Alaska Airlines' "Meet Our Eskimo" campaign

Alaska Airlines apologizes, removes ‘Meet our Eskimo’ phrase from website

By Annie ZakAfter an outcry from members of the Alaska Native community, Alaska Airlines has removed the line “Meet our Eskimo” and replaced it with “Meet the Eskimo” on its website, alongside the airline’s updated branding it unveiled earlier this week.

The phrase referenced a slight redesign of the iconic image on the tail of Alaska Airlines' aircraft, an Alaska Native's visage long referred to as the Eskimo.

“When Alaska Airlines unveiled our refreshed brand earlier this week, a reference we used, ‘Meet our Eskimo,’ offended many in the Alaska Native community, and likely others,” said Alaska Air Group CEO Brad Tilden in a statement. “We apologize and take full responsibility for this insensitive reference.”

The company replaced "our" with "the" early Thursday morning, but the line had already touched off a discussion among Alaska Natives and others about its appropriateness and the general use of an unnamed Alaska Native as the Alaska Airlines logo.Alaska Native’s discuss what ‘Eskimo’ means to them

By Charles EnochAfter Alaska Airlines unveiled a new look for their airplanes and website many Alaska Natives took offense to a phrase they with their new marketing campaign. The phrase that sparked a controversy and a new round of conversations about what the word “Eskimo” means to Alaska Natives.

Alaska Airlines unveiled their new airplane and website designs late last month. Both prominently feature the familiar face of a smiling Alaska Native elder. The website also included the phrase “Meet our Eskimo” which was quickly changed to “Meet the Eskimo” But does the change go far enough?

“I would rather be called ‘Inupiaq’ because that’s what I am and my children are Yup’ik,” Blossom Twitchell, from Kotzebue, said. “I want them to be able to connect to their culture and people won’t group us in as little people that live in igloo’s and give little Eskimo kisses all the time, we are so much more than that.”

“We have culture and traditions that have been passed down for generations and I don’t believe the word Eskimo does our heritage justice.”Comment:  For more on the subject, see Improving the Alaska Airlines Logo and The Alaska Airlines Eskimo.

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.

"Drug-addicted Eskimo" in Castle

This week's episode of Castle, titled What Lies Beneath, had a Native bit. Here's a recap:

'Castle' Recap: Beckett Gets Closer to the Truth

The victim was supposedly PJ Moffett, a reclusive writer a la JD Salinger or Harper Lee. He'd written exactly one classic novel a la Catcher in the Rye or To Kill a Mockingbird. Moffett's masterpiece, a favorite of Castle's was titled The Butcherbird's Song.

Castle noted how Moffett was known for going undercover to do extensive research on his subjects. For The Butcherbird's Song, says Castle, "He spent seven years as a drug-addicted Eskimo."

Wow. Let's count the number of ways this single line is wrong.

1) There's little or no chance of a white man like Moffett passing as an "Eskimo." Forget about seven years. After seven days, people would start asking him where he was born, who his family was, etc.

2) If Moffett had spent seven years in an Arctic culture, he would've called it by its Native name--e.g., Inuit, Yup'ik, or Iñupiat. He would not have used the generic and sometimes pejorative term "Eskimo."

3) The butcherbird is native to Australia. The odds of an Arctic Native having a connection to an Australian bird are vanishingly small.

4) The concept of a "drug-addicted Eskimo" is stereotypical, of course. It may be true-to-life, since many "Eskimos" have substance abuse problems. But Castle uses the phrase without an explanation--e.g.,"an Eskimo addicted to drugs because of his tragic upbringing." Offering nothing but the stereotype only reinforces the stereotype.

What Lies Beneath was an average episode and the Eskimo reference didn't change that. It's just funny how Castle tries to get it right but fails much of the time. Give it one point for a Native reference but take away the point for making the reference stereotypical.

Eskimo in Lucy Goes to Alaska

I've seen all the I Love Lucy shows, but its later incarnations are seldom aired. I recently caught this episode at random:

The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour: Season 2, Episode 3
Lucy Goes to Alaska (9 Feb. 1959)The Ricardos and Mertzes head to Alaksa, but arrive a day early and their room is not ready; it is occupied by none other than Red Skeleton, who generously shares his room with the foursome. Later, Ricky and Fred learn that they own land that is all ice and are constantly at each other's throats. Ricky and Fred's bickering causes Lucy to ask Red if he will buy the property, but chaos ensues.

In the second half, the non-Native Iron Eyes Cody guest-stars as an Eskimo. He's accompanied by another Eskimo, played by Charles Stevens, who actually looks Asian.

At this point in the story, Lucy and Red Skelton are lost in an Alaskan snowstorm after crashing their jeep. Dressed in the usual parkas, the Eskimos appear out of nowhere. Talking loudly as if the Eskimos don't understand English, Lucy asks if they have a dog sled. In perfect English, Iron Eyes answers that they have a plane nearby.

Iron Eyes agrees to fly them back to civilization--for a price. He's piloting when Lucy cranks the wrong lever and sends the plane into a dive. He hits his head on the steering wheel and is knocked unconscious, forcing Skelton and Lucy to land the plane.

The only wrong note comes when they help him out of the plane. Dazed, he asks, "Who flew [the] plane?" That is, he drops the article "the" in a bit of Tonto talk.

