@@mallorydeese9138 I wasn't going to say anything because I don't want to sound like a rude prick over a cartoon that came out forever ago, but do you not hate the Disney Pocahontas movie? (Asking because of your profile pic) My mother refused to even show it to me when I was young because Pocahontas was raped and abducted by John Smith, kidnapped and taken overseas, without even the dignity of being buried in her homeland.
@@robhatesyoutube i picked out the pic when I was 15 or so. She used to be my favorite Disney princess, because she was like me, you know? It meant a lot to have someone who I could relate to. But in the past few years I've gotten genuinely angry about the movie. It's a white person's fantasy of what our history is. Why couldn't they have made a unique story about Native people that wasn't centered around white people? We'll probably never have another Native Disney movie. If we ever ask, they'll point to Pocahontas and say "Isn't that enough?" I'm not sure why I haven't changed the profile pic. Maybe I still have some sort of nostalgia from when I was a little girl and didn't know the full history of her, and was just happy to see someone like me. Sorry for the long rant, I got kind of carried away lol
I'd like to note about Aladdin, that the fact that Agrabah is just a mish mash of different middle eastern cultures is reminiscent of Orientalism, which does have inherently racist roots
Orientalism isn't racist, Europeans (especially in the roccoco era) were fascinated by different unexplored lands like the Middle East, Central and South Africa, Americas, China (Germans were batshit crazy about porcelain). Being fascinated by a different culture doesn't mean they were being racist😂
@@Pollicina_db there’s a difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. Taking on the aesthetic of another culture because you like it but not knowing the importance or meaning behind any of it isn’t being respectful to that culture
Yall have to understand that I was talking about the roccoco era (if you even know what I'm talking about). Communication between nations and travelling in the past was, surprise surprise, very difficult back than and people really only speculated what the cultures and people looked like. Nowadays I agree that it IS disrepectful to not console with people of that culture while making a movie (aka Alladin etc.).
Kaya was my favorite American Girl doll. She was one of the biggest influences to spark my interest in history. Even with the flaws present in the American Girl dolls, having historic dolls and books like that was so valuable. It's really sad seeing how little focus they've put on the historic dolls recently, and I really hope that maybe in the future it's revived and done better than ever.
Same! I loved the books, the details on the doll, her necklace and circular shell beads were my favorite to just admire as her kid. Plus in the books they have the explanations of the culture of the Nez Pierce
My grandma is the author of the Kaya books--Janet Shaw. She really was so proud to be a part of that project. If you have any questions about the process of writing the book, I would be happy to ask her to see if she has any thoughts to share.
@@Sarah-lo6nv it can be very easy to see for example in movies with both white and women of color the woman of color will often be seen as more vulgar or sexual. I am Hispanic so let’s use the spicy Latina as an example. On modern family Sofia is often the bit of the joke and is used for sexual scenario’s.
@@Sarah-lo6nv well, fetishization can range from obsession to smaller ‘wishes’ to be like another person of a certain group Because of the certain group. appreciation ranges from adoring something or participating from afar to raising/Listening and hearing voices of a group that is not our own and realizing what us as a seperate group has done and learning from it to become closer as a whole. its not a very thin line. as she said, its very easy to listen to their voices. but sadly and frustratingly people do not, via years and years of oppression and brutality.
The first memory I have of really truly feeling weird about my race was in middle school. I’m a Native American female which should be known. So it’s thanksgiving week, we are splitting the kids up between pilgrims and natives. Natural I wanted to be a native, but the teach was going around assigning roles. Low and behold the only Native American child in the room, was making a paper buckle hat for her costume. Still a fun day, just a bit weird to see white kids playing the people whom I associated myself with.
@@snoixaliciousred is an undertone ppl from different “races” might have, but our skin ain’t literally red! White people and Black people ain’t (99,9% of the times) literally black or literally white either!
I’m Northern Cheyenne and you did pretty good research but there are some errors. Chief Dullknife also known as Morning Star died on the rosebud reservation in South Dakota in 1886. It was called the Fort Robinson Breakout (not massacre even though Cheyenne were killed) this is where we got present day Northern Band (the ones who wanted to go back to our homelands and ally tribes the Lakota and Arapaho) which my reservation is located in SW Montana and southern band which resides in Oklahoma. Along with Cheyenne there are two bands of Arapaho and the southern Cheyenne share a reservation in Oklahoma with them. The northern Arapaho have their reservation in Wyoming. There are only two bands of Cheyenne, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe are apart of the Sioux Confederacy and are not Cheyenne. Thank you for acknowledging that you were named after my tribe! Most white people who name their kids Cheyenne think it’s after the Capitol of Wyoming or have no clue they are named after an indigenous tribe. This is my own condensed synopsis and left out historical events.
My mother was from Creek Nation and my daddy was a black man...I want to thank you for bringing truth out about racism because They portray the European as the savor of our people and they are not they were and are still the oppressor...my doctor rescheduled my appointment I made 2 weeks ago because of Thanksgiving the receptionist made a comment about Thanksgiving and it being a nice day...I said no it's not my people were killed and I don't celebrate murder...
Ooo I just got to that part of the video and can I just say, my mom was HORRIFIED by Pocahontas when she first saw it. My white grandparents on my dad's side had it when I was younger, and I remember they popped it in the dvd player, and I watched my mother, a native woman married to a white man she loves (and who love her), become visibly upset watching this movie.
Would you say the Kaya books are a good read? I am a young adult and I want to diversify my library in hopes that if I ever have kids I can have stories about different bipoc so they can grow up seeing themselves and people like them represented in stories. Or if you have any better recommendations I would love to know sorry if this is too invasive of a question Edit: she talked about it lol
@@kennyb1588 I suggest Rebecca Roanhorse! She’s the author of the trail of lightning and other fantasy works featuring indigenous people as she is an indigenous author herself. There are plenty of other indigenous authors out there writing fantasy and other genres. Highly suggest searching for her books and other indigenous authors 👍
I’m white (I do have a large amount of Native American blood in me though but I don’t “identify” as indigenous or however to put it) but Kaya was my favorite growing up! Her books were so good and she was such a beautiful doll
Most adaptions of Peter Pan miss out on something I think could be a great opportunity. Neverland is the place lost children go, so why not have a bunch of lost native children there? It would be tragic and fascinating, especially if it's hinted that they ran away from residential schools and it's only in Neverland that they get to practice what they know of their culture.
I came here for Kaya, she was the doll I had. I read the books, but it's been a long while and I don't remember anything. I didn't know if she was problematic or not. I'm glad to hear that some effort was put into educating kids. I'm still sus of Matel (especially with that part with Andy) and obviously this is just a start/introduction for kids and not anything too serious. But I am glad that there was effort put into Kaya.
I feel like if people just want a consumerist holiday of pumpkin pie, fall decorations, and big meals with family and friends, thanksgiving itself should just be replaced with a regular harvest holiday instead of a mess of fake history and colonization. Better yet would be to just let native americans make a decision themselves on what kinds of holidays should be celebrated during their history month. Those are just my thoughts on the subject though.
Sadly a nation founded on such things will never be moral in any way or shape. You guys have burnt the culture you had and could to ashes and never replaced it with anything positive and not there's a crisis. It's good to see some hope in the ashes though, hopefully you guys manage to salvage what's left.
Hey I HIGHLY recommend the Red Nation podcast if you like insightful (and encite-ful) discussions by a team of mainly indigenous academics and writers, focusing on radical politics, global events, activism, etc. It's one of my favourite podcasts. It's so so so good.
i'm from new york, and i remember throughout elementary school we would learn about the lakota who used to live on the land where we lived. i have vivid memories of making models of long houses and reading articles about how the lakota would build their homes. not the worst considering it was mainly in first and second grade so talking about the genocide wasn't really an option, but later on in elementary school we romanticized white colonists without talking about any of the racism. my elementary school was almost entirely white, and luckily the later schools i've gone to have put a point on learning about how marginalized groups have been treated throughout history, but sometimes i wonder if the way my elementary handled indigenous history has made my classmates from then ignorant to those issues.
Which part of New York? I’m haudensonee and our homelands are in upper state New York and we lived in longhouse and still have long houses to this day for ceremonial practices. To my knowledge the Lakota were more southwest.
America constantly trying to make their military and war efforts look good or better than it was throughout history(or that there’s only that one bad egg rouge in the army in movies that tries to ruin things) is so comical to me. Especially after you find out what the U.S. tropes did-heck, even encouraged to do-to German women and children civilians after they occupied certain cities when World War 2 ended for “revenge” purposes...yet got to go home after doing such a horrid thing to be hailed as honorable war heroes. Stuff like that is rarely ever talked about or addressed.
During WW1 they would take "trophies" from their fallen enemies aka skulls, fingers, ears, etc. But oh no we're never taught that in school because all veterans are automatically heros despite doing horrible things like that. Sigh...
I was a bit surprised when you mentioned that Americans don’t learn about slavery or what happened to Native Americans. In the North East, all of my schools taught that, elementary through high school. It’s a shame that some places don’t teach that important part of our past. There are probably other things that my schools might have omitted too but slavery and genocide is a pretty vital lesson.
I grew up part of one of the most under funded states, where teachers have striked on and off for years. We learned about slavery and Native Americans but in a way that made everything sound less bad. Slavery was distanced from the south and confederacy and we were taught specifics like how big the boats were and not what white people did to black people during the time. Native Americans just so happened to slowly be less talked about as we went later in history. Our teachers didnt even teach past the 1850s, that was only for advanced history classes
We definitely learned about slavery and Native American people but we don’t learn in detail about the atrocities that happened to them or how it still affects them today
I’m in the northeast (upstate new york) and we did not learn about the severe mistreatment and genocide of native americans. we learned some basic stuff about which tribes lived where and little bits about their culture, but never anything about the extreme violence of white colonizers.
