Offended by Outkast's Performance At Grammy's?

[andymangold]

I'm a guest at this forum and i hope this belongs here...

I am working on a paper for my highschool english class pertaining to a native american controversy and its impact on both the native american population and the non-native american population. I chose to focus on OutKast's performance at last years Grammys. If you are unfamiliar with the issue here are some links.

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1076685404
http://www.utpjournals.com/jour.ihtml?lp=simile/issue16/kingfulltext.html#veran
http://www.ayn.ca/ViewNews.aspx?id=35

please specify whether or not you are of native american descent and please be honest, my grade depends on it!
:help:

 

[Green Gaia]

I am not of Native American descent, at least not enough to called myself such. I did not see the incident you mention, but I did look at the articles you posted. I cannot comment on whether or not I would be offended, but I think that as long as the act was not done in a derogatory manner, it would be OK. I'm sure there would be some individuals or groups that might be offened, but I think bringing Native American culture into the mainstream could be a good thing.

 

[Scuba Pete]

Long ago, the Boy Scouts prohibited ALL Indian Dancing by the Order of the Arrow, unless the dance was taught and approved by a native American. The costumes had to be approved by tribal authorities as well. There is no need to offend any ethnic group in the name of entertainment.

 

[Scuba Pete]

I also believe that ALL sports teams should relenquish their references to native American cultures.

 

[Green Gaia]

I also believe that ALL sports teams should relenquish their references to native American cultures.

Absolutely.

 

[Jaymes]

I'm 1/16th Cherokee, so I thought I'd ask whether you want me to put if I was or was not of Cherokee descent before I answered the poll, since it's such a small amount.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Glad to have you here, either as a guest or as a member! (I hope you join us! )

I'm not Native American, though I do follow many Western Cherokee spritual traditions.I wasn't offended, but then again, I didn't watch. I agree with NetDoc, though, that there is never any need to offend anyone, especially an entire culture, with a performance such as this. (It's interesting that you mention the sports teams, ND, because my high school grew up as "the Redskins" and a girl in my grade, who'd arrived in the high school just as I had, in her sophmore year, took all the action she could to get the name changed. I was appalled at the ignorance and hatred of my fellow students at the situation (most didn't think it should be changed), and (although I'm glad the team name was changed three years later) I was very much saddened that her efforts didn't prove fruitful during her time there.)

 

[Scuba Pete]

One of my favorite movies is "Wind Talker"... it shows our bigotry when dealing with the native Americans. Yet without them, we might not have won WWII.

 

[andymangold]

I'm 1/16th Cherokee, so I thought I'd ask whether you want me to put if I was or was not of Cherokee descent before I answered the poll, since it's such a small amount.

do you consider yourself a native american? answer accordingly.

this forum gets some quick responses, i would appreciate if people would select an option on the poll, as i hope to use the numbers in my paper.

regarding the sports teams, i dont by any means condone the use of "racist" symbols, but where do we stop? do we change the vikings name and logo because its racist towards norsemen? or the bucanneers because they're prejudice towards pirates? (there are modern day pirates) just trying to stimulate debate.

 

[Scuba Pete]

Without actually seeing the performance, it is impossible to truthfully say. I would guess that I would be offended. Would you want me to register a guess?

 

[BUDDY]

If you are not a Native American then you should not put on displays or performances which you know nothing about, as you may offend someone who sees it. That goes for any ethnic group not just Native Americans. I am of Irish descent and I get so offended when people talk about drunk Irish people, Irish Coffee (take it off your menus), shamrocks and the Boston Celtics. The Boston Celtics should change their name and their team color, as green is identified with my fellow Irishmen. I don't want anyone who is not Irish wearing green. That goes for Larry Bird too, he's not Irish. I am also morally apposed to anyone cooking haggis if they are not Irish. That is an Irish dish and should be reserved for Irish cooks. Also, where does Pavorotti get off singing "Oh, Danny Boy". He's not Irish!! Anyone who sings an Irish song and yet is not Irish should be publicly shunned and talked about on MTV. Also, if your not Irish then you shouldn't be allowed to listen to U2, as you do not understand the plight of the Irish and may take lyrics out of context. If you have red hair, but you are not Irish, then you must shave it or color it in order to keep people from thinking that you are Irish and thus having a bigotted mindset. A panel should be set up to review such things and make recommendations to stop all of it. That way we can be assured that we are living in a kinder and gentler society.

