent to the world at large and our children. Our Native Women are to be view, revered with honor, dignity respect and integrity! Not Sex Objects!

"Other commenters were more blunt. "Pocahontas, Disney style? Gross!" was Fran Gillespie's reaction, posted to the Powwows.com Facebook page. "Some jacked up miniskirt & stiletto high heels? On a practical level, she would have froze her ass off & sprained an ankle. Here is this really important historical figure, being made cheap & sleazy!"

On March 18th, Edmonds responded to the slew of comments on her own Facebook page with a statement that later appeared in a post at Powwows.com. Her statement reads, in part:

For the purpose of helping an incredible artistic team who have been unbelievably generous to the Miss North Carolina Scholarship Program, capture the essence of their creative vision for this year’s Disney Princess-themed Miss NC program book ad-page, I portrayed my childhood favorite Disney Princess, “Pocahontas.” And what should have remained a proud moment for me as well as others excited to see the outcome of this photo shoot, quickly devolved.

Within a matter of minutes, I had been unfairly accused of “misappropriating Native American culture” and of perpetuating society’s “hyper-sexualization of Native American women.” … So to those who feel that I have distastefully used my sexuality or femininity–which are mine to use–I do sincerely apologize. However, I’d like to also suggest that if all you see is a “hyper-sexualized” Native American woman when looking at these beautifully captured photographs, I would suggest that problem isn’t me, as I never aimed to convey “hyper-sexiness” at any point during this photo shoot. Instead, I really wanted to epitomize and portray the beauty and regal nature of the “Pocahontas” I fondly remember, and with whom I spent the entirety of my childhood captivated by.The outcome:"We had a board meeting last night and a conference call in which we unanimously agreed to remove the pictures and we discussed information that Lori had shared with us. We had a board meeting today with Johna and I had printed out a lot of that information and took the opportunity to make ourselves more aware regarding the sexualization of the Native American woman and how those images were offensive to so many."Comment:  Several things are wrong with the pageant's and Edmonds' thinking.

For starters, the bone breastplate and choker come from the Plains culture. They're completely wrong for Disney's Pocahontas, the real Pocahontas, or any Native cultures of the eastern seaboard.

Edmonds may claim her poses weren't "hyper-sexual," but the first one, at least, is sexual. Disney's Pocahontas didn't drape herself over a rock like that, preparing herself for ravishing. Whoever arranged this photo turned an "innocent" cartoon character into a sexual object.

Of course, the whole concept of Disney princesses is flawed--especially in regard to Pocahontas. The real Pocahontas wasn't a princess. She wasn't a woman known for her "beauty and regal nature." She was a pre-pubescent girl.

Even Disney's version of Pocahontas wasn't a princess. So any adult women, including Native women, who portray Pocahontas are furthering Native stereotypes. The princess, the temptress, the sex object, the fetching maiden...none of these personas apply to Pocahontas the 12-year-old girl. They're all false and stereotypical and everyone should avoid them.

For more on Pocahontas, see Top Three Native Stereotypes and Pocahontas Poster Shows Movies' Influence.

Top three Native stereotypes

The top 3 stereotypes or beliefs that people have when they walk in to my Native American Studies courses or #FileThisUnderReasonsWhyITeachNAS

By Cutcha Risling BaldyThe top 3 stereotypes or beliefs that people have when they walk in to my Native American Studies courses--

#3: Native Americans are poor because they want to be poor because that’s how they get all the free stuff from the government that the government gives them.

#2.5 Native Americans who are not poor have casinos. Those casinos make them so rich that they buy the government off to give them things.

#2 If you go to a reservation you will get shot. Or beat. Or shot and beat. Or somebody will be mean to you. They will probably be mean to you and then shoot you.

#1 Everything you need to know about Native peoples you can learn by watching Disney’s PocahontasComment:  Let's rephrase these a bit, like so:

1) Movies about noble or murderous savages are realistic portrayals of Indians.

2) Reservations are cesspools of crime, poverty, despair, and hopelessness.

3) Indians don't pay taxes, live off welfare, and get everything free--either from the government or casinos.

In this form, I could support these as the top three Native stereotypes. They sum up the perceptions most Americans have about Indians.

For more on the subject, see Comanche Chairman Justifies Tonto's Stereotypes and Mithlo's TEDx Talk on Stereotypes.