@@kennyb1588 agreed! I think that’s the main thing. It’s taught as though this was a Distant past instead of structures of oppression that impacted generations of people in how they thought and acted and how this impacts our current times. We may have been taught about the middle passage and treaties, but it was mostly 2 dimensional, lacked specifics unless you learned outside the classroom and/or higher ed
With so few federal standards for education, experience varies widely based on state, district, available funding, department management, and biases of the instructor. - Shout out to social studies teachers, who make or break these discussions. A good one makes all the difference.
i have a black eqyptian friend and she says it is so annoying how commodified her people's aesthetic has become in the west, and how ironic it is that she has never seen one black person wearing eqyptian clothes or eqyptian attire, it is always white people, and i mean the ancient eqyptians who originally were all of black ancestry, she is contantly being told that she is just trying to claim a place she doesn't belong to, by white people that dont belong from there. it is so frustrating how many white's attempt to rewrtite history and take parts of culture from them if not everything and rewriting it from the coloniser's perspective
To be fair, there is a range of colors for native Egyptians. There are people who are Egyptian who get accused of whitewashing, simply because they aren't "dark enough". On the other hand, there are way too many people who think that they can just take whatever they want from other cultures. Which is gross.
@@rabbit__ i know what u mean, i was referring to literal caucasians, it's totally fine wearing egyptian clothes and attire! their gorgeous,but it must feel weird when their the only representation she sees, she's even been told she's culturally appropriating when she wears it, it's a strange double standard
@@rabbit__ thanks, I was gonna comment this. I’m mixed russian & egyptian with light skin - I get told I have “lived my whole life as a white woman” … which is so untrue**. when people hear my last name or my middle name here in the states, suddenly i am a terrorist. **Edit: I am a white woman, just as much as I am egyptian. as far as my genealogy goes i am mostly egyptian, I guess I just “look” mostly white.
I love the historical American Girl dolls & Kaya is one of my favorites!! I wish they were more economically accessible to all children, because they’re some of the best dolls & educational toys out there. They introduced me to the many nuances & trials of American history well before my school did.
@@lrose1310 Historically no sadly. But there is Jess who was a girl of the year, and that there’s always the option to the dolls that ‘ look like you ‘ where you can choose the hair, eye color, skin color and more.
@@lrose1310 There was technically one who was a friend of Julie, the 70s girl, that was made into a doll. But there has not been one that had a time period for themselves, which is sad.
Sadly, and I agree that should be remedied. There was Ivy Ling, but she was a companion to Julie & not her own independent doll, and she’s no longer sold by Pleasant Company. I’d love to see a lot of expansion in the American Girl catalogue; dolls from other native tribes & nations, neuro-divergent dolls, a hijabi doll, an LGBTQ doll, a trans girl doll, a dreamer doll, characters from more overlooked chapters of US history, the possibilities are literally endless!! All the different characters have the potential to teach girls that being an “American Girl” can apply to countless differing experiences!
i love love LOVE the topics you cover, most aren’t really talked about especially from the perspective of a (beautiful!) woman of color! i can tell you take pride in making these and it definitely shows girl! they are well researched, never biased or at least i can’t tell if they are lol, and you explain things in a great easy to get way. keep up the great work❤️
honestly as a mixed race indigenous person who grew up on peter pan.... like it's so mentally devastating like growing up, it'd be great if people just......didn't
What beats me, as a member of a group which has been and still is oppressed by French colonial power, is that the tribe that doll company chose to represent still identifies with a name which is NOT of their own making and which is a very obvious legacy from French colonialism in Norther America. Nez is French for nose and "Perce" (originally "percé") means pierced. Pierced noses... I don't think these colonizers labeled them that out of admiration for their culture and people... And then a big company sweeps in to make big bugs off of it... This strikes me as being so many layers of wrong... I'm a descendant of enslaved Africans and Native American/Caribbean people...
All the beaches in my hometown (I grew up on the Great Lakes) are in the native american language of the region, and I recently found out that the area used to be an important trade port between different tribes before white people showed up which makes perfect sense, but school never taught us any of that. Because yeah, fuck all the relevant history to the actual area you live in, here's what happened in Europe.
As someone who lived in Wyoming for half of their life, I can tell you that people still treat native Americans this way. Read “diary of a part time Indian” if you want to see how it impacts someone personally.
Same here. I absolutely adore Little Creek and his character to this day. To me, that film in general in combination with this Native Art History book my mom gave me with all these beautiful photographs and illustrations from all the different tribes, including photographs of Native People at work, my favourite was always this big gorgeous spread of a group of Dine elders making a giant sandpainting that took up half the page. I used to stare at that one for hours everytime I used to go through that book, especially at the little details they would put into that painting. But those two things was the main reason I got into Native History in the first place and eventually through that get introduced and more involved with the Native Community as a whole. But in hindsight now that I think of it. Considering between Spirit and my Native Art book, that was my very VERY first introduction to the Native people. To give you an idea, I first watched Spirit when I was 3, if not a bit younger than that. It's probably always been there. And because of that, I remember vividly, when I was a kid just how overly uncomfortable that Peter Pan scene made me, to the point I would always skip it. Even to the point as a Disney kid that was the one film I'd watch the least. Ironic considering Tinkerbell was an absolute goddess to me as a kid too and I used to own everything in existence there was, that had Tink on it, though to be fair, I knew her more from the Tinkerbell movies, which was the absolute shit back then, than I ever really did from Peter Pan. To be honest the only reason we had Peter Pan was because I fucked myself over and insisted on getting it in the first because hey, Tinkerbell was on the cover! You can never go wrong with Tinkerbell! And I was, so, so wrong. In large part because as a really little kid I found that stupid music number and the natives outside of Tiger Lily absolutely batshit fucking terrifying. And as an older kid it just, made me uncomfortable. Yeah, I screwed myself over a lot as a kid sometimes. Including with Peter Pan because, Tinkerbell. At first I just, never knew why. It was just always there. Keep in mind, this is coming from an South African chic by the way. But it wasn't until I was a lot older and did my research on both films as well as Natives in Animation in general that I started to put two and two together on why. Both on why they scared the absolute shit out of me and on why when I was old enough to realize "hey, these things aren't really that scary, or as scary as I remember." Why they still made me uncomfortable. And that was purely because I was so used to Little Creek and how the Lakota was portrayed in that film from repeated watchings that the sudden transition from that, which I later found out was, pretty heavily historically accurate from my research into it, to these hostile overly primative beings that'd burn you at the stake upon first meeting them. Would naturally scare the ever bejesus out of a kid who is only used to Little Creek who was much more amicable and graceful in comparison. And naturally just, make a kid uncomfortable when they're old enough to more or less understand what's going on, on screen, when Little Creek was all they really knew in regards to Natives in Animation. Like, even as a 10 year old little South African girl, I could just, feel the demeaning undertones waft through the screen in waves everytime they'd show them in Peter Pan. Like they were mocking Natives, which I found out was really fricking accurate. As for Pocahontas? Never really interested. I tried watching that film as a kid, I liked the songs, I found Pocahontas pretty, to where when I started collecting Disney Dolls, I wanted to collect her too, though more so, so that all my other princesses could have all their friends altogether like a nice big giant happy family. Atleast until I actually watched the film instead of getting all my info in all my 1st grade confidence, from Disney Princess magazine. And after that, decided just to go for Jasmine instead since they didn't have a Tiana yet who was the absolute latest Disney Princess at the time and was to me personally, one of the absolute prettiest at the time and still is. Because the film just, absolutely blandified her for me to the point I found her boring. Though I doubt my mom would've gotten her for me anyways since she didn't like the film either. She always said it felt too sacerine and fake to her. My dad was the one who downloaded that one since he thought I'd like it considering I liked Spirit so much. But outside of the songs and the pretty animation, I just found it boring. Like, I never knew how it ended until I had to rewatch it as an adult because before even the second half of the second act I would nod out and not come back until it ended. And besides that it just, always felt so, bland to me. Like, it felt washed up compared to the other Disney Movies. And later on, in comparison to all the other Disney Princess Movies, I could understand why my mom always called it fake, because it just felt pretty artificial alongside that too. Like there wasn't an effort put into it. Like the Movie version of that cheap disgusting compound chocolate my teachers would sometimes hand out to the class.
@@ulyssesdenice5071 I love Pocahontas tbh. Except for the villain. He sucked. Little Creek was such a cool character to me and still is. I refuse to even watch Peter Pan because of the Native American stereotype and because once you research Native American culture, seeing the kids wear things probably only the chief would is fucking cringe. Like holy shit, Pocahontas was a romanticized fairy tale and had a shitty villain but at least they didn’t have the Englishmen wearing feathers or headdresses.
I'm Lakota, with Cheyenne, Omaha, Seneca & Ponca ancestry (Parents and grandparents keep a genealogical thing going), as well as French, Spanish and German admixture (Fur Traders and one infamous man named... Custer!) Thusly. I always find it weird when I encounter people with Tribe names; Cheyenne, Dakota. Etc I grew up with my culture, and I'm always asked if I'm Asian.
