School's "YMCA" act called racist

Fargo parent calls school's 'Y.M.C.A.' talent show act 'racist'

By Forum News ServiceA Fargo first-grade class won’t be participating in the school's talent show after a concerned parent called a planned act “racist.”

The students were supposed to be performing the song “Y.M.C.A.” during Bennett Elementary School’s May talent show.

For the show, a first-grade teacher asked parents to have their kids wear clothes like the Village People, the group that recorded the hit song in the 1970s. Some would come dressed as a policeman, a cowboy, a biker dude, a construction worker or a Native American.

But one mom, Elaine Bolman, said asking her daughter and her classmates to dress up like an Indian is offensive.

“I'm not in a position to do anything for these educators, and hopefully those people that are can make the right choices so all students of any culture and race won't feel singled out or like their race is being stereotyped against,” Bolman said.

The Bennett Elementary staff pulled plans for “Y.M.C.A.”Comment:  This is a classic example of how stereotyping is perpetuated. People continue to portray or parody the Village People, and of course the band continues to perform. While the other portrayals are close to the occupations they portray, the "Chief" is an outdated stereotype from a century or two ago.

It's also the only racial caricature in the group. Yet no one points out the anomaly--that one of the five performers doesn't match the other four. That one is an ignorant stereotype like every mascot, Halloween costume, or hipster in a headdress.

Instead, the message is sent that this is what an Indian looks like. Because everyone treats it as good and normal, it reinforces a million other stereotypical images in our society. Collectively they tell us that Indians are nothing but primitive people of the past.

For more on the Village People, see Village People in Family Guy and What's Wrong with the Village People?

Village People in Family Guy

In an episode of Family Guy, titled Tea Peter (airdate: 6/13/12), Peter and his friends become enraged at the government. Their diatribe leads to this cutaway gag:PETER: Yeah, those bastards have ruined everything. The same way the Village People ruined any gathering of a cop, an Indian chief, and a construction worker.

BYSTANDER: Oh, my God! Can we get a picture with you guys?

COP: We're not those guys.

CHIEF: Yes, please leave us alone. We're very busy.

WORKER: Now where were we? Oh, yeah. We've got to solve that security problem for the Indian casino we're constructing.

Again, a TV show presents a mixed message. On the one hand, the gag undercuts the idea that a real Indian is a member of the Village People playing dress-up. On the other hand, it implies this is what a real Indian looks like. A Plains chief...standing in regalia for no reason...in Rhode Island.

The Narragansetts are the only recognized tribe in Rhode Island. Here's how they look these days:



A Narragansett chief might wear a Plains headdress on a special occasion--because many tribes have (mis)appropriated the Plains iconography. But a headdress plus buckskins? No. That's pure stereotyping.

What's wrong with the Village People?

A columnist asks some cogent questions about the "Chief" in the Village People:

What If the Village People Replaced Their Indian With a Rabbi?

By Dina Gilio-Whitaker[L]et’s cut to the chase. Why on earth, after American Indians have for decades been successfully waging war against the use of Indian stereotypes in popular culture, is Felipe Rose still parading around on stage in an Indian costume like a character in a Mel Blanc cartoon come to life? The humoristic use of costumes and play on stereotypes in Village People’s act is not offensive in and of itself, but Rose’s Halloween-style Indian is the only character to play on the identity of a living culture. What if there was a caricaturized Hasidic Jew, a Japanese Samurai, or, god forbid, a guy in blackface? It wouldn’t be tolerated by any of those groups for one second, not in this day and age.

I might be able to argue that back in the 1970s when the Village People first came out the social awareness was not quite there, which was why Rose could get away with it without much criticism. But that doesn’t explain why he continues to exploit the stereotype today, except to say that it no doubt is still a good living for him. It’s doubly perplexing assuming it’s true that he is, as he claims, of Lakota heritage. I’m not even questioning his identity claims. But I can’t help but wonder how he can continually justify perpetuating Indian stereotypes reminiscent of the ridiculous and now defunct Chiefs Illiniwek and Wahoo mascots? The only thing worse than a parody of an Indian by a non-Indian is a parody of an Indian by an Indian.

I once met Felipe Rose back in my artist days and remember him as a very pleasant man. He is well regarded in some Native circles, particularly in the Hollywood/entertainment Native community. He is represented in the National Museum of the American Indian, has won a NAMMY for his solo music contribution in 2002, and according to his website he has been honored for his work by other Native groups. I think it’s great that he puts energy into working in Native communities and for Native causes. With the influence that comes from his celebrity he is in a position to make a difference for people who need it.

Rose’s website claims that it’s “not just a costume. It is also his public statement of where he comes from and his long association with Native American groups across the country.” However, the questions remain: how does Rose’s campy use of the Indian stereotype in the Village People contribute to the Native community? Is it ever more acceptable when the stereotype is perpetuated by a Native person than a non-Native person? And where is the dividing line between the appropriate and inappropriate use of Native dress and culture in the entertainment world, especially by Natives themselves?Comment:  For more on people dressing up as Indians, see Responses to Sleepless Entertainment's Tribal Cosplay and "Village People" in Saturday Night Live.

"Village People" in Saturday Night Live

In the cold opening of last night's Saturday Night Live (airdate: 3/2/13), Jay Pharoah as President Obama explained how the sequester will harm ordinary people. After presenting a few individuals, he continued:And of course, these cuts will affect our military. Our civil servants. Federal construction projects. Even grants to Native Americans.As he said this, four members of the Village People, the old disco group, walked on stage. Fred Armisen, who usually takes the redface roles, played the "Indian chief."



It's good that SNL mentioned how budget cuts would harm Natives. That's a genuine but little-known concern. Kudos to the show for continuing to remember Indians.

But...the real issue, of course, is the appearance of the "Indian chief."

It goes without saying that Indians in 2013 don't look like 19th-century Plains chiefs. But how many of the millions of viewers realize that? Not many, I'd guess.

Since SNL was satirizing the Village People, one could argue that this wasn't a slight against Indians. But the Village People stereotyped Indians, so repeating the stereotypes is problematical. To many people, this faux "Indian" is a real Indian.

Unless you're showing the original Village People in an original performance, I'd say there's no reason to put them or their doppelgangers on screen. The bit didn't get enough laughs to justify the stereotyping.

As I've said before, about the only way to do this brand of humor is to challenge or criticize the stereotypes you present. SNL didn't do that, so I'd have to call this a fail.

For more on Saturday Night Live, see Victoria's Secret in Saturday Night Live and "Eskimo Susie" in Saturday Night Live.