Pocahontas poster shows movies' influence

Here's a good example of what kids think about Indians. I wonder where they got their ideas?



Oh, wait...the source is right there in the presentation. From a movie--namely, Disney's Pocahontas.

So much for the asinine belief that movies don't influence our perceptions because they're just "fiction" and "entertainment." Wrong.

On Facebook, one person thought the poster was about the Spokane Tribe because of the central photograph. With Pocahontas, a thunderbird, and a dreamcatcher? I don't think so.

The original photo was labeled: "And this is what middle school students think about Native Americans in Ohio." So I doubt the poster was supposed to be about a tribe in Washington.

The student probably found a picture of the Spokane and decided they were as good as any tribe. Especially since Ohio doesn't have any recognized tribes, or tribes that posed for photographs.

Teaching about IndiansOk, as a retired teacher I have to comment here. First off, I am not Native. However, even I know this is not a good representation of Native American culture. Instead, it is mainly a poster about a movie/cartoon with a few other things thrown in. Were this child in my class, and he/she was interested in Pocahontas as part of the project, I would have encouraged the child to do more research into the "real" woman and the history of her people. Using "Native Americans" as a project theme is extremely broad in scope. Instead, I would have suggested researching one specific Native Nation, or perhaps comparing and contrasting Plains Culture as opposed to Woodland, etc. A lot depends on the age and grade level, guidelines for the project, and so on. Sadly, some teachers/schools are not very sensitive as to cultural stereotyping.Good idea to use this as a teaching moment. But consider another point. There's no evidence that anyone, including parents and teachers, thought anything was wrong with this. For all we know, every adult on the scene approved of it.That is the point I was trying to make. No one saw anything wrong here or in the continual stereotyping that is still used in our classrooms today. Case in point at my school. Not the administration, nor my teacher peers saw anything wrong with suggesting having a "Cowboys and Indians" dress up day during what we call Spirit Week, usually the last full week of the school year. I was the only one to stand up and say it was wrong. Our school at that time was over 90% Hispanic, many naturally of a wide mix of races, some nearly pure indigenous. (Naturally, in Mexico they don't have any blood quantums, but the people generally know their ancestry.) It is the responsibility of those of us that know better, to stand up and "try" to educate others.A couple of people said Pocahontas spurred them to do their own research on Indians. To which I responded:

That a movie spurred some of you to do your own research is good. But Pocahontas had the opposite effect on this student. And his teachers and parents, apparently. They saw the movie and repeated it as if it were fact.

And that's how many people treat movies. They know vaguely about Pocahontas and John Smith. They assume movies like this are based on history. They make no effort to separate fact and fiction, so the two blur together in their minds.

For more on the subject, see "Pocahontas" in Gossip Girl and Artist Reimagines Disney's Pocahontas.

Below:  The real Pocahontas.

"Pocahontas" in Gossip Girl

In Stereotypical Thanksgiving TV Promos, I noted that one promo showed Blair Waldorf, a character in Gossip Girl, in an Indian outfit. I thought it was just a promo, but no. Blair shows up in the same outfit in It's Really Complicated (airdate: 11/26/12), the show's Thanksgiving episode.

Blair's beau Chuck has just suffered a personal reversal. He doesn't want to see her, but she sneaks in to comfort him. She's dressed as a "stripper Pocahontas" to seduce him and make him forget his woes.



They exchange these lines:BLAIR: Pocahontas needs her John Smith.

CHUCK: I always thought of myself more as a John Rolfe kind of man.It's true that Blair is the kind of rich white girl who would dress up as an Indian without thinking about the implications. She's pretty much insensitive to everyone.

But the show fails by not having anyone rebuke her for behavior. By treating it as normal and acceptable, the show makes it normal and acceptable. If a sophisticated socialite can wear this kind of outfit, viewers will think, doing so must be okay for everyone.

Note that Blair makes what we've been saying about these stunts explicit. Namely, that women don't dress up as sexy Indian maidens to honor Natives or Native culture. It's all about using the idea of an exotic "other" as a tool of seduction. In other words, it's about using Native women as sex objects for male gratification.

For more on the subject, see:

Crystle Lightning = Maria Tallchief?
Tasteless Thanksgiving party promotions
Drink's "Sexy Pilgrim & Indian Party"
, Hooters' "Cowgirls and Indians" promotion
Victoria's Secret model in a headdress

Sexy chief vs. Jana

Someone posted this image on Facebook and asked the following: "In the side-by-side image below, 1) Which is 'OK' & which is 'Wrong'"?