As someone who lives in Idaho, I can say with confidence that the school system has failed us immeasurably. If you dont know, Idaho, or really, the area it was before settlers, was a place that a lot of native Americans lived- I mean, every other city is named after a tribe (nes peirce, Pocatello, Cheyenne, ECT.) But we rarely have any sort of meaningful education about our state history. I am a complete stranger to Idaho's history, and so is everyone else, which is awful because its so intensely romanticized here. I mean my best friends grandpa has native American art (not by them, but about them) and memorabilia everywhere, even though he's an 18th native American 💀 and if you gi to pretty much any historic landmark or museum of sorts, its all portraying native American culture in a performative way for the white visitors. Just wanted to clarify that even in places with more cultural influence from native Americans, theres a huge lack of any education about them and their real history.
In the second Kirsten book there is a Native American girl who is a pretty major character. Kirsten is sort of "adopted" into the tribe and given the name "Yellow Hair". I think the other girl's name was Singing Bird? It would have been so cool if she was made Kirsten's "doll friend".
It is a travesty that your channel hasn't garnered more attention. Your information and this video essay is just as high quality as Khadija Mbowe, Yhara Zayd, and Lindsey Ellis. I can't wait for you to blow up.
My dad worked on a reservation in New Mexico when I was a kid. When I asked him what they were like out there and he said they were really nice to him, beautiful, and with a good sense of humor. I ended up working on a reservation in Minnesota and my experience was basically the same. We both miss it despite reservations being such hard places to live for many Native people.
I would love a video that dives into the line between "depictions of races in fantasy" (like discussed here) and fictionalized versions of a race or culture in fantasy? (Like, Avatar: The Last Airbender) I'm a novelist who is trying to write a book with inspiration from Avatar, but being mostly white, I really worry about keeping my fantasy world respectful. It is inspired by Africa and African culture, notable North-Western African and the layers of traditional Vodun and modern 'invasive' Catholicism. It's about colonialization of Africa and The Americas by Europe (in this case, specifically France, as I am from Louisiana), in the same way Avatar: The Last Airbender is about Japanese Fascism / Imperialism and its affects on mainland China, Tibet, and Korea. ATLA does this so well, and I know it can be replicated without wholesale copying how they achieved it. Another example of a show doing this well is Fullmetal Alchemist, and its fictional depiction of Nazi Germany, again in a way that isn't dishonest about the atrocities, nor is it unsympathetic to the peoples that live there. But it's an entirely "fictionalized" version of a race / culture, a thing that has the potential to be pretty problematic. Its clear it's not meant to be a real depiction of that culture, with novel and fantastical elements befitting of that culture overlain onto it. But at the same time it's clear that's exactly the culture it's based on. All the obvious surface level answers I've heard before, but I feel there's some subtle details to explore on how some media does this so well. While others, ironically, like Avatar by James Cameron features a race that tries FAR harder to separate itself from it's inspiration, making them big blue aliens, but still comes off like a ham fisted Native American allegory that thinks it's being way more respectful and coy than it actually is. If your curious on details of my book, for starters, yes, the main cast is culturally accurate. There is one white character in the main group of 5, and she is designed specifically to deconstruct a lot of "white savior" style tropes. Including one you point out here. Her family is effectively the villains, and she's consistently depicted as thinking and acting just like them, despite siding against them. She ultimately causes more harm than good. She TRIES to "save" them, but basically hands them an additional burden in protecting her, as she has a giant target on her. Her actual story revolves more around her self exploration and coping with her family's actions in a healthy way. She's very much a "good guy", but it plays her as very specifically having a terrible idea of what that means and having to learn how to actually help people instead of hard headed running around shooting at people with a savior complex. The main story and story arch are resolved by the 2 "main leads", an African woman and her mother, who are both soldiers in a conflict that they ultimately resolve by the end of the book. I feel like this story has the potential to hit a really resonate note with a lot of people. Or the potential for me to hamfistedly shove my foot in my mouth with the best intentions. That difference between Avatar and Avatar: The Last Airbender keeps me up at night. I could care less if I release a book that doesn't sell well. It'd break my heart to release a book that upset the cultures that inspired me to write in the first place.
I think it's better that Tiger Lily will be played by an adult. An adult actress can stand up for herself and recognize when she's acting out mere stereotypes in ways that a child won't. I don't trust the Disney producers to on their own give us an unproblematic Indigenous character in a live action remake (famous for low-effort) based on racist caricatures, so I wouldn't trust them with creating a history-conscious character without the Indigenous actress's input. Tamlyn Tomita (Karate Kid 2) spoke on this, saying when she was a teenager she played a racist and stereotypical version of an Indigenous Okinawan character. When she reprised the role as an adult, she had the knowledge and confidence to set "ground rules" about how she would be portrayed. I share your fears about the possibility of sexualizing Tiger Lily, but I do think casting an Indigenous adult means she's less likely to go along with harmful characterizations. (That said it's still very possible they steamroll her or mess it up with editing.) Great video! Shocked I'm just seeing it now.
On the topic of the whole Thanksgiving reenactment at schools, I remember when I was in Kindergarten and our teachers had us do that too. They selected kids with blond/lighter colored hair and blue eyes to be pilgrims meanwhile they chose kids with darker hair/eyes or darker skin tones to be Native Americans. Not all of us who were selected to dress as Native Americans were poc since the majority of us were white, but the white kids with dark hair or eyes were in our group along with the three kids in our class who were poc (Hispanic, Filipino, and black)...Just the fact that they chose kids with stereotypical white features (ex: blond hair, blue eyes) to be pilgrims while the rest of us who had dark hair, eyes, or skin were casted as Native Americans felt so wrong. It was like they made their casting decisions based on our physical features and that’ll always make me uncomfortable. I’m pretty sure they stopped doing it after a while tho...
A hobby of mind is digging through antique stores for unusual finds. It's mostly just good fun, but...Well, if you ever want to make sure you're regularly reminded of America's overtly racist past, this'll do it.
The fetishization of American Indian women I’ve noticed is a thing. Many men that I’ve known brag about having native or otherwise exotic girlfriends or sexual conquests (one of my exes spoke at length about an Ainu woman that he bedded). My male European friends have even outright asked if I can get them a date with an American Indian woman (best I was able to do was introduce him to my friend who is 1/4 Choctaw and married). I had the Kirsten American Girl doll growing up because her heritage was the closest to mine of the 3 dolls available in the 1980s. I’m of Eastern European and Baltic heritage and while white, typically you don’t see too many Eastern Europeans portrayed in US Hollywood or media. I thought it was cool that Kelly in Saved by the Bell had a Polish last name but most of the characters in media have WASP last names like Clark or Thomas or Johnson or Morris. Even though many who worked in early Hollywood were Polish, Jewish or Hungarian. And back to the American Girl dolls. I remember that there was backlash against Addy because a black girl as a slave was “too stereotypical.” And as an adult, I was curious about the Russian Jewish doll that was released, even though my family is Catholic. Rebecca Rubinstein, the 1914 Russian Jewish American girl ... lives in New York City and wants to work in movies when she grows up. I face palmed when I read that, mainly because it’s as stereotypical as Addy being a slave in 1864. I wondered why Disney never delved into one the many Russian or Polish folk or fairy tales to adapt to film. The only time Disney has ever portrayed anything east of Germany has been with Peter and the Wolf from the 1940s, Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia and The Firebird from Fantasia 2000. As an adult, I’m kinda glad that Disney hasn’t done it
Diane Mallickan is my grandma (or "great aunt" ig), she is such an impactful person, so cool seeing this. I never even think about how the world gets to know Nimiipuu through American Girl dolls and books, I always just associated it w a fun fact about home. I liked the books growing up, like a lot of other kids, but there is a clear washing of it to be consumed by largely white audiences. The gendered experience is a byproduct of trauma, and I don't think it represents the time. And the relationships of the characters feel the same, and their understandings of each other. The nuclear family did not exist the way it is presented in the book. On a technical, to the records level, it holds an accuracy hard to come by. But on an unspoken cultural level, it just reads as words written from a white lens falling from the mouths of Nimiipuu. i got mixed feelings, but overall they just give me nostalgia for Lapwai elementary :,) thanks for making this
@@theflickchick9850 The school was more like one of those institutions where native Americans were only allowed to speak English, were forced to become Christian etc. And then (spoiler!) her parents almost get shot trying to take her back, because they realised they had been lied to about the 'school' being good for her and her future, Anne tries to help them but then they just tell her she needs to go home, she can't really do anything to help anyway, she promises to come back and then never does. We never see or have mention of her friend again. It was weird so maybe your theory is correct.
@@theflickchick9850 I did say native Canadian in my original comment, and in the reply I was referring to what was mentioned in the video: re-education centres for native Americans. Also, Canada is North America so I don't think the word choice was really a huge deal...? You get what I was talking about, native peoples of the Americas in general. Yes, I assumed she died but it was weird because she was also never mentioned again, like they just forgot, when they could have made it a powerful message about colonialism. That was my original point.
The part where you talked about the American education system was so true. I did not know who Malcom X was until a couple years ago. My school, with all the history classes I took, NEVER EVEN MENTIONED HIM. So thankful for the internet so I can learn real history.
Im glad you included Kaya in the discussion. There's many good things and bad things to be said about the American Girl's historical line and how it represents certain cultures. I wish there were more video essay type discussions on those topics. But i understand AG is a niche subject and probably not super relevant unless you're a parent who buys dolls for their child or a doll collector. Good work as always anyways.
Thank you so much! I reviewed most of the American girl movies over a year ago and I’m thinking of doing a video about them again towards the end of the year as the old videos aren’t really that good. Glad to know more people are into the American girl dolls and their history than just me 😅
Kaya was my favorite American Girl and the first American Girl doll I ever got. I still remember how happy I was when my parents took my to the American Girl store on my birthday. I loved how the books included historical information and to this day I still have Kaya and Steps High.