Other than that, it's a fine portrayal--if you ignore the Italian playing an Eskimo. The Alaskan Native is more competent at surviving in the wilderness and more superior at using technology. He's even a better negotiator; he gets a valuable piece of land for rescuing the others.

For more on the subject, see Caribbean Cannibal in I Love Lucy.

Below:  The station master helps Iron Eyes Cody the "Eskimo," barely visible inside the plane.

Inuit woman in Snowpiercer

I watched the sci-fi movie Snowpiercer while I worked today. Here's the premise:

SnowpiercerIn 2014, an experiment to counteract global warming causes an ice age that kills nearly all life on Earth. The only survivors are the inhabitants of the Snowpiercer, a massive train powered by a perpetual-motion engine that travels on a globe-spanning track. A class system is installed, with the elites inhabiting the front of the train and the poor inhabiting the tail.

In 2031, the tail inhabitants prepare for the latest in a series of rebellions. Guards arrive periodically to deliver protein blocks for food, and take some of the children. During the guards’ next visit, Curtis Everett (Evans) leads the tail inhabitants in revolt, forcing their way through several train cars to the prison section. There, they release prisoner Namgoong Minsu (Song), the man who built the security system that controls the doors dividing each car, and his clairvoyant daughter Yona.** spoiler alert **

I was curious to hear a reference to an Inuit woman. Here are the details:

SNOWPIERCER: bits I *love* about the film so far…Nam explains to Yona how the leader of the Seven is an Inuit woman who taught him about all the different kinds of snow there are, but he does not reveal that she is her mother. At least, that’s my belief. Think about it… When he’s at the window and begins to speak—”There’s a woman at the front…”—aren’t you just certain he’s talking about the woman he loves?And from Wikipedia:Go Ah-sung as Yona

The 17-year-old daughter of Namgoong Minsoo. About her character's name, Ah-Sung said, "[Bong] couldn't think of any name for Yona; he just left her as "The Inuit Girl." I gave him Nastyona’s album, and he went "This is it!", adding, " It also matches the Biblical figure Jonah [pronounced Yona in some languages, including Korean] and had a right feel to it." Ah-sung described Yona as being, "[...] someone who was completely indifferent to Minsu’s ambition. Even if she knew, she wouldn’t have cared." Of Yona's background, Bong revealed, "Yona’s mother was the leader of the Frozen Seven’s revolution--because she was an Inuit. She was confident that she could endure the coldness. However, she went out too early."Comment:  So Yona is Inuit or half-Inuit by blood. Since she's a "train baby," though, she has no knowledge of the Inuit or their cultures.

One can easily discern a nature vs. technology theme in Snowpiercer. The rich white people have enclosed themselves in a metal shell, cut off from human suffering and pain. The poor, brown people (even the Caucasian "tailies" are dark with grime) long for a better life that may exist outside the train.

And an Inuit woman led the way. She was the first to think a Native approach--living in harmony with, rather than in opposition to, nature--would work.

Although it doesn't state an indigenous message explicitly, the movie implies one. Namely, that technological solutions--seeding the atmosphere, running the train--have failed. It's time to step outside the Western comfort zone and experience the harsh realities of life.

Below:  Yona and friend.

Racist superhero comics in Cracked

The title of this piece isn't quite accurate. It should be something like "Dozens of Shockingly Racist Scenes in 5 Famous Superhero Series."

Many of the scenes are from the World War II era, when Americans were fighting the Germans and Japanese, so the racism is somewhat understandable. A few are from the ignorant but well-meaning 1960s and 1970s. In a couple of cases I don't agree with the author--such as the X-Men's use of racial slurs to argue against racism.

Racist and stereotypical depictions of Indians make more than their fair share of appearances. Let's take a look:

5 Shockingly Racist Scenes in Famous Superhero Comics

By Seanbaby#5. The Justice League

It's unusual for an elite group of whites to be racist, but the Justice League had some problems with it. For starters, even their space aliens were Aryan. When Hanna Barbera adapted them into a cartoon in the '70s, animators had to invent four ethnic members just so they wouldn't burn through their supply of "flesh" paint in the first season. If you're not familiar, the racial heroes added to the Super Friends were:

1. A Native American named Apache Chief who wasn't either of those things.Bruce Wayne became a bat to strike fear into the hearts of Gotham criminals, but in China, bats are often considered good luck. So Batman may have decided to murder a few hundred of their people to clear up any confusion. And speaking of confusion, here's the kind of interaction Batman has with Native Americans:There were people on the Justice League with racism that didn't even make sense. Green Lantern is a space policeman. Most of his coworkers and friends are jellyfish or cosmic squirrels, and yet he had no idea what to do when he met a real-life Earth Eskimo.Yes, Hal Jordan had an Eskimo sidekick he called "PIEFACE." And that nickname fucking stuck. Thomas Kalmaku walked around for decades answering to PIEFACE. It was such a bizarrely offensive character that when Filmation created a Green Lantern cartoon in the '60s, they replaced him with a blue (probably) alien boy named Kai Ro. Hal wasn't as aggressively racist towards him, but their relationship was far from appropriate.