Ridiculous, isn't it?

 

[Scuba Pete]

We would expect such from a drunken Irishman.

 

[BUDDY]

We would expect such from a drunken Irishman.

I just laughed so hard that I almost peed my pants. That's awesome.

 

[Scuba Pete]

Being half Irish, I can get away with that! At least half of the time.

 

[andymangold]

yeah just pretend you did, google image search can probably get some pics for ya if thatll help

 

[Draka]

I am not Native American, however my husband is. He is an Apache and Cherokee half-breed. I have never heard nor seen him become offended to much of what has been mentioned. As for the sports team thing, I really don't think it is such a big deal. If all teams that had a Native American reference to their names changed them so as not to offend anyone then all other teams might as well too. There is such a thing as getting a little TOO P.C. As long as these things are not done with the intent to offend or be derogatory then I don't see the real harm in it. I don't think my husband does either.

 

[Faust]

I come from a long line of mixed blood on both sides and have no idea what percent native american I actually am as you get varying accounts depending on who you ask. A little more than half, a little less than half.

You have to remember that it hasn't been very popular to be native american in this country until recently, (interest seems to have increased after certain semi- accurate movies).
Do I consider myself native american? Yes.
Am I offended by the spectical you sight? I read about it but didn't see it, but would have to say I would probably be no more offended by it than I would be by displays put on for tourists by native americans that are inaccurate simply to turn a buck. (buck is a term for a native americans scalp turned in for bounty early in the history of this country)
No more offended by it than the trinkets made in foreign countries sold as "Indian" trinkets.
I'm not blaming Native Americans for having to resort to marketing in order to get by.
It's simply unfortunate that there isn't enough interest to make the real history of the indigenous people of this country worth telling.
Faust.

 

[painted wolf]

I didn't see the event, so I personally can't say for myself.

I do find sports teams like the 'red skins' to be offencive, the term is a racial slur, flat out.
It is still used as such in parts of the US today (I know I've heard it used).

But that is another issue....

Anyway, I find that the 'popular' image of the First Nations is often sterotyped. Why in todays world it is still ok to sterotype us I have no idea... but if similer treatment was applied to other ethnic groups in this country there would be hell to pay.

Offence and 'woopses' are different, if he didn't mean to be offencive then fine, don't do it again. Some people mean to be offencive or simply don't care, those are the people I take real offence to.

wa:do

 

[BUDDY]

Anyway, I find that the 'popular' image of the First Nations is often sterotyped. Why in todays world it is still ok to sterotype us I have no idea... but if similer treatment was applied to other ethnic groups in this country there would be hell to pay.

Of course I can not totally understand the problems that Native Americans face because I am not one, but I think that in some way everyone has been treated in a negative way at one time or another because of ethnicity. But, I also think that folks cry stereotyping only when it suits them. For example, if a movie director did a REALISTIC piece about Native Americans prior to European Settlement, I think it would create an uproar. Native American tribal warfare was a brutal thing and there is evidence of entire groups of people (including women and children) being obliterated in these wars. It would be my guess though, that if this was mentioned there would be a lot of animosity. It seems that as long as Native Americans are depicted as peaceful, pacifistic for the most part and at one with nature, then everyone is happy. It's much like if the Irish Republican Army was depicted in a movie as the brutal terrorist organization that it is, people would be upset. As long as they are shown as freedom fighters, it's okay. The hypocracy in this country really gets to me sometimes.

 

[Draka]

A sad fact is that now that being Native American is not only okay but a point of pride then we have those who will claim it when they are barely Native American. If you were 1/2 Irish, 1/4 German, 1/8 Welsh, and 1/16 English and 1/16 Italian would you be first to claim yourself as being Italian or Irish? The truth is most of us are mutt blends of many things and the thing we identify the most with is what we are at least half of.

As for the Native American wars being bloody...they were much bloodier towards them. Even cruel. Infected blankets and clothes with smallpox, ambushes by armies on their villages, and the taking of Natives for use as slaves and rendering them sterile so they would not increase in numbers. These facts can be found by anyone who truly studies the history of all of early America. The native Americans have had a long battle to overcome and only started to receive the basic human rights we take for granted in this country in the past century. There hasn't even been a full one hundred years of Native American rights since the first explorers stepped foot on this continent.

If you wonder how I know this...I have been studying this exact subject quite intensely in college. Sad, sad history.