I really appreciated this video. Maybe one way Disney could make up for their history is to donate to Native American causes that actually help these communities. I know there are so many issues faced by these communities especially with Covid and these big corporations have the money to do a lot of good.
looking back on my childhood, one thing really sticks out to me about being Native... I was in this book club, and really enjoyed it! I was the only bipoc, everyone else being PAINFULLY white (blonde hair, light eyes, etc). one day, we were going over my favorite book - Indian in the Cupboard...yeahhh... one of the activities the super blonde, super "down to earth" PTA mom (aka the host/mom of the host) presented for the group on 6 year old, again almost exclusively white, children was to make "Indian Headdresses", amongst other things such as "Eat American Indian food" (fucking ants on a FUCKING LOG. we're ANIMALS, SHARON!!), - I still have the "headdress" I made, tacked to my wall as a reminder to fight colonization, no matter how well-intentioned someone might be. LAND BACK NOW!!!
This video is so informative and well put together. I took issue with the ways they were colored (they were Trump's skin tone -_-) in Peter Pan, but I didn't really think about it much harder than that and this video explains it really well and informatively.
Last Wednesday was the 1 *year* anniversary of when you uploaded "Pocahantas, Disney, American Revisionism, and Thanksgiving". EDITS- 2:59 P.M.: *finishes video 29 minutes later* I've learned more about Native Americans and their history online than I ever did at school! 3:00 P.M.: Just yesterday, I learned more about Thanksgiving's problematic origins.
I’m from Texas and we spend 3 years of social studies (spread out across elementary and middle school) dedicated solely on native Americans and the tribes who lived here
the first elementary school i attended (in western canada) incorporated indigenous and inuit education and culture into its curriculum, which I didn’t know was uncommon until my family moved further into the city and my next schools barely acknowledged native history. the most I can remember seeing from my middle school was a community mural that was extremely whitewashed. when I become a teacher, I’m going to push for my school to incorporate more extensive bipoc history into the curriculum
I will put this. "What Makes the Red man red" does come to mind. I mean there was a lot of misogyny in that song and racism. The song is just about Native Americans as red because they blush, Wendy being told to get some firewood when she just wants to enjoy herself along with the boys, and the mother-in-law "joke". Oh and there was Peter being allowed to smoke by the chief who was voiced by a white man.
I love Pocahontas.......but I can barely call that Native American representation. It’s a romanticized fairy tale with pretty animation, good music, good characters, and a crappy villain Spirit: Stallion of The Cimarron also had Native American characters, I really liked Little Creek
as a native person it always pisses me off when indiegenous peoples are just called "natives" when we're all different tribes and nations, it's like if white people said "oh I'm from earth". It's so irrating lol
Are you implying that white people have the same amount of culture as one Native American tribe? (Because if you're just talking about the United States, fair point)
I am so elated to have found you! Growing up I was never told. Ything about my paternal heritage or my biological father. I have recently connected with people of my heritage and proud to learn more about Taino Culture and History. Anyways amazing video and I hope more people find your channel!!!! TAINO DAKA
I worked at Disneyland in 2016 and they never mentioned to us that they had Native Americans working there as a 'sit and gawk' type attraction. I did work in Tomorrowland but they took us on a tour during orientation and told us all the things about each land. Very interesting... But Disneyland is weird like that. They hide Song of the South the movie but have a ride dedicated to it. (They're turning it into Princess and the Frog but ya know... They act so embarrassed about Song of the South but only decided to tare it down in 2021... Uh huh... But I digress.) Native Americans have been sexualized, made 'cool and trendy' with white washing and their histories have been destroyed and I think it's long, long, longgggg (several hundreds of years) passed due that -all- Americans join to stand behind them and help protect their cultures, homes and selves from the government. It's insane what people will ignore to enjoy their own privileges. This is a great video. I love all your videos also. 🖤
I appreciate this video so much as it was done with so much respect for Indigenous people. Thank you for using your platform to amplify Indigenous voices. Our stores, our real life stores are often left out of conversation and it’s so easy to forget about us and dismiss our passion for change and education. I have a beauty Channel right now that I’m growing as there is lack of representation but I’m Thinking about starting a separate Channel and talking about this kid of stuff! Big fan of all your videos I’ve watched so far!
This is such an amazing video- weaving your own childhood with what you consumed/played with to analyze indigenous representation is genius and makes the video have more weight!! I have to subscribe!
I am will start off by saying I am white. I do not think Native Americans who choose to be in historical reenactment historical tourism is any worse than other historically accurate tourist attractions. In Florida, there are many Native Americans who choose to be employees as educators in places like orange grove farms and gator zoo facilties, or just in museums dedicated and run by Native American tribes. I think Disneyland in the 60s-70s in their park were eons ahead of the typical "side show" attractions of the time (that depicted natives of any continents as wild jungle people). I also enjoyed the historical areas of Jamestown and Yorktown in Virginia. I think accurate depictions are important to teaching history. Just my thoughts and experiences.
I really hate how people love to basically fetishize our culture, but refuse to admit how we live as a direct result of their actions. I was not allowed to watch peter pan or Pocahontas as a child because my mother hated both representations of our people. oh! I believe Disney had another racist short called Little Hiawatha, so they kind of have a history of fetishizing us. I in particular grew up in a reservation so schools there had no choice but to teach us accurate history. Of course, my school was kind of bad for that , given the fact they would gladly take the funding they got for having native students, and yet treating us like shit.
I don’t remember a lot about Thanksgiving but I do remember the heartbreaking history I learned in fifth grade about the Trail of Tears, in Georgia public schools. Everything else... spot on. I’d still be ignorant myself today of modern realities but travel tends to break the spell ... a “missions trip” that was super problematic exposed me to Native American reservations as a teen and I was never the same since. The US has no right to condemn other countries for their actions until they properly empower and emancipate the third world country conditions they have crafted and the cultural and literal genocides that they’ve created and deny in their quest to stamp out native cultures in a practical way to this day...
Took a course last year in University where I had to write an essay on Disney's Pocahontas, my god it's uncomfortable, especially with the direct to video sequel where she goes on a fun quirky adventure to England... fucking hell
22:16 I relate to this and can remember doing this as a kid, it’s frustrating to think about now, knowing what I know now, because so many places around where I grew up were named after the natives that lived there, but it’s rarely emphasized that these people didn’t just “move out”/“die out”, they were driven to extinction and they’ve all been mostly forgotten
This is such an important conversation! It is insane that Thanksgiving traditions still exist to be honest. But I am not even American so maybe I just don't get it, but from the outside, all of this and the country itself is so...weird. Sorry
In Neverland it seems like the people there ended up there from the real world so I feel there could be some backstory about a tribe fleeing to Neverland.
This is basically how my school taught American history to me, an American: "Yeah, so we basically caused genocide against a marginalized group of people because they were not like us. Yes, I know, how very sad and terrible... now let's discuss a dictator in Europe at the time! Why? Because we're not the bad guys! We had to gain freedom from our oppressors in Europe, we're the underdogs. They're the bad ones even though this piece of history has nothing to do with what we're leaning about except that it takes place at roughly the same time." "What about gay people at the time?" "Well, I don't know how many people would be happy while under a dictatorship. I don't think they would exist! I would hope no one was on the dictator's side!"
I love this, quyana (thank you). Theres events such as "the golden potlatch" that was very racist back in the 1920s, they put on in Seattle. Theres so much history of colonizers stealing native people and putting them on display in other countries, like stealing islander people and bringing them here and feeding them cermeonial foods such as dog, everyday (medicine only ate for special occasions) they stole an inuit family and displayed them as zoo animals, stole canadian natives and usually they end up dying in captivity- its a very dark history, but I am so happy your covering it!!!!
This is a very good video, though I would like to point out: both Aladdin and Peter Pan are based on books. The strange mish-mash of cultures in Aladdin comes from the fact that it's part of 1001 Arabian Nights and the story seems to be set in China (an otherworldly China that is closer to the Middle East than China really is). Peter Pan is... very, very bad with its depiction of Native Americans (though it's a product of its time). Disney wasn't writing original stories (as they did with Lilo and Stitch) and remained as faithful as they could to the source material (really, read Peter Pan... the author calls them redskins, which is very, very cringy to today's audience). it's not an excuse, but it is an explanation.
They probably didn't cast tiger lilly as a kid because she has a very messed up fandom. Like the worst of rule34. I don't agree with the choice but for the sake of the child actors it was probably safer.
My elementary school took great effort in teaching us about indigenous people, and taught us about many of the tribes. However, we were taught about them like none of those people were around anymore. And we, too, picked whether we were native or pilgrims and did the buckle and feather hats.
I honesty NEVER learned anything about native American communities until I got to college, in graduate school I am learning so much how the goverment did the indigenous community dirty.
Wow, didn’t think I was going watch the whole thing, but I agree with your points 100%. But on a side note, yes, Disney, and other companies made racists films, but that was the culture. So it’s not entirely on them. (Not an excuse, just a extra thought) Also, when everyone in charge is “white” obviously the bias’s will occur (american culture), but I think they did the best what with they had, or even what the Big Mouse allowed them to do. I just wanted to add about American consumerism of Native Americans. As you said, they are quick to take the good things, and claim to be “part” Native. But when I said I was shocked of the lack of support with the Native Protest with the oil/water/land rights. I thought I would see more people in support of what was going on. Shocker.. not so much... Hardly anyone cared. But in conclusion. Yes, companies need to own up with what they did. But more importantly us as consumers need to be help accountable also. It’s because our acceptance of it that it’s lasted this long. So when people make a statement of lack or representation and integrity. This is what we are talking about. When everyone in charge is a “white” male, that is the issue. You can’t expect a system based of racism, and the culture that keeps them in power, to fairly represent others and their struggle. Thanks for the video. Love getting the blood flowing.