Superman handled most racial situations perfectly. He made it through WWII and Korea without calling anyone names and he didn't even ask to touch Black Lois' hair. If he had one cultural kryptonite, it was that he wasn't great with Indians.In a story called "Superman, Indian Chief!", Superman was called in to settle a property dispute in Metropolis. An evil mogul discovered, through distant Native American ancestry, that he owned all the city's land. He instantly began extorting the citizens of Metropolis and proudly bragged about it right to Superman's face. It was almost suicidally evil, and here's how Superman handled it:Superman had any number of option--everything from diplomacy to super hypnosis to super ventriloquism to punching the evil dick into the sun. He went with: running back in time to screw the Indians out of their land 300 years ago. He didn't even have to think about it. He was already jogging through the 1800s before the guy was done with his threat. Say what you want about Aquaman and Wonder Woman shrieking "Jap!" for the better part of a decade; Superman wove his racism into the very fabric of his universe's chronosphere.

#4. The X-Men

Like the Justice League, most of the X-Men's cultural diversity came in one explosion of poorly thought out ethnic characters. For example, James Proudstar. He's a Native American with the power of being pretty tough and tracking. Almost as if a racist thought, "What super powers would be handy if you had to, like, be an Indian all day?" And sure enough, when we meet him, he's having a wrestling match with a buffalo. A wrestling match with a buffalo.

Actually, the original Thunderbird was John Proudstar. His brother James became Thunderbird after John died.

And yes, a buffalo on the Apache reservation is fairly ridiculous. It's theoretically possible but extremely unlikely.#1. The Marvel Family



Comment:  Seanbaby criticizes other portrayals in the Marvel Family comics, but not the Native portrayals. The Native examples are sidelights, and they're self-explanatory.

Unfortunately, it's still not uncommon to see Native characters wearing headdresses and buckskins, or half-naked, or both. Yes, even in the 2010s. For instance, Grant Morrison re-introduced Chief Man-of-Bats, the Native Batman, a few years ago. (Man-of-Bats may have debuted in the Batman story pictured above.)

Can kids appropriate Native culture?

When is it cultural appropriation and when is it just kids playing dress-up?

By Ariel Meadow StallingsLast week on Offbeat Mama we ran a sponsored post for a family photographer, which featured this image.Within a day, we'd gotten two comments about it. The first very articulately raised the issue of cultural appropriation: "I know that other people probably disagree, but the first photo makes me sad. Adrienne says it better than I can." The second comment (from a different reader) was less articulate, snarkily asking the photographer if she "has the kids do hipster blackface as well?"

Both comments were removed (as per our comment policy on sponsored posts), but we also swapped out the photo.

But the issue of cultural appropriation is huge and important, so I sent this follow-up message to the more articulate of the two commenters:About your comment below on Offbeat Mama: the photo you were concerned about has been removed from the post, but I wanted to follow up with you via email. A sponsored post isn't the best place get into a whole discussion about race and cultural appropriation, but I'd love the opportunity to dive into this more.

I'm totally 100% with you on how the hipster trends of cultural appropriation are problematic (it's something we've talked a LOT about on Offbeat Bride), but I'm confused about how a photo of the children reflects this.

So, for starters, we don't know anything about the cultural background of these children—they could be half or a quarter Native. By accusing them of appropriation, there are some serious assumptions being made about people of mixed race backgrounds looking a certain way. For that matter, they could have a non-blood relative or family friend who is Native American who gifted this headdress. We simply have no way of knowing.

That said, even assuming they ARE white and have no personal connections to Native culture, I'm confused at how children involved in imaginative play can be considered hipster-ish cultural appropriation. Children engage in fantasy play all the time, including cultural play like pretending to be everything from Eskimos to French bakers to Aboriginal hunters to Russian spies. By saying these children are somehow guilty of appropriating for fashion or appearance feels like it's suggesting that children are only allowed to play-act their own personal experiences.

Shouldn't we be encouraging children to learn and explore other cultural experiences through play? Where-as status-seeking adults may wear a head-dress out of some sort of ironic fashion statement, it feels like these kids are potentially playing dress up in the same way they would by wearing a sombrero they brought home from a family vacation to Mexico, or a pair of little leiderhosen from Germany. I totally understand the issues of genocide and colonialism—but imaginative play feels like the perfect time to talk to kids about these issues.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Again—we're definitely batting for the same team here, but I'm really struggling with the idea that we're now accusing children of being culturally appropriative fashionista hipsters. Help me understand?Comment:  Wow, so much wrongness in Ms. Stallings's attempt to under the issues. I think I can help her as much as the commenter did--if not more so.

For starters, why dismiss the other commenter's question: "Has the kids do hipster blackface as well?" Because you don't like snark? Or poor grammar? That's not much of an excuse.

Dressing up like a 19th-century Indian is exactly like dressing up as 19th-century black slave. They were the norm 150 years ago...yet they're both limited if not false representations of an entire race of people.

You're into kids exploring other times and cultures...so would you let them dress up in blackface as slaves? It's a legitimate question and a simple one to answer. So which is: Yes or no?

If your answer is no, how can it be yes in the case of Natives? The two cases are the same. That you may think they're different is indicative of the problem.

As we've said many times before, the children's race is irrelevant. One, even if they're part or all Native, they're unlikely to belong to the few tribes that wear these headdresses. Two and more important, they're not items meant to be worn by children. If being Native is your excuse, your excuse fails, because Native children wouldn't dress like this.

Eskimo race = spy occupation?