Everyone agreed the first image was wrong, but several people defended the second image. Naturally, I disagreed:

No. 1 is wronger, but they're both wrong.

I dissed this video from Jana long ago:

Dissing Jana's video

Let the debate beginThe photo on the right is not of question...she is actually a tribal member, so leave her be and there is no stereotyping in that image on the right.

I don't like either one.

When people "stereotype" themselves, or don't think they are but the impression & result are, that makes the stereotyping somehow 'ok' bcuz the person is--in this case, Native, or Native looking? I'm asking. Remember, I don't get it.I doubt many modern Native women would say they feel "honored" by either image. Especially if you explain the history of sexual objectification to them.I think we have become so obsessed with stereotyping that people don't know what is stereotyping and what isn't anymore. Where's the line?

Besides the obvious stereotyping like in image A.Jana may think her stereotyping is okay, but I don't.Makes sense ... what you're saying re stereotyping.

How can you stereotype yourself with yourself? That's like saying you stereotype being atheist.[This respondent incorrectly thinks I'm an atheist rather than an agonistic.]

Even though I'm a nerd, I probably don't look like one. But I could stereotype myself as a nerd with the Brylcreamed hair, black-framed glasses, high pants, pocket protector, calculator, etc. This would be wrong because it doesn't represent the real world of nerds.

Same with Jana, a Lumbee from North Carolina, wearing a Pocahontas outfit in Monument Valley for a music video in 2007. Her getup literally has nothing to do with her reality as a modern Lumbee Indian woman.Well, to be fair, I haven't studied the Lumbee tribe or the clothing that they have worn historically. But I gathered from the video that she was showing the many sides of herself.If she wants to show her sexy side, she can come up with something besides a Poca-hottie costume. That outfit is a centuries-old stereotype, not a unique expression of her individuality. There's nothing unique about it since it's been done a million times before.

"Bo Derek" look is "spot on"?I looked it up and Lumbee women probably wore knee-length dresses. So, from a historical and female perspective, her dress is too short and somewhat sexualized.

Again, the pic on the right isn't shown in context so we can't tell what it's message is meant to be. Ok. the dress does look a bit 'Bo Derek' but is it meant to be smutty? Is this 'style' not to be found anywhere among the many tribes? Should native women not be seen, in an appropriate way, as attractive as women from any other culture?

I see the one on the left purely as 50's pin up girl material where everyone was given the stereo treatment--dumb blondes, secretaries filing their nails, busty girls in sexy overalls banging their manicured nails with hammers and knickers falling down same sexy women climbing ladders. It was par for the course back then. The girl on the right looks pretty spot on with reality to me, but I'm an Oz, I could be wrong! We just romp around with kangaroos on Bondi Beach after all!Here's the context for the Jana photo on the right. It's a music video with her and other Indians as noble savages. In the year 2007.



‎"The girl on the right looks pretty spot on with reality to me"...which reality do you mean? The reality of Indian girls like Pocahontas in the 17th century?

It wasn't real even then; Pocahontas probably went naked or topless. And it certainly isn't real now. No Native woman has worn a real-life outfit like that for centuries, if ever.

Native people don't care?Sure, I think it's just a funny pix nothing more nothing less....All women are beautiful, even in a wintercoat or buffalo robe or bikini...no matter what...as long as the real ppl know the real deal its all good. The mainstream ppl will alwys be mainstream. It's like let them have what's theirs, Native ppl know much better than that to get all restless about pin ups and Walt Disney Pocahontas...I still love mini skirts tho especially on brown eyed girl lol.Actually, Native people often protest images like the ones above. They know that stereotypical perceptions affect how they're treated in real life. IOW, if people think Indians are savages, they treat them like savages.So, you have gone and visited every Native woman and looked into her past to find out if she has dressed in a similar fashion?No, but I've read books that cover Native American history from the beginning to the present, with lots of illustrations. No Native women wore sexy buckskin mini-skirts that I recall.

I doubt Jana has read more Native history than I have. And found a culture I'm not aware of. It would be an incredible coincidence if an actual Native outfit just happened to resemble millions of sexy stereotypes objectifying Native women.