I absolutely loved this video and am so happy it came up in my recommended. It was super informative and I definitely learnt new things, thanks so much for making this video. I’m absolutely subscribing ☺️💕
I love this video! You covered a wide range of topics in such a succinct way. I like the fact that you started with your own name and broadened the conversation more with each topic. Thank you for recommending other channels and creators as well! I look forward to more of your videos 😊
"There probably isn't any way that colonizers can interact with Native Americans in a way that's not insensitive unless that cultural transaction is totally controlled by the Native people themselves." That's literally it
I have a story related to this. Not even a month ago I was riding in the car with my sister, and my sister’s friend, and their siblings. One of the siblings, a 7 year old boy said that he “wants to be an Indian “. I could just feel the tension in that car rise as the kid’s mom asked. “Hey bud, do you mean a person from India, or..”. No he meant a stereotyped Native American. We told them to call “Indians “ Native Americans, Indigenous people, or First Nations. This kid had probably learned from school the classic character of a big man who rode a horse with a bow all dressed in suade and body paint. Just like I unfortunately had. Well his mom said that she would talk with the school and him about these people and their history…. ( Background information) we are in Asheville North Carolina. All white people in the car. And it was the week before thanksgiving break, so in school these subjects are brought up. Again this kid was 7 so he didn’t know any better , but his teachers should. I’m sorry to all Native American people. There is no way I can pretend to relate to this kind of thing happening. And I promise that none of my future children will say anything like this. ( I’m trying to educate myself, so if you know of anything by Native American people I can use to help myself with please comment it. Again, I’m sorry.
I'm a white European belonging to a minority that was subjected to oppression, slavery, exile and random-ass killing that centred around what language we spoke. We're still subjected to racism and dismissal by our neighbouring country who feels a massive need to control us while wishing we were dead (with only the law holding them back). It's easy to feel some sort of kin towards indigenous from other countries, but they have it fair rough still that baffles me. The US seems to get taught that individualism is all that matters which creates these racists.
This is a very interesting and informational video, thanks a lot. I in Germany right now, therefore it's great to learn more about its history. By that I mean ACTUAL history and not the short and often problematic versions from the history books we read. I think schools often have the problem of not learning about the background of certain events. As an example, we learned about the Third Reich, but we didn't learn about Hitler's past and where the whole ideology came from. It's presented as if they woke up one day and had this idea, although all that had been thriving around Europe for ages and a bunch of such stuff was especially radicalized after the defeat in WWI. Same goes for a lot of events. I think it's important to know how it came to certain tragedies and occurrences, but unfortunately, we often don't talk about it.
So I don't if you play video games but their is this video game called Red Dead Redemption 2 which is set in 1899. It's interesting to note that there is a random encounter in this game detailing with an army officer who "rehoused" Native Americans in this Fort that you can find in game. It's honestly such a sad and brutal reminder that the US was founded on Genocide and Slavery. If you want to watch the encounter here's the link: ruclips.net/video/GXx2WQM0G20/видео.html
i’m glad i grew up as a proud native american woman
Same. I get so angry though.
@@robhatesyoutube me tooo
@@robhatesyoutube I do too. My anger seems to get worse the older I get
@@mallorydeese9138 I wasn't going to say anything because I don't want to sound like a rude prick over a cartoon that came out forever ago, but do you not hate the Disney Pocahontas movie? (Asking because of your profile pic) My mother refused to even show it to me when I was young because Pocahontas was raped and abducted by John Smith, kidnapped and taken overseas, without even the dignity of being buried in her homeland.
@@robhatesyoutube i picked out the pic when I was 15 or so. She used to be my favorite Disney princess, because she was like me, you know? It meant a lot to have someone who I could relate to.
But in the past few years I've gotten genuinely angry about the movie. It's a white person's fantasy of what our history is. Why couldn't they have made a unique story about Native people that wasn't centered around white people?
We'll probably never have another Native Disney movie. If we ever ask, they'll point to Pocahontas and say "Isn't that enough?"
I'm not sure why I haven't changed the profile pic. Maybe I still have some sort of nostalgia from when I was a little girl and didn't know the full history of her, and was just happy to see someone like me.
Sorry for the long rant, I got kind of carried away lol
I'd like to note about Aladdin, that the fact that Agrabah is just a mish mash of different middle eastern cultures is reminiscent of Orientalism, which does have inherently racist roots
not even just middle eastern, it also mixes in Indian stuff! And adding to all that mess, the original story also had it set in China...
Orientalism isn't racist, Europeans (especially in the roccoco era) were fascinated by different unexplored lands like the Middle East, Central and South Africa, Americas, China (Germans were batshit crazy about porcelain). Being fascinated by a different culture doesn't mean they were being racist😂
@@Pollicina_db They often used the style of orientalism to make other races look alien and "uncivilized", thus dehumanizing them.
@@Pollicina_db there’s a difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. Taking on the aesthetic of another culture because you like it but not knowing the importance or meaning behind any of it isn’t being respectful to that culture
Yall have to understand that I was talking about the roccoco era (if you even know what I'm talking about). Communication between nations and travelling in the past was, surprise surprise, very difficult back than and people really only speculated what the cultures and people looked like. Nowadays I agree that it IS disrepectful to not console with people of that culture while making a movie (aka Alladin etc.).
Kaya was my favorite American Girl doll. She was one of the biggest influences to spark my interest in history. Even with the flaws present in the American Girl dolls, having historic dolls and books like that was so valuable. It's really sad seeing how little focus they've put on the historic dolls recently, and I really hope that maybe in the future it's revived and done better than ever.
Same! I loved the books, the details on the doll, her necklace and circular shell beads were my favorite to just admire as her kid. Plus in the books they have the explanations of the culture of the Nez Pierce
Thank you to your mom, my grandma got me her first book and the doll, she still has the doll and i made her and I a matching outfit
also can we talk about how some of the disclaimers say "may contain". like ????? what do you mean 'MAY'????
👏👏👏😂
Smh
this film is invited to display racist stereotypes
My grandma is the author of the Kaya books--Janet Shaw. She really was so proud to be a part of that project. If you have any questions about the process of writing the book, I would be happy to ask her to see if she has any thoughts to share.
Can we all plz stop the fetishization of Marginalized People?!
AMEN
How do we decide what is fetishizing and what is appreciating? Where is the boundary?
@@Sarah-lo6nv it can be very easy to see for example in movies with both white and women of color the woman of color will often be seen as more vulgar or sexual. I am Hispanic so let’s use the spicy Latina as an example. On modern family Sofia is often the bit of the joke and is used for sexual scenario’s.
@@Sarah-lo6nv well, fetishization can range from obsession to smaller ‘wishes’ to be like another person of a certain group Because of the certain group. appreciation ranges from adoring something or participating from afar to raising/Listening and hearing voices of a group that is not our own and realizing what us as a seperate group has done and learning from it to become closer as a whole. its not a very thin line. as she said, its very easy to listen to their voices. but sadly and frustratingly people do not, via years and years of oppression and brutality.
We talked about slavery and colonialism in my school, but it was very much 'this happened, but everything is ok now'
The first memory I have of really truly feeling weird about my race was in middle school. I’m a Native American female which should be known. So it’s thanksgiving week, we are splitting the kids up between pilgrims and natives. Natural I wanted to be a native, but the teach was going around assigning roles. Low and behold the only Native American child in the room, was making a paper buckle hat for her costume. Still a fun day, just a bit weird to see white kids playing the people whom I associated myself with.
Wowwww that audacity.
isn't this like... doing blackface?
@@GABE_is_here yeah, its doing redface
@@snoixaliciousred is an undertone ppl from different “races” might have, but our skin ain’t literally red! White people and Black people ain’t (99,9% of the times) literally black or literally white either!
I’m Northern Cheyenne and you did pretty good research but there are some errors. Chief Dullknife also known as Morning Star died on the rosebud reservation in South Dakota in 1886. It was called the Fort Robinson Breakout (not massacre even though Cheyenne were killed) this is where we got present day Northern Band (the ones who wanted to go back to our homelands and ally tribes the Lakota and Arapaho) which my reservation is located in SW Montana and southern band which resides in Oklahoma. Along with Cheyenne there are two bands of Arapaho and the southern Cheyenne share a reservation in Oklahoma with them. The northern Arapaho have their reservation in Wyoming. There are only two bands of Cheyenne, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe are apart of the Sioux Confederacy and are not Cheyenne. Thank you for acknowledging that you were named after my tribe! Most white people who name their kids Cheyenne think it’s after the Capitol of Wyoming or have no clue they are named after an indigenous tribe. This is my own condensed synopsis and left out historical events.
California Indian history is a story in itself! Thank you for this Cheyenne!
My mother was from Creek Nation and my daddy was a black man...I want to thank you for bringing truth out about racism because They portray the European as the savor of our people and they are not they were and are still the oppressor...my doctor rescheduled my appointment I made 2 weeks ago because of Thanksgiving the receptionist made a comment about Thanksgiving and it being a nice day...I said no it's not my people were killed and I don't celebrate murder...
america: *names car models after indigenous tribes* “we fixed history!”
This is also a way to erase native people. When you google “Pontiac” the car pops up before the tribe
*White America (they assert these same forces of erasure and decontextualization on other marginalized/ minority groups too)
@@stepahead5944 white America and America are the same thing dummy
I mean, engine go vroom vroom... i don't see what's the problem here...