Your comment, "Children engage in fantasy play all the time, including cultural play like pretending to be everything from Eskimos to French bakers to Aboriginal hunters to Russian spies," just shows the depth of the problem.

FYI, Eskimos and Aborigines aren't cultures, they're races. Playacting a race you know nothing about is almost certain to be a farce and a mockery. That's why we've invented pejorative terms--blackface, yellowface, and redface--to describe the practice.

Bakers, hunters, and spies are occupations, not cultures or races. As an example, an "Eskimo" can be anything from a baker to a hunter to a spy also. The fact that you've assigned these occupations to other cultures but assumed an "Eskimo" is self-explanatory is exactly the problem. To you, an Eskimo is a parka-wearing, igloo-building, harpoon-throwing savage--not a doctor or lawyer or any kind of modern person.

You continue, "Shouldn't we be encouraging children to learn and explore other cultural experiences through play?" Perhaps, if they're exploring how today's Native people can be poets or brain surgeons or rocket scientists. But that's not what you have in mind, is it? You're talking about reinforcing racist stereotypes from a couple of centuries ago. There's no "culture" today where Natives dress up like half-naked savages.

And there's no value in pretending to belong to the tiny subset of Natives who dressed like this centuries ago. This is a fantasy of another culture, not an actual culture. You're perpetuating a lie by letting kids act as if this is a true representation of the myriads of Native cultures that once lived across the continent.

The only part you got right is this one: "I'm really struggling with the idea that we're now accusing children of being culturally appropriative fashionista hipsters." "Hipster" isn't the right word for children who innocently ape the adults who stereotype Natives. Adults let them dress this way and surely didn't educate them about why it's problematical. The kids' actions are wrong but it's their parents and teachers who are to blame for it.

Another posting:

Helpful hints for would-be anti-racist, Indigenous Solidarity activists, by Josdadalv

helps make the point visually. These kids are as close to *a* Native culture--remember, there are thousands of these cultures--as this cat is to a deer. Even if the chose the best deer costume available and sincerely believes it represents a deer, it doesn't. It's a joke and an insult to anyone who knows real deer.



For more on the subject, see SF Giants to Ban Headdresses? and Why Pharrell's Headdress Was Wrong.

Natural history museum in Bob's Burgers

In tonight's episode of Bob's Burgers, Carpe Museum (airdate: 5/5/13), Bob and his kids take a field trip to a natural history museum. I wondered how they'd handle the issue of commingling animals and "primitive" humans--a perennial one for this type of museum. The answer: not well.

To its credit, Bob's Burgers didn't show any indigenous humans. What it did show was cavemen, Vikings, and pioneers in a covered wagon. All had light-colored skin, so the only racial group on display were Caucasians.

This is a bit silly, since natural history museums generally don't feature Vikings or pioneers. It seemed like a contrived effort to be "politically correct."

But the show undercut this by presenting one boy's list of exhibits with "boobs." The list read:Boobs

Viking boobs
Eskimo boobs
East Timor boobs
Micronesian boobs
Samoan boobs
Egyptian boobsThen there's an Amazon rainforest exhibit still under construction. A thatched Indian hut is the only human artifact in it.

What's wrong?

For starters, the boobs list implies that indigenous people are nothing but sexual objects of interest. Whoever wrote this episode probably learned about these people from old National Geographics.

The thatched hut sends a similar message. Namely, that indigenous people are part of nature, not part of humanity. That they're closer to trees and monkey than they are to doctors and lawyers.

Summing up Bob's take: Wild animals = primitive white men = modern indigenous people. In other words, "Eskimos," Amazon Indians, and other brown-skins belong in a museum with extinct species (dinosaurs, woolly mammoths) and civilizations (Egyptians, Vikings).

Bob's Burgers suffers from the same mentality seen in Indians in Natural History Museums, Indians in Bailey at the Museum, and Eurocentrism in Night at the Museum 2. That's stereotypical if not racist.

For more on Bob's Burgers, see Navajo Mask in Bob's Burgers.

"Eskimo Susie" in Saturday Night Live

The 2012 season finale of Saturday Night Live (airdate: 5/19/12) had a mention of Natives. In a skit, failed theater actress Mindy Grayson (Kristen Wiig) appeared on the game show Secret Word. When she blurted out a secret word, she claimed she "knew to guess it." She continued:Just like I knew I wasn’t gonna win the Tony for "Eskimo Susie and the Igloo Crew." The New York Post said, "The only way is could be called a hit is if you put an s in front of the h!"

Here is the big number, hit it! "Eskimo Susie and the igloo crew, chewing on blubber, why do we live here?"Comment:  So "Eskimos" live in igloos, chew on blubber, and live in the Arctic for no good reason? I guess they should move to someplace like Death Valley, which is just as intemperate but firmly ensconced in the United States?

These comments are obviously stereotypical. The Inuit live in igloos the way the Lakota live in teepees and white men live in log cabins. Which is to say, not at all, except in rare situations.

Everyone knows that white men no longer live in log cabins. But no one seems to know that the Inuit live in houses just like everyone else. Skits like this reinforce the stereotypical belief that "everyone knows": that the Inuit and other Natives are primitive people of the past.

For more on Eskimos, see Stereotypical Inuk Adoption Poster and Cartoon About "Eskimo Baptism."