And that would be irrelevant anyway. Jana is a modern Native woman, so dressing as any Indian of the distant past is stereotypical. She's a modern Lumbee woman, so dressing as any Indian of another culture is stereotypical. Unless she can find one of her ancestors who wore such an outfit, she has no business wearing it.

And the only excuse for wearing a traditional Lumbee outfit would be to portray her ancestors accurately. But she's not doing that. She's cavorting in a music video set in Monument Valley, 3,000 miles from her ancestral home. She's singing, dancing, and playing with a hawk. None of these have anything to do with traditional Lumbee culture. Indeed, they're a complete fabrication of what Native culture is about.

You do understand that there were thousands of different Native cultures, right? You don't get a free pass for wearing a chief's headdress because some Indian, somewhere, once wore one. Unless your culture wears an outfit now, or your ancestors wore an outfit then, it belongs to another culture, not yours.

Sexy dress represents objectification

As for the context, the image on the right comes from a music video. It doesn't represent any era. What it represents is a fantasy version of what Native women looked like in the past. A fantasy used by the white, male, Christian powers-that-be to objectify, demean, and belittle Native women.

In other words, it's a stereotype. It is not an accurate depiction of tribal wear in any past era. It's certainly not an accurate depiction of what Jana's own ancestors wore.

Y'all are aware that Native women suffer horrendous rates of rape, violence, and abuse, right? Why do you think that happens? It happens in part because we've treated Native women as sexual objects for 500+ years. These images perpetuate the notion that Native women exist to fulfill male fantasies.I can agree with that. I already said, her skirt was too short, both from the female view point and historical one. I totally agree about the headress. There isn't one thing okay with the first picture.For more on the subject, see Review of For the Generations and Indian Women as Sex Objects

P.S. Do I have to explain what's wrong with the costume below? It's wrong for the same reasons that Jana's outfit is wrong.

Artist reimagines Disney's Pocahontas

Artist Reimagines Disney’s Version of Pocahontas as a Warrior for the EarthDisney’s Pocahontas gets a warrior makeover by deviantart user joshwmc, who is reinventing all Disney’s animated damsels in distress as fierce, weapon-wielding women, reported The Huffington Post.

The artist also revised the Disney character Pocahontas’s modern-day back story: she “is an environmental activist” who enters into the Disney fighting tournament “to literally fight for nature,” joshwmc writes in his description.Comment:  The reimagined Pocahontas has feathers, warpaint, a buckskin top, fringe, and tomahawks. The drawing is well-executed but conventional if not stereotypical.

The same applies to her mission: fighting for nature. Wouldn't it be more Native to pray for nature. Fighting for nature with tomahawks, like the axes used to chop down trees, seems counterintuitive.

The article talks about Pocahontas being a role model, an idea this image encourages. But Pocahontas was a little girl, not a princess or a warrior. This drawing is going in the wrong direction, taking a historical figure further and further from reality.

For more on Pocahontas, see Umatilla Model Portrays Pocahontas and "PocaHotAss" Party Canceled.

Watchman exits America's Next Top Model

Mariah Watchman Makes Early Exit From America’s Next Top ModelOn Wednesday night, Mariah Watchman, who grew up on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, became the second contestant eliminated on America’s Next Top Model. The modeling assignment for the episode was an Addams Family-themed shoot with celebrity judge Kris Jenner and her daughters Kendall and Kylie. When the judges—Jenner, PR guru Kelly Cutrone, and photographer Nigel Barker— and host Tyra Banks reviewed the “best shots” from the photo session, it was clear that they felt Watchman’s was not strong, although several models seemed to be in danger of elimination.

Although winning the show would, undoubtedly, have been a nice bullet point on her resume, Watchman is hardly a newbie, and will resume her already-successful modeling career. She has been modeling professionally for five years—since she was 15—and is signed to the prestigious Wilhelmina agency.Also, Adrienne Keene reports an interesting development in her Native Appropriations blog:

Update on ANTM: Mariah's gone, but Nigel might have learned something

A fan tweeted to Nigel Barker, one of the show's judges, about how stereotypical it was to dress a Native model as Pocahontas. Barker acted like he didn't know what she was talking about and said ATNM was responsible only for giving Watchman a shot.

That's a typical response from an ignorant white man, but then Barker (or someone) deleted his tweets. Covering up his racial insensitivity and protecting him from further embarrassment? Quite possibly.