I had a little Kaya doll when I was younger
💖💖💖🥺
Ooo I just got to that part of the video and can I just say, my mom was HORRIFIED by Pocahontas when she first saw it. My white grandparents on my dad's side had it when I was younger, and I remember they popped it in the dvd player, and I watched my mother, a native woman married to a white man she loves (and who love her), become visibly upset watching this movie.
Would you say the Kaya books are a good read? I am a young adult and I want to diversify my library in hopes that if I ever have kids I can have stories about different bipoc so they can grow up seeing themselves and people like them represented in stories. Or if you have any better recommendations I would love to know sorry if this is too invasive of a question
Edit: she talked about it lol
@@kennyb1588 I suggest Rebecca Roanhorse! She’s the author of the trail of lightning and other fantasy works featuring indigenous people as she is an indigenous author herself. There are plenty of other indigenous authors out there writing fantasy and other genres. Highly suggest searching for her books and other indigenous authors 👍
I’m white (I do have a large amount of Native American blood in me though but I don’t “identify” as indigenous or however to put it) but Kaya was my favorite growing up! Her books were so good and she was such a beautiful doll
Most adaptions of Peter Pan miss out on something I think could be a great opportunity. Neverland is the place lost children go, so why not have a bunch of lost native children there? It would be tragic and fascinating, especially if it's hinted that they ran away from residential schools and it's only in Neverland that they get to practice what they know of their culture.
That’s a great idea. :)
I came here for Kaya, she was the doll I had. I read the books, but it's been a long while and I don't remember anything. I didn't know if she was problematic or not. I'm glad to hear that some effort was put into educating kids. I'm still sus of Matel (especially with that part with Andy) and obviously this is just a start/introduction for kids and not anything too serious. But I am glad that there was effort put into Kaya.
I feel like if people just want a consumerist holiday of pumpkin pie, fall decorations, and big meals with family and friends, thanksgiving itself should just be replaced with a regular harvest holiday instead of a mess of fake history and colonization. Better yet would be to just let native americans make a decision themselves on what kinds of holidays should be celebrated during their history month. Those are just my thoughts on the subject though.
Sadly a nation founded on such things will never be moral in any way or shape. You guys have burnt the culture you had and could to ashes and never replaced it with anything positive and not there's a crisis. It's good to see some hope in the ashes though, hopefully you guys manage to salvage what's left.
Hey I HIGHLY recommend the Red Nation podcast if you like insightful (and encite-ful) discussions by a team of mainly indigenous academics and writers, focusing on radical politics, global events, activism, etc. It's one of my favourite podcasts. It's so so so good.
i'm from new york, and i remember throughout elementary school we would learn about the lakota who used to live on the land where we lived. i have vivid memories of making models of long houses and reading articles about how the lakota would build their homes. not the worst considering it was mainly in first and second grade so talking about the genocide wasn't really an option, but later on in elementary school we romanticized white colonists without talking about any of the racism.
my elementary school was almost entirely white, and luckily the later schools i've gone to have put a point on learning about how marginalized groups have been treated throughout history, but sometimes i wonder if the way my elementary handled indigenous history has made my classmates from then ignorant to those issues.
Which part of New York? I’m haudensonee and our homelands are in upper state New York and we lived in longhouse and still have long houses to this day for ceremonial practices. To my knowledge the Lakota were more southwest.
America constantly trying to make their military and war efforts look good or better than it was throughout history(or that there’s only that one bad egg rouge in the army in movies that tries to ruin things) is so comical to me. Especially after you find out what the U.S. tropes did-heck, even encouraged to do-to German women and children civilians after they occupied certain cities when World War 2 ended for “revenge” purposes...yet got to go home after doing such a horrid thing to be hailed as honorable war heroes.
Stuff like that is rarely ever talked about or addressed.
During WW1 they would take "trophies" from their fallen enemies aka skulls, fingers, ears, etc. But oh no we're never taught that in school because all veterans are automatically heros despite doing horrible things like that. Sigh...
@@GamerGrill420 I mean if your not taking your enemies skull are you even doing it right?
@@GamerGrill420 what’s your username a reference to???? TM?
@@CassandraExplainsItAll it's just meant as a joke man
I hate veterans. I have no respect for soldiers.
I was a bit surprised when you mentioned that Americans don’t learn about slavery or what happened to Native Americans. In the North East, all of my schools taught that, elementary through high school. It’s a shame that some places don’t teach that important part of our past. There are probably other things that my schools might have omitted too but slavery and genocide is a pretty vital lesson.
I grew up part of one of the most under funded states, where teachers have striked on and off for years. We learned about slavery and Native Americans but in a way that made everything sound less bad. Slavery was distanced from the south and confederacy and we were taught specifics like how big the boats were and not what white people did to black people during the time. Native Americans just so happened to slowly be less talked about as we went later in history. Our teachers didnt even teach past the 1850s, that was only for advanced history classes
We definitely learned about slavery and Native American people but we don’t learn in detail about the atrocities that happened to them or how it still affects them today
I’m in the northeast (upstate new york) and we did not learn about the severe mistreatment and genocide of native americans. we learned some basic stuff about which tribes lived where and little bits about their culture, but never anything about the extreme violence of white colonizers.
@@kennyb1588 agreed! I think that’s the main thing. It’s taught as though this was a Distant past instead of structures of oppression that impacted generations of people in how they thought and acted and how this impacts our current times. We may have been taught about the middle passage and treaties, but it was mostly 2 dimensional, lacked specifics unless you learned outside the classroom and/or higher ed
With so few federal standards for education, experience varies widely based on state, district, available funding, department management, and biases of the instructor. - Shout out to social studies teachers, who make or break these discussions. A good one makes all the difference.
i have a black eqyptian friend and she says it is so annoying how commodified her people's aesthetic has become in the west, and how ironic it is that she has never seen one black person wearing eqyptian clothes or eqyptian attire, it is always white people, and i mean the ancient eqyptians who originally were all of black ancestry, she is contantly being told that she is just trying to claim a place she doesn't belong to, by white people that dont belong from there. it is so frustrating how many white's attempt to rewrtite history and take parts of culture from them if not everything and rewriting it from the coloniser's perspective
To be fair, there is a range of colors for native Egyptians. There are people who are Egyptian who get accused of whitewashing, simply because they aren't "dark enough".
On the other hand, there are way too many people who think that they can just take whatever they want from other cultures. Which is gross.
@@rabbit__ i know what u mean, i was referring to literal caucasians, it's totally fine wearing egyptian clothes and attire! their gorgeous,but it must feel weird when their the only representation she sees, she's even been told she's culturally appropriating when she wears it, it's a strange double standard
@@rabbit__ thanks, I was gonna comment this. I’m mixed russian & egyptian with light skin - I get told I have “lived my whole life as a white woman” … which is so untrue**. when people hear my last name or my middle name here in the states, suddenly i am a terrorist.
**Edit: I am a white woman, just as much as I am egyptian. as far as my genealogy goes i am mostly egyptian, I guess I just “look” mostly white.
I love the historical American Girl dolls & Kaya is one of my favorites!! I wish they were more economically accessible to all children, because they’re some of the best dolls & educational toys out there. They introduced me to the many nuances & trials of American history well before my school did.
There's still no Asian American girl doll though
@@lrose1310 Historically no sadly. But there is Jess who was a girl of the year, and that there’s always the option to the dolls that ‘ look like you ‘ where you can choose the hair, eye color, skin color and more.
@@lrose1310 There was technically one who was a friend of Julie, the 70s girl, that was made into a doll. But there has not been one that had a time period for themselves, which is sad.
Sadly, and I agree that should be remedied. There was Ivy Ling, but she was a companion to Julie & not her own independent doll, and she’s no longer sold by Pleasant Company. I’d love to see a lot of expansion in the American Girl catalogue; dolls from other native tribes & nations, neuro-divergent dolls, a hijabi doll, an LGBTQ doll, a trans girl doll, a dreamer doll, characters from more overlooked chapters of US history, the possibilities are literally endless!! All the different characters have the potential to teach girls that being an “American Girl” can apply to countless differing experiences!
@@helloill672 oh yeah ivy was her name
Kaya was my first American Girl doll. Her books were actually great, and I'm glad they weren't whitewashed.
What’s crazy is that many of us remember dressing up as Native Americans in elementary school and didn’t know how racist it was but the adults did.
i love love LOVE the topics you cover, most aren’t really talked about especially from the perspective of a (beautiful!) woman of color! i can tell you take pride in making these and it definitely shows girl! they are well researched, never biased or at least i can’t tell if they are lol, and you explain things in a great easy to get way. keep up the great work❤️
Thank you so much!
honestly as a mixed race indigenous person who grew up on peter pan.... like it's so mentally devastating like growing up, it'd be great if people just......didn't
What beats me, as a member of a group which has been and still is oppressed by French colonial power, is that the tribe that doll company chose to represent still identifies with a name which is NOT of their own making and which is a very obvious legacy from French colonialism in Norther America. Nez is French for nose and "Perce" (originally "percé") means pierced. Pierced noses... I don't think these colonizers labeled them that out of admiration for their culture and people... And then a big company sweeps in to make big bugs off of it... This strikes me as being so many layers of wrong... I'm a descendant of enslaved Africans and Native American/Caribbean people...
All the beaches in my hometown (I grew up on the Great Lakes) are in the native american language of the region, and I recently found out that the area used to be an important trade port between different tribes before white people showed up which makes perfect sense, but school never taught us any of that. Because yeah, fuck all the relevant history to the actual area you live in, here's what happened in Europe.