Stereotypical Inuk adoption poster

Children's Aid Society under fire for Inuk baby adoption posterThe Children's Aid Society in Ottawa is being criticized this week for advertising an Inuk baby available for adoption on posters.

The poster, which was distributed this week, says the society is seeking a "strong Inuit family" to adopt the three-month-old boy. The poster describes the boy as "calm and loving" and says he "loves being cuddled."

Some say it makes the boy sound like a puppy up for adoption, and the poster is also littered with images of traditional Inuit Inukshuks, parkas and qulliqs–Inuit oil lamps.

"The way it was worded, it sounds like a marketing tool. It is a marketing tool, and we found it quite offensive that that kind of wording would be used now, in 2012," said Okalik Eegeesiak from the Qikiqtani Inuit Association.Comment:  You can see the poster here:

Doucment (PDF)

The poster looks like an amateur community flyer with icons scattered around the margin. Whoever created it had enough sense to include genuine Inuit artifacts, and to skip the usual igloo, dogsled, and polar bear. But it shows a child in a parka and what looks like a doll in a parka.

The problems is that the artifacts imply the boy comes from a primitive and exotic culture. It romanticizes the Inuit as living closer to nature, unsullied by Western civilization. It implies you'd be rescuing the boy from his backward existence--like rescuing a stray dog from the streets and giving it a home.

The alternative is to use a photo of the boy as he really is: dressed in regular baby clothes, swaddled in blankets, sleeping in a crib, etc. Just describe him neutrally, without the pseudo-puppy talk. I don't think you need a hard sell when you've got a cute baby to adopt.

For more on Eskimo stereotypes, see Cartoon About Eskimo Baptism and Suzuki's Dog-Sled Commercial.

Below:  "Okalik Eegeesiak, from the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, said the poster's wording is unacceptable." (CBC)

Cartoon about "Eskimo baptism"

Speaking of Eskimo stereotypes, here's another example of them:



In addition to the usuals--igloo, parkas, sled dog--the cartoon implies the Inuit are too stupid or ignorant to conduct a baptism. In reality, they'd be the least likely people to freeze a baby, not the most likely. They're much more familiar with Arctic conditions than anyone else.

To deconstruct this "humor," imagine a white father baptizing his baby in a kitchen pot of boiling water, thereby killing the baby. Is that funny? No. Is it conceivable? No. White people are smart enough not to dunk their babies in boiling water. It's not funny to contradict this obvious truism for the sake of a "joke."

The same applies to the "Eskimo" situation. The difference is, we subconsciously think the Inuit may be that stupid and ignorant. In other words, that primitive and savage. They worship polar bears or whales or something, right? How would they know about Christian baptisms?

Well, like everyone else in the Americas, most of them are Christians. Most have lived in the modern world of computers, televisions, and baptisms all their lives. They're no more likely to make this mistake than anyone else.

In short, the cartoon is stereotypical if not racist. As is almost every mass-media portrayal of the Inuit.

For more on the subject, see Eskimos: The Ultimate Aborigines.

Suzuki's dog-sled commercial

Super Bowl Ad Stars 2 Alaska Native ActorsA 2012 Super Bowl ad from Suzuki stars 2 Alaska Native actors in the lead roles.

Mary Rock and Davis Kamoff were cast for the commercial, according to Deb Schildt with Piksik, a production services company based in Anchorage.

The ad, called “Sled,” showcases the auto-maker’s sport sedan dubbed “Kizashi.”

Suzuki said the ad was shot in Canada about an hour outside of Calgary on a frozen lake and was made by the ad agency Siltanen & Partners Advertising.

Comment:  This ad isn't terrible. It gets bonus points for using Alaska Native actors who (apparently) speak their own language. But it has a few problems.

The ad begins with a clichéd hawk screech. Hawks in the Arctic? I don't think so. Stereotype alert!

But it's not clear the ad takes place in the Arctic. The setting appears to be a frozen lake nestled among tree-covered mountains. In the far north, where the Inuit traditionally live, there are few if any mountains, trees, or lakes.

An Inuit man in a parka prepares his dog sled outside his igloo. He hugs an Inuit woman, also in a parka, and leaves on his sled. Apparently he trades his sled for a car, because he and the dogs drive back to the igloo. His woman asks where the sled is and he says he upgraded it.

First, the commercial gives us three basic "Eskimo" stereotypes: igloo, parkas, and dog sled. These suggest the Inuit are primitive people with no access to modern technology. In reality, most Inuit live in mass-manufactured houses and wear mass-manufactured coats these days.

Besides, the igloo makes no sense. The Inuit build igloos as temporary shelters on the ice when they're far from home. They build them of ice blocks because they have no other materials handy.

But this couple has stone and wood nearby. If they couldn't buy a prefabricated house, why wouldn't they build a proper one? Oh, yeah...because all Inuit live in igloos no matter what their circumstances are, right? That's what a million "Eskimo" stereotypes have told us, anyway.

The man wears his parka inside the car. He must be sweltering, especially if he's using the car's heater. Part of the parka stereotype is that the Inuit never take them off and wear something else. It's as if furs are glued to their skin.

The man says he traded the sled for the car. He obviously means the wooden conveyance, since he still has his dogs. But I'm pretty sure the dogs are the most important and valuable part of the dog sled. In other words, the sled is worthless without the dogs. It's easily replaced while the dogs require years of painstaking training.

