This is racism.
It is cultural appropriation — in other words, theft.
It is redface — in other words, a minstrel show.
It does not honor, esteem, dignify, or respect us in any way.
And once you've been told, by the very people whose ancestors, cultures, histories, and very lives you dishonor, that it doesn't — more, that it insults us and steals from us —and you continue to do it, then it becomes no longer the racism of ignorance, but the much more toxic racism of deliberate intent.
Christina Fallin, this is your mirror. Like what you see? Because for all your superficial long-haired clear-skinned beauty, from where I sit, your reflection is looking pretty damn ugly.
A warbonnet? Really? Perhaps you should read what about what a warbonnet actually signifies. Even if you were Indian, you'd have no right to wear one. But because you're not, your wearing of it becomes sacrilege.
A "war dance?" Really? Again, perhaps you need to read some actual history. Including, say, the actual history of the state you call home, the state that loves to tout itself as "Indian Country." The "Indian Wars" were nothing for you to trivialize so offensively. They were nothing less than a structured, systematic campaign of genocide.
Regalia and a shawl? Really? More redface. More minstrelsy. More mockery.
"SHEEP?" Really? The only thing remotely resembling "sheep" that I see in this entire scenario are the racists who mindlessly mouth the anti-Native slurs that you spoon-feed them, and who flip off and otherwise insult actual Indians at your urging. Of course, I can't really call them sheep, because I've never known an actual sheep to be so lacking in integrity.
Your mother thinks this is "an old story." Oh, yes, indeed it is, but not in the way she means. This particular chapter of it, of course, is only a day and a half old as of this writing. But the book itself is indeed an old, old story, one going back more than half a millennium, and one we've managed to survive despite the likes of you and her and all of your fellow travelers. And since your mother has more than adequately demonstrated her anti-Indian bias before, I'm not at all surprised, either at her own attitude or at the fact that she raised to putative adulthood a child with an attitude like yours.
No matter. It's not as though we'll be silent. We know, and we will not hesitate to remind you:
We are #notyourmascot. We are #notyourminstrel. We are #notyourTontoorTigerLilyorPocahontas. We are #notyourredskin.
And we are not going to let you take what is ours and desecrate it.
Contact Governor Mary Fallin:
Oklahoma State Capitol
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 212
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Local: (405) 521-2342
Fax: (405) 521-3353
Tulsa Office of Governor Mary Fallin and Native American Affairs Liaison440 S. Houston Ave., Suite 606
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74127
Phone (405)522-8861
Fax (918) 581-2835
Boycott "Pink Pony" (Christina Fallin's band) and let them know why.
Boycott enabler Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips and let them know why.
Boycott Blackwatch Studios and let them know why. Warning: Studio Web site autoplays. And, no, I don't care that they allowed protestors to be present; they had no business booking a racist minstrel show, and certainly not for an Indian venue.
Boycott the Norman Music Festival and let them know why.
Contact and boycott Chickasaw-owned and -operated Riverwind Casino until it makes this right.
Copyright Ajijaakwe, 2014; all rights reserved.