When I was a kid I actually wanted to know what my city looked like before the Europeans came BUT no one could answer that question.
As someone who lived in Wyoming for half of their life, I can tell you that people still treat native Americans this way. Read “diary of a part time Indian” if you want to see how it impacts someone personally.
I personally really enjoy the Native American characters in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, that's what I mainly grew up with.
I love Little Creek’s character
@@starrsmith3810 Me too 😊
@@GamerGrill420 I actually kinda like the crossover pairing of Pocahontas x Little Creek just because it’s less screwing with history
Same here. I absolutely adore Little Creek and his character to this day. To me, that film in general in combination with this Native Art History book my mom gave me with all these beautiful photographs and illustrations from all the different tribes, including photographs of Native People at work, my favourite was always this big gorgeous spread of a group of Dine elders making a giant sandpainting that took up half the page. I used to stare at that one for hours everytime I used to go through that book, especially at the little details they would put into that painting. But those two things was the main reason I got into Native History in the first place and eventually through that get introduced and more involved with the Native Community as a whole.
But in hindsight now that I think of it. Considering between Spirit and my Native Art book, that was my very VERY first introduction to the Native people. To give you an idea, I first watched Spirit when I was 3, if not a bit younger than that. It's probably always been there. And because of that, I remember vividly, when I was a kid just how overly uncomfortable that Peter Pan scene made me, to the point I would always skip it.
Even to the point as a Disney kid that was the one film I'd watch the least. Ironic considering Tinkerbell was an absolute goddess to me as a kid too and I used to own everything in existence there was, that had Tink on it, though to be fair, I knew her more from the Tinkerbell movies, which was the absolute shit back then, than I ever really did from Peter Pan. To be honest the only reason we had Peter Pan was because I fucked myself over and insisted on getting it in the first because hey, Tinkerbell was on the cover! You can never go wrong with Tinkerbell! And I was, so, so wrong.
In large part because as a really little kid I found that stupid music number and the natives outside of Tiger Lily absolutely batshit fucking terrifying. And as an older kid it just, made me uncomfortable. Yeah, I screwed myself over a lot as a kid sometimes. Including with Peter Pan because, Tinkerbell.
At first I just, never knew why. It was just always there. Keep in mind, this is coming from an South African chic by the way. But it wasn't until I was a lot older and did my research on both films as well as Natives in Animation in general that I started to put two and two together on why. Both on why they scared the absolute shit out of me and on why when I was old enough to realize "hey, these things aren't really that scary, or as scary as I remember." Why they still made me uncomfortable.
And that was purely because I was so used to Little Creek and how the Lakota was portrayed in that film from repeated watchings that the sudden transition from that, which I later found out was, pretty heavily historically accurate from my research into it, to these hostile overly primative beings that'd burn you at the stake upon first meeting them. Would naturally scare the ever bejesus out of a kid who is only used to Little Creek who was much more amicable and graceful in comparison. And naturally just, make a kid uncomfortable when they're old enough to more or less understand what's going on, on screen, when Little Creek was all they really knew in regards to Natives in Animation. Like, even as a 10 year old little South African girl, I could just, feel the demeaning undertones waft through the screen in waves everytime they'd show them in Peter Pan. Like they were mocking Natives, which I found out was really fricking accurate.
As for Pocahontas? Never really interested. I tried watching that film as a kid, I liked the songs, I found Pocahontas pretty, to where when I started collecting Disney Dolls, I wanted to collect her too, though more so, so that all my other princesses could have all their friends altogether like a nice big giant happy family.
Atleast until I actually watched the film instead of getting all my info in all my 1st grade confidence, from Disney Princess magazine. And after that, decided just to go for Jasmine instead since they didn't have a Tiana yet who was the absolute latest Disney Princess at the time and was to me personally, one of the absolute prettiest at the time and still is. Because the film just, absolutely blandified her for me to the point I found her boring. Though I doubt my mom would've gotten her for me anyways since she didn't like the film either. She always said it felt too sacerine and fake to her. My dad was the one who downloaded that one since he thought I'd like it considering I liked Spirit so much.
But outside of the songs and the pretty animation, I just found it boring. Like, I never knew how it ended until I had to rewatch it as an adult because before even the second half of the second act I would nod out and not come back until it ended. And besides that it just, always felt so, bland to me. Like, it felt washed up compared to the other Disney Movies. And later on, in comparison to all the other Disney Princess Movies, I could understand why my mom always called it fake, because it just felt pretty artificial alongside that too. Like there wasn't an effort put into it. Like the Movie version of that cheap disgusting compound chocolate my teachers would sometimes hand out to the class.
@@ulyssesdenice5071 I love Pocahontas tbh. Except for the villain. He sucked.
Little Creek was such a cool character to me and still is. I refuse to even watch Peter Pan because of the Native American stereotype and because once you research Native American culture, seeing the kids wear things probably only the chief would is fucking cringe. Like holy shit, Pocahontas was a romanticized fairy tale and had a shitty villain but at least they didn’t have the Englishmen wearing feathers or headdresses.
I'm Lakota, with Cheyenne, Omaha, Seneca & Ponca ancestry (Parents and grandparents keep a genealogical thing going), as well as French, Spanish and German admixture (Fur Traders and one infamous man named... Custer!)
Thusly. I always find it weird when I encounter people with Tribe names; Cheyenne, Dakota. Etc
I grew up with my culture, and I'm always asked if I'm Asian.
As someone who lives in Idaho, I can say with confidence that the school system has failed us immeasurably. If you dont know, Idaho, or really, the area it was before settlers, was a place that a lot of native Americans lived- I mean, every other city is named after a tribe (nes peirce, Pocatello, Cheyenne, ECT.) But we rarely have any sort of meaningful education about our state history. I am a complete stranger to Idaho's history, and so is everyone else, which is awful because its so intensely romanticized here. I mean my best friends grandpa has native American art (not by them, but about them) and memorabilia everywhere, even though he's an 18th native American 💀 and if you gi to pretty much any historic landmark or museum of sorts, its all portraying native American culture in a performative way for the white visitors. Just wanted to clarify that even in places with more cultural influence from native Americans, theres a huge lack of any education about them and their real history.
In the second Kirsten book there is a Native American girl who is a pretty major character. Kirsten is sort of "adopted" into the tribe and given the name "Yellow Hair". I think the other girl's name was Singing Bird? It would have been so cool if she was made Kirsten's "doll friend".
its the adultification of woc in the film industry for me
That's why I like Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron so much, it shows Native American children, one of them is a straight up toddler
Can we talk about Brother Bear? I think it was a great step ahead just a few years after Pocahontas, still one of my favourites Disney movies!
"But one thing that is for sure, is that Tiger Lily and Wendy will both be girl bosses"
OMG
lmaoo i read this at the exact moment she said it
It is a travesty that your channel hasn't garnered more attention. Your information and this video essay is just as high quality as Khadija Mbowe, Yhara Zayd, and Lindsey Ellis. I can't wait for you to blow up.
Thank you so much Jennifer 🥺
I actually loved Kaya when I was younger, hyped to have a native doll i could relate to as a native myself.
My dad worked on a reservation in New Mexico when I was a kid. When I asked him what they were like out there and he said they were really nice to him, beautiful, and with a good sense of humor. I ended up working on a reservation in Minnesota and my experience was basically the same. We both miss it despite reservations being such hard places to live for many Native people.
I would love a video that dives into the line between "depictions of races in fantasy" (like discussed here) and fictionalized versions of a race or culture in fantasy? (Like, Avatar: The Last Airbender) I'm a novelist who is trying to write a book with inspiration from Avatar, but being mostly white, I really worry about keeping my fantasy world respectful. It is inspired by Africa and African culture, notable North-Western African and the layers of traditional Vodun and modern 'invasive' Catholicism. It's about colonialization of Africa and The Americas by Europe (in this case, specifically France, as I am from Louisiana), in the same way Avatar: The Last Airbender is about Japanese Fascism / Imperialism and its affects on mainland China, Tibet, and Korea. ATLA does this so well, and I know it can be replicated without wholesale copying how they achieved it.
Another example of a show doing this well is Fullmetal Alchemist, and its fictional depiction of Nazi Germany, again in a way that isn't dishonest about the atrocities, nor is it unsympathetic to the peoples that live there. But it's an entirely "fictionalized" version of a race / culture, a thing that has the potential to be pretty problematic. Its clear it's not meant to be a real depiction of that culture, with novel and fantastical elements befitting of that culture overlain onto it. But at the same time it's clear that's exactly the culture it's based on. All the obvious surface level answers I've heard before, but I feel there's some subtle details to explore on how some media does this so well. While others, ironically, like Avatar by James Cameron features a race that tries FAR harder to separate itself from it's inspiration, making them big blue aliens, but still comes off like a ham fisted Native American allegory that thinks it's being way more respectful and coy than it actually is.
If your curious on details of my book, for starters, yes, the main cast is culturally accurate. There is one white character in the main group of 5, and she is designed specifically to deconstruct a lot of "white savior" style tropes. Including one you point out here. Her family is effectively the villains, and she's consistently depicted as thinking and acting just like them, despite siding against them. She ultimately causes more harm than good. She TRIES to "save" them, but basically hands them an additional burden in protecting her, as she has a giant target on her. Her actual story revolves more around her self exploration and coping with her family's actions in a healthy way. She's very much a "good guy", but it plays her as very specifically having a terrible idea of what that means and having to learn how to actually help people instead of hard headed running around shooting at people with a savior complex. The main story and story arch are resolved by the 2 "main leads", an African woman and her mother, who are both soldiers in a conflict that they ultimately resolve by the end of the book. I feel like this story has the potential to hit a really resonate note with a lot of people. Or the potential for me to hamfistedly shove my foot in my mouth with the best intentions.