Conclusion

Overall, this ad gets maybe a "B" for effort. It gets points for featuring the Inuit in a high-profile Super Bowl ad. For showing they can drive something other than a sled or snowmobile--possibly a first on network TV. And for using genuine Alaska Natives and their language.

But it loses points for reinforcing old stereotypes. If we're to judge by commercials like this one, all American Indians live in teepees and all Alaska Natives live in igloos. In other words, Natives are stuck in the distant past...ho-hum.

I imagine the creators thought their ad was progressive. Not really. Natives abandon a 19th-century lifestyle for a 20th-century convenience isn't a cutting-edge message in the 21st century. Trading a sled for a car might've been a great idea in 1912, but not in 2012.

If you wanted to do this commercial right, you could start with a modern Inuit family in a modern home. The parents tell the children a story of the "olden days." Then cut to the actual commercial, with a traditional Inuit family upgrading their sled to a Kizashi. It's basically the same message, but it doesn't place the Inuit in a primitive and stereotypical setting. It doesn't tell us that igloos and parkas are their normal state.

For more on Eskimo stereotypes, see "Talking Eskimo" Wheat Board Video and Vilche the "Eskimo Warrior."

"Eskimo" = slur in Canada

More on the story reported in "Talking Eskimo" Wheat Board Video:

MP apologizes for 'Talking Eskimo' video

Anti-wheat board cartoon on David Anderson's website denounced as slur against Inuit peopleInuit find the word offensive

Karliin Aariak from Iqaluit says seeing the word Eskimo used in the context of the video is degrading. CBCIt's not just opposition MPs in Ottawa that are upset by the use of the word Eskimo.

Karliin Aariak is Inuit and lives in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut.

She was embarrassed and shocked to hear about the video.

"Seeing the video and hearing the word Eskimo being used in the context of this video is degrading to Inuit and is obviously putting us down as a people and making us sound as if we are stupid and should not be used," said Aariak.

The word Eskimo has not been used in Nunavut for years now. It was replaced by the politically correct word Inuit by its people.Comment:  I thought the main problem was using the phrase "talking Eskimo" to belittle the Inuit language and culture. But I guess people are reacting solely to the word "Eskimo."

I didn't realize "Eskimo" was quite that disliked in Canada. Some Alaska Natives still use it to describe themselves.

For more on the proper terminology, see "Eskimo" vs. "Inuit."

"Talking Eskimo" wheat board video

'Talking Eskimo' wheat board video sparks controversy

By Laura PaytonA Conservative MP who posted an animated video on his website that uses the controversial phrase "talking Eskimo" has taken it down.

Saskatchewan MP David Anderson, parliamentary secretary for the Canadian Wheat Board, posted the video on his website to explain some farmers' opposition to the board. The video is generated from a website where users enter text and a computerized voice reads the text as a conversation between two characters. The video was later pulled off the website.

The script is meant to be a conversation between a fictional wheat board executive and a Saskatchewan wheat farmer who wants to sell his grain to a baker in Calgary.

"Slow down, young man. You are talking Eskimo," the executive tells him. "You cannot do those things in Saskatchewan."And:The video uses the line about 'talking Eskimo' three times. It also features the board representative telling the farmer he'll be thrown into a maximum security prison cell with a convicted murderer if he tries to sell his grain to a private buyer.

Earlier, National Inuit Leader Mary Simon called it a racist slur.

"The comment is offensive to Inuit, has no place in public discussion, and certainly no place on the website of an elected member of Parliament," Simon said in a statement. "My hope is that the MP in question did not know it was part of the animated video, and that it will be removed immediately."

NDP MP Niki Ashton, whose northern Manitoba Churchill riding is both a port town that makes money off wheat board traffic and has a large First Nations population, tweeted that Anderson should take down the video and apologize.Comment:  This must be "Insult a Native Week." It's the fifth time since Oct. 20 that a public figure has said something stupid about Indians.

One "talking Eskimo" might be an innocent mistake. But three times isn't a mistake, it's a pattern. Anderson clearly thought the phrase was acceptable and appropriate. To him, "talking Eskimo" was a valid way to say "nonsense."

For more on Eskimo stereotypes, see Vilche the "Eskimo Warrior" and Native Canadians in South Park.

Vilche the "Eskimo Warrior"

Red Bluff’s female heavy-hitter

Avery Vilche is a small but feisty mixed-martial-arts fighter

By Allie ColoskyThough she’s only 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs only 125 pounds, Avery Vilche walked confidently into the cage, ready to spar with a young man at least 15 pounds heavier than she. Almost immediately, she took charge, throwing him around with more force than anyone would expect from the tiny fighter.

Nicknamed the Eskimo Warrior, the 41-year-old mixed-martial-arts fighter from Red Bluff may not have size in her corner, but she’s never been one to back down from a challenge. After starting as a boxer before women were even allowed to participate in U.S. Amateur Boxing, and earning several commendations including a gold medal in the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, Vilche continues to overcome obstacles and adversity as she trains for her next fight in North Carolina this Friday (June 17).Comment:  I understand the Yup'ik embrace the word "Eskimo," so they wouldn't consider this nickname a slur.

At least Vilche doesn't come out in a headdress and warpaint yelling war cries. I hope!