Also worth noting is that Kris Jenner, mother of the Kardashian sisters, is one of the judges. The whole clan has had problems with Native stereotyping before.

As a judge, Jenner may not have had anything to do with Watchman's dressing as Pocahontas. But you can bet she didn't stand up and say it was wrong when she learned of it.

For a previous ANTM contretemps, see "Next Top Models" in Blackface and "Think Native" on America's Next Top Model.

Umatilla model portrays Pocahontas

Pendleton resident Mariah Watchman competes on 'America's Next Top Model'

By Rob OwenFor one of her first competitions in the new cycle of "America's Next Top Model," former Pendleton resident Mariah Watchman, who grew up on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, had to don the costume of an American icon.

Producers chose for her to portray Pocahontas.

"As soon as I heard what the competition was, I knew that's who I would be," Watchman said from Miami, where she recently bought a home. "I was completely fine with it. There's no one else I'd want more to portray. It's someone everybody knows."

Though only 20, Watchman has been modeling since she was 15 and is accustomed to the famous historical figure coming up when she models internationally.

"Most people don't know about natives and how we live," she said. "When they ask what I am, they always assume I'm Latina. I have to let them know I'm Native American and will say, 'As in Pocahontas.' I always have to refer to her anyway."

Adrienne Keene tells us what's wrong with this in her Native Appropriations blog:

Oh ANTM, where do I even start?: Mariah Watchman and the Pocahontas controversyThe premise of this season of ANTM is a competition between British models and American models (they're scraping the bottom of the barrel after 18 seasons to keep it interesting, I guess), and on the first episode, the models were paired in what was termed a "Culture Clash"--one model from the US and one from the UK, each representing an "iconic figure from [their] individual country." Ok, fair enough.

So here were the pairings:

George Washington vs. Queen Elizabeth
Janet Jackson vs. Scary Spice
Madonna vs. Elton John
Michelle Obama vs. Margaret Thatcher
Andy Warhol vs. Amy Winehouse
Jackie O vs. Princess Diana

and, finally...

Pocahontas vs. John LennonAnd:The choice of the producers to have her portray "Pocahontas" is straight up offensive too. Let's pigeonhole the only Native contestant by forcing her to don an extremely stereotypical outfit and be an Indian. The thing that stood out to me was that Mariah was cast into a race-based role, while the other pairings had plenty of (relatively progressive) race-bending. George Washington, Elton John, Jackie O, and John Lennon (all white) were portrayed by models of color, which I thought was kinda cool. But, because Mariah's heritage is her "exotic" selling point for the show, the producers felt the need to exploit it.

Then the outfit they put on her. Oh the outfit. It looks like they bought it straight off the Pocahottie Halloween page--fake buckskin, primary colored feathers, plains-style beading and designs, braids in her hair. And, the kicker, a tomahawk. Yes, a tomahawk. History lesson, ANTM: Pocahontas was from Virginia, and none of those stereotypes apply to her people. So basically they did what everyone seems to do when they want to "honor" Indians--drew upon every Hollywood Indian stereotype without any regard for historical accuracy, regionality, or how effing racist it is to make the only Native girl basically dress up in blackface.

Comment:  So the Native model's advice to Native women is: People know Pocahontas and think you're Pocahontas, so you might as well dress like Pocahontas. Nice.

I can just imagine Watchman acting out the scene in the photo: ‎"Me hit white man with tomahawk! Me savage Indian warrior! But still sexy Indian maiden!"

I might've expected an Umatilla woman to dress as Pocahontas--a figure from a different culture 3,000 miles away--in the early 20th century. You know, for the ignorant tourists who visited an Oregon reservation seeking teepees, chiefs, and Sitting Bull.

But in 2012, on national TV? No way. This is why everyone expects Native women to be sexy, uh, sex objects. And why they use and abuse these women for their own gratification.

Actually, I might've expected an Umatilla woman with integrity to turn down the stereotypical "princess" role. But I guess that's asking too much of a model hungering for attention.

For more on women dressing up as Pocahontas, see Romney Woman as Indian Maiden and Duke's "Pilgrims and Indians" Party.

Romney woman as Indian maiden

Halloween With the Romney ClanBuzzfeed blogger McKay Coppins delves into the “mommy blog” of Mary Romney, daughter in law of Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. On the blog, titled “Me & My Boys,” Mary presents stories from family life—at least, that’s how McKay Coppins describes it. Access to the blog seems to be restricted at the moment—we had no luck accessing maryromney.com. There are also pictures, several of which Coppins managed to snag.