That difference between Avatar and Avatar: The Last Airbender keeps me up at night. I could care less if I release a book that doesn't sell well. It'd break my heart to release a book that upset the cultures that inspired me to write in the first place.
Make sure to get a sensitivity reader, someone who is well versed in the cultures you’re trying to emulate. It sounds like an interesting read.
Beautifully done video! I'm Native myself(Anishinaabe). I applaud how well you addressed such a systematic problem with our people.
I've always liked Tiger Lily as a character, to me is a very strong girl who was able to face a pirate.. I've always admired her for that
I think it's better that Tiger Lily will be played by an adult. An adult actress can stand up for herself and recognize when she's acting out mere stereotypes in ways that a child won't. I don't trust the Disney producers to on their own give us an unproblematic Indigenous character in a live action remake (famous for low-effort) based on racist caricatures, so I wouldn't trust them with creating a history-conscious character without the Indigenous actress's input. Tamlyn Tomita (Karate Kid 2) spoke on this, saying when she was a teenager she played a racist and stereotypical version of an Indigenous Okinawan character. When she reprised the role as an adult, she had the knowledge and confidence to set "ground rules" about how she would be portrayed. I share your fears about the possibility of sexualizing Tiger Lily, but I do think casting an Indigenous adult means she's less likely to go along with harmful characterizations. (That said it's still very possible they steamroll her or mess it up with editing.) Great video! Shocked I'm just seeing it now.
American school system be like: oh yeah and the trail of tears happened but we're still the good guys :D
On the topic of the whole Thanksgiving reenactment at schools, I remember when I was in Kindergarten and our teachers had us do that too. They selected kids with blond/lighter colored hair and blue eyes to be pilgrims meanwhile they chose kids with darker hair/eyes or darker skin tones to be Native Americans. Not all of us who were selected to dress as Native Americans were poc since the majority of us were white, but the white kids with dark hair or eyes were in our group along with the three kids in our class who were poc (Hispanic, Filipino, and black)...Just the fact that they chose kids with stereotypical white features (ex: blond hair, blue eyes) to be pilgrims while the rest of us who had dark hair, eyes, or skin were casted as Native Americans felt so wrong. It was like they made their casting decisions based on our physical features and that’ll always make me uncomfortable. I’m pretty sure they stopped doing it after a while tho...
Disney Remake: "Paint with all the colours... of revisionism!"
I genuinely cackled at this! Thank you! 🤣
A hobby of mind is digging through antique stores for unusual finds. It's mostly just good fun, but...Well, if you ever want to make sure you're regularly reminded of America's overtly racist past, this'll do it.
“We all know that Pocahontas is not getting a live action remake... as of right now” shhhhh, you’re gonna jinx it
The fetishization of American Indian women I’ve noticed is a thing. Many men that I’ve known brag about having native or otherwise exotic girlfriends or sexual conquests (one of my exes spoke at length about an Ainu woman that he bedded). My male European friends have even outright asked if I can get them a date with an American Indian woman (best I was able to do was introduce him to my friend who is 1/4 Choctaw and married).
I had the Kirsten American Girl doll growing up because her heritage was the closest to mine of the 3 dolls available in the 1980s. I’m of Eastern European and Baltic heritage and while white, typically you don’t see too many Eastern Europeans portrayed in US Hollywood or media. I thought it was cool that Kelly in Saved by the Bell had a Polish last name but most of the characters in media have WASP last names like Clark or Thomas or Johnson or Morris. Even though many who worked in early Hollywood were Polish, Jewish or Hungarian. And back to the American Girl dolls. I remember that there was backlash against Addy because a black girl as a slave was “too stereotypical.” And as an adult, I was curious about the Russian Jewish doll that was released, even though my family is Catholic. Rebecca Rubinstein, the 1914 Russian Jewish American girl ... lives in New York City and wants to work in movies when she grows up. I face palmed when I read that, mainly because it’s as stereotypical as Addy being a slave in 1864.
I wondered why Disney never delved into one the many Russian or Polish folk or fairy tales to adapt to film. The only time Disney has ever portrayed anything east of Germany has been with Peter and the Wolf from the 1940s, Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia and The Firebird from Fantasia 2000. As an adult, I’m kinda glad that Disney hasn’t done it
Diane Mallickan is my grandma (or "great aunt" ig), she is such an impactful person, so cool seeing this. I never even think about how the world gets to know Nimiipuu through American Girl dolls and books, I always just associated it w a fun fact about home. I liked the books growing up, like a lot of other kids, but there is a clear washing of it to be consumed by largely white audiences. The gendered experience is a byproduct of trauma, and I don't think it represents the time. And the relationships of the characters feel the same, and their understandings of each other. The nuclear family did not exist the way it is presented in the book. On a technical, to the records level, it holds an accuracy hard to come by. But on an unspoken cultural level, it just reads as words written from a white lens falling from the mouths of Nimiipuu. i got mixed feelings, but overall they just give me nostalgia for Lapwai elementary :,) thanks for making this
Also confusing fact: Walt Disney's wife Lillian grew up w the Nimiipuu on the Nez Perce reservation . . . take that how you will idk she was cool tho
Seems random but was anyone else distressed when watching 'Anne with an E' that the native Canadian girl was just kind of forgotten about??
@@theflickchick9850 The school was more like one of those institutions where native Americans were only allowed to speak English, were forced to become Christian etc. And then (spoiler!) her parents almost get shot trying to take her back, because they realised they had been lied to about the 'school' being good for her and her future, Anne tries to help them but then they just tell her she needs to go home, she can't really do anything to help anyway, she promises to come back and then never does. We never see or have mention of her friend again. It was weird so maybe your theory is correct.
@@theflickchick9850 I did say native Canadian in my original comment, and in the reply I was referring to what was mentioned in the video: re-education centres for native Americans. Also, Canada is North America so I don't think the word choice was really a huge deal...? You get what I was talking about, native peoples of the Americas in general. Yes, I assumed she died but it was weird because she was also never mentioned again, like they just forgot, when they could have made it a powerful message about colonialism. That was my original point.
I think that they were planning on making a season 4 where Kikwet would have been addressed but then the show got cancelled
The part where you talked about the American education system was so true. I did not know who Malcom X was until a couple years ago. My school, with all the history classes I took, NEVER EVEN MENTIONED HIM. So thankful for the internet so I can learn real history.
I don't know if I could come up with a worse, more white, or more quintessentially 90s way to portray colonization than Pocahontas if I tried.
Im glad you included Kaya in the discussion. There's many good things and bad things to be said about the American Girl's historical line and how it represents certain cultures. I wish there were more video essay type discussions on those topics. But i understand AG is a niche subject and probably not super relevant unless you're a parent who buys dolls for their child or a doll collector.
Good work as always anyways.
Thank you so much! I reviewed most of the American girl movies over a year ago and I’m thinking of doing a video about them again towards the end of the year as the old videos aren’t really that good. Glad to know more people are into the American girl dolls and their history than just me 😅
@@CheyenneLin I remember reading them so much as a kid, so it would be interesting to see how they hold up under a different set of eyes.
I didn't grow up in America and I love that you educated me on the existence of the kaya doll
Kaya was my favorite American Girl and the first American Girl doll I ever got. I still remember how happy I was when my parents took my to the American Girl store on my birthday. I loved how the books included historical information and to this day I still have Kaya and Steps High.
I really appreciated this video. Maybe one way Disney could make up for their history is to donate to Native American causes that actually help these communities. I know there are so many issues faced by these communities especially with Covid and these big corporations have the money to do a lot of good.
Miigwetch (thank you) for your use of your platform and your research!! I’m Anishnaabe living in Ontario 🧡🧡
looking back on my childhood, one thing really sticks out to me about being Native...
I was in this book club, and really enjoyed it! I was the only bipoc, everyone else being PAINFULLY white (blonde hair, light eyes, etc). one day, we were going over my favorite book - Indian in the Cupboard...yeahhh... one of the activities the super blonde, super "down to earth" PTA mom (aka the host/mom of the host) presented for the group on 6 year old, again almost exclusively white, children was to make "Indian Headdresses", amongst other things such as "Eat American Indian food" (fucking ants on a FUCKING LOG. we're ANIMALS, SHARON!!), - I still have the "headdress" I made, tacked to my wall as a reminder to fight colonization, no matter how well-intentioned someone might be. LAND BACK NOW!!!
This video is so informative and well put together. I took issue with the ways they were colored (they were Trump's skin tone -_-) in Peter Pan, but I didn't really think about it much harder than that and this video explains it really well and informatively.
Last Wednesday was the 1 *year* anniversary of when you uploaded "Pocahantas, Disney, American Revisionism, and Thanksgiving".
EDITS- 2:59 P.M.: *finishes video 29 minutes later*
I've learned more about Native Americans and their history online than I ever did at school!
3:00 P.M.: Just yesterday, I learned more about Thanksgiving's problematic origins.
I’m from Texas and we spend 3 years of social studies (spread out across elementary and middle school) dedicated solely on native Americans and the tribes who lived here
Awesome vid ☺ As a Navajo, thankyou for confronting stereotypes and shortcomings in Native representation.
Pocahontas always made me uncomfortable even as a kid because of the revisionist history
the first elementary school i attended (in western canada) incorporated indigenous and inuit education and culture into its curriculum, which I didn’t know was uncommon until my family moved further into the city and my next schools barely acknowledged native history. the most I can remember seeing from my middle school was a