For more on mixed-martial artists, see Yup'ik Kickboxer Champion and Chippewa/Blackfeet Fighter on Ultimate Fighter.

Below:  "Avery Vilche is a firecracker in the cage, taking on Alex Fazleev, a student of hers who’s almost half her age, while her trainer, Manuel Whatley, and husband, John, watch." (Allie Colosky)

Native Canadians in South Park

Here's a brief clip from a recent episode of South Park (airdate: 5/11/11):

Season 15:  Royal Pudding

Mr. Mackey loses it, while Scott the Dick leads Ike to the Native Canadians.Comment:  As with past South Park episodes, this clip is a mixed bag at best.

On the one hand, the "Native Canadians" are rendered with slanted eyes, which is patently offensive. They're all wearing fur-lined parkas, which are apparently some kind of tribal uniform. (The non-Natives aren't wearing fur-lined parkas, so the clothing must not be necessary for the climate.) And they're not using anything more modern than a harpoon. No high-powered rifles, radios, or snowmobiles--nothing like that.

On the other hand, they're speaking some sort of Native language(s), not gibberish. The non-Natives' stupid comments are designed to make the non-Natives look bad. And the show is sensitive enough to label the Natives "Native Canadians" rather than "Eskimos" or something less pleasant.

The Native language(s)

I asked a friend if she knew what language the Natives were speaking. This led to the following discussion:They are speaking two languages--Athabaskan dialect (the female speaker) and a Plains language (Blood? Or the plains languages spoken in Canada) by the male speaker respectively. (Which means the two conversation topics may be divergent.)Does Athabaskan include Navajo? Does the Plains language include Lakota? I'd guess producers Stone and Parker, who live in the LA area, found two local Native speakers and recorded them separately.

On the one hand, it's kind of lame that they didn't find two Inuktitut speakers. On the other, at least the "Native Canadians" weren't speaking gibberish. Stone and Parker probably did more than many producers would have.I would say the upshot was they did not speak gibberish. My money is on Navajo really, as the cadence and pronunciation leans more that way. As for the male's speech, I do not thing it was Siouxan nor Slavey. Even though I say "Plains" I would guess Blood.I'd also guess the producers recorded the Natives without telling them about the episode. They may have asked the Natives to say something about fishing, or to say anything. If they were carrying on a real conversation in two different languages, I'd be surprised.

The rest of the episode

Royal Pudding's plot involves the kidnapping of a "Canadian princess." The Inuit play a bigger role than the scene above indicates:When it turns out that Scott has been wrongly accused of taking the princess, most other Canadians go home, but Scott persuades Ike and Ugly Bob to follow him as he accuses the Inuit of kidnapping the princess out of his racial prejudice towards the "Native Canadians." However, while admitting that his people do have a grudge against the Canadians for taking their land, the Inuit tribe leader reveals that the princess' abduction was foretold, and that the true kidnapper is one who attacks people of all nationalities. With an Inuit mother leading the three, they find a large dark castle, where the princess is held captive by the abductor: Tooth Decay. Eventually, after the monster hurls Scott and the Inuit woman across the room, Ike turns Tooth Decay to stone by exposing Ugly Bob's face to him.That doesn't sound too bad. It could be a decent role for these cartoon Natives. Except for their slanty eyes and nonstop parka wearing, of course.

For more on South Park, see "Tardicaca Indians" in South Park and "Indians" in Cannibal! The Musical.

Comedian isn't afraid to be racist

Ron White's blue collar comedy tour

By Brian MackeyWhite’s not afraid to work blue, and he’s about as far from politically correct as one can get without inspiring lawsuits or riots. White recalled during a 2005 show that he once said Eskimos were an ugly people. This was during a show in Alaska, he said, and it resulted in a scathing letter from “the head Eskimo, Frosty, or whatever they call him.” The letter boasted, “the Eskimo tribe is one of the purest races on the planet.”

“That’s kind of what I’m talking about,” White said. Ba-dum.Comment:  Wow, such pure racism. I wonder how many "jokes" he tells about blacks, Latinos, Jews, et al. being ugly and inbred. Or do Natives "win" the Oppression Olympics once again?

For more on the subject, see "Squaw Skank" Joke on Tonight Show and Colbert Satirizes UN Declaration Scare.

On the Ice challenges stereotypes

Answering Back

Andrew Okpeaha MacLean Captures Life on the Ice

By Paulette BeeteAll of MacLean's films to date have been set, at least in part, in Barrow and its surrounding landscape. As is true with all hard-to-reach places, the inhabitants of Alaska's North Slope remain a mystery to outsiders, and much of their characterization in popular culture is half-truth verging on caricature. MacLean's filmmaking is a reflection of his desire to let people know what being an Eskimo is really like. "We're in a kind of strange position that everybody in the world has heard of Eskimos. Most people have some kind of strange notions--they rely on stereotypes they've heard….We're like a punch line or something. Nobody really knows us. I want to make art that is reflective of a more genuine aspect of our experience."

He added that there is an implicit political angle to his filmmaking. "In the Arctic right now, we've got this avalanche of information and narrative and stories that just piles into our lives from the dominant Western culture. Movies, television, Internet, Facebook, music…I want to start answering that back. I want to start making people listen to us for a change. I've seen a million movies about you guys, now here's a movie about us that you have to sit and watch."Comment:  For more on the subject, see On the Ice Wins in Berlin and Mixed Reviews for On the Ice.