Gawker has honed in on this one, which is of interest to us as well, with a post titled “What is Mary Romney Dressed Up as in this Picture?” and goes on to speculate:

A brief survey of the Gawker office yielded the following guesses:

• Pocahontas

• “Girl who lives in Williamsburg circa 2009″

• Mountain Meadows massacre participant

• Native American

• Something from a Stephenie Meyer novel

• Brunette hippie (Mary is usually blonde)Comment:  We're slowly getting an idea of what Republicans in general and Romney in particular thinks about Indians.

For more on the subject, see Republicans Want to "Keep America America" and Romney Associates with Bigot Fischer.

Duke's "Pilgrims and Indians" party

Pi Kapp party fuels anger

By Nicole DanielsOn Nov. 19, I was looking forward to attending a party that Pi Kappa Phi was hosting that night on Central Campus. That is, until my friend nonchalantly texted me that the event’s theme was “Pilgrims and Indians.”

The following is an excerpt from the fraternity’s email invitation: “In 1621 some crazy pilgrims had a pretty brutal harvest. Word on the street was they didn’t have enough food for half the bros in Plymouth. Then some hot natives came along with some extra food. … On Saturday, the brothers of Pi Kappa Phi will be honoring that party spirit. There will be a cornucopia of treats in our modern-day teepee. Tap into your inner pocahotness, wear a few feathers and party like you don’t care if you survive the winter.”

At first, I refused to attend an event that sounded so derogatory toward Native Americans. The fraternity took on a terrible history of colonialism and genocide and turned it into a sexy party theme. The language in their invitation (“hot natives” and “pocahotness”) sexualizes the Native American race. Having learned the theme just hours before the party, it was too late for me to try and stop it. I ultimately decided that if I was going to criticize this party, I had to see it for myself.

It was very disheartening to find my own friends there, dressed in outfits that epitomized an insensitive caricature of Native Americans. Hordes of my peers had faces covered in “war paint” and wore rainbow-colored feathers on their heads. The makeup and costumes I saw were both completely inaccurate and disrespectful. Headdresses and feathers have profound spiritual significance to Native Americans, and mimicking them is extremely offensive. A massive teepee stood outside the party, serving as a photo op for the obnoxiously dressed guests to pose with. Notably, teepees are specific to tribes in the Great Plains and never even existed in Plymouth, Mass. This incorrect and stereotypical dwelling endorsed the misconception that Native Americans have a monolithic culture. It undermined the reality that there are many tribes with diverse and intricate ways of life. If students want to celebrate “giving thanks” and unity, they should not mock and belittle an important part of our community.

This party was bigoted and racist, and such an event would never be tolerated if other races were involved.The Jezebel blog added some snarky comments:

Duke Brodudes Invite ‘Pochahotness’ to Attend Pilgrims and Indians Themed PartyFor some, college learning comes in the form of classroom work, book reading, and late nights at the library. For others, it comes in the form of four years of public stupidity followed by confusion as to why people think you're acting like a dickbag. The Duke University fraternity behind a recent Pilgrims and Indians themed party seems to fall into the latter category.And:In spite of her hesitation regarding the party's theme, [Daniels] attended anyway, and felt even more grossed out when she saw the costumes her fellow students were wearing. Based on her description, they sound like something from the cover of an indie rock album— white kids in feather headdresses, war paint, and faux buckskin, drinking firewater. Except they were smiling and taking shots rather than staring off into a big glowing triangle on the horizon.Comment:  Are these "Poca-lame-ass" parties happening more often? Or are they just getting reported more often? The latter, I hope.

We've heard all the weak-to-nonexistent arguments for and the inevitable rebuttals against this kind of party. So there's no need to restate the obvious: that dressing up as faux Indians is stereotypical if not racist.

For more on the subject, see:

PEACE PARTY political cartoon:  costumes
"Pilgrims & Indians Theme Party" canceled
Russell Brand as an "Indian savage"
"PocaHotAss" party canceled
"Trail of Tears" Halloween costume
Racist costumes = white privilege
"We're a Culture, Not a Costume"

Below:  College-aged idiots having fun pretending to be savage Indians.