Below:  "Director Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, working on his film On the Ice."

"Selling ice to Eskimos"

Here's a segment from what looks like an Australian reality show:

The PitchEach week two of the advertising industry's finest agencies are pitted against each other and challenged with selling the unsellable.

The first pitch shows coastal scenes from what looks like Antarctica. Oops. A shot of calving ice transitions to a block of ice crushing a tropical drink. An "Eskimo" appears to tout an ice-cube product. (Apparently Eskimos can't figure out how to chip a small piece of ice from a large one.) His look is vaguely Eurasian, he's wearing a hooded parka, and he has a blacked-out tooth. Finally he rubs noses with an Eskimo woman who's also wearing a hooded parka.

The second pitch shows two "Eskimos" in front of a frozen plain. They look like Asians or Pacific Islanders, though I suppose they could be Inuit. They're also wearing hooded parkas. They begin speaking in Inuktitut--apparently the real language--which the ad man mislabels "Inuit." Then they begin slapping each other in the face with a fish, which I'm guessing is not a traditional practice. Finally one touts an ice product in the still incomprehensible language.

I'd say both ads are total failures. Even in the show's context, they don't make their cases. They don't persuade you to buy ice.

In our context, they're stereotypical. Besides the de rigueur parkas, they make the Inuit look crude and primitive. A blacked-out tooth? Fish-slapping? Really?

If you think the second ad deserves points for using Inuktitut...not really. Some Inuit speak Inuktitut and some don't. But most speak English. There's little point in producing an ad in Inuktitut unless you subtitle it in English. That's another reason the second ad fails.

Rob's pitch

Except for the questionable use of the term "Eskimo," I don't find the premise offensive. It's a gimmicky but legitimate question. How would you sell ice to someone who supposedly doesn't need it?

Here's my ad:

A magnificent Alaskan landscape in summer. It's blazing hot and there's no ice in sight. The camera zooms in on an Inuit village, then on a single house. A couple dozen Inuit are gathered in a backyard for an afternoon barbecue. Elders smile, neighbors gossip, children run and play. The host cooks meat on a grill.

Someone says it's too hot and asks for a cold drink. The host checks the ice chest but...they're out of ice. Oh, no! But never fear: His wife appears with Alaska Ice, a packaged ice product. The barbecue is saved and everyone is happy.

Tagline: "Alaska Ice...when you can't wait for winter."

Cast your votes, readers. Would you vote for pitch #1, pitch #2, or Rob's pitch? Am I more creative than a professional advertising firm, or what?

For more on Eskimo stereotypes, see Nanookwaffe in Family Guy and "Eskimo Sisters" in Indian Headdresses.

The Eskimo Clark Gable

Book recounts career of The 'Eskimo Clark Gable'

By Mike DunhamIn the prologue to her biography of Ray Wise Mala, "Eskimo Star," historian Lael Morgan tells how she kept seeing a photo of the same man in house after house while doing research in the Kotzebue area in the 1980s. Who was that handsome man? she asked.

"Cousin Ray, the movie star," she was told.

After years of work, Morgan has produced the first biography of the only Alaska Native to make it to the big time in Hollywood. Subtitled "From the Tundra to Tinseltown: the Ray Mala Story," the book will be officially released this week. Appropriately, the release coincides with a statewide Ray Mala film festival--probably the biggest screening of films by Alaska's best-known movie actor ever planned.

Mala was born in 1906 in Candle, on the north side of the Seward Peninsula. His father was a Jewish trader from Russia who wouldn't show any interest in his son until the boy started making big bucks in the movies. His mother was an Inupiaq who left the child with her mother and married a Swedish bar owner.And:By the end of the decade, he was in California as an assistant cameraman for Fox Studios. Management noticed his good looks and took some head shots. In the early 1930s, he scored his first acting success in "Igloo," a staged documentary shot in Barrow. Universal Studios' press machine dubbed him "The Eskimo Clark Gable."

In 1932 MGM sent an army of production people to Nome to film Peter Freuchen's fictional drama "Eskimo." It was billed as "the biggest picture ever made" and was, in fact, the first full-length major studio picture ever shot in Alaska.

Mala was suggested for the lead but the director rejected him because the cameraman from Candle was half-Jewish. He only changed his mind when the original lead actor walked out in a dispute involving his wife and a member of the crew.

It turned out to be a lucky break for everyone else. Mala wasn't just handsome, he had a face that the camera adored. There was no "bad" angle.

He also knew the language. "Eskimo" used Inupiaq dialogue, but bilingualism also came in handy for translating between local Natives and Hollywood people. He was comfortably familiar with the traditional gear he wielded in the script. But, most importantly, he had considerable acting instincts honed by years of close observation of stars while working with them on the set.

Even before it debuted, "Eskimo" generated national industry buzz. Mala's many friends in the business chatted it up enthusiastically. Awesome raw footage had been beautifully edited. (The film would win the first Academy Award for editing.) Rave reviews poured in from critics in both America and Europe. "Eskimo" was an instant classic--and Mala became a matinee idol.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Publicity Pix of Eskimo and Eskimo Won Oscar.

Below:  "Ray Mala filmed Igloo in Barrow in 1931. The filmmaker did not include the names of the Native actors, including the woman seen next to Mala in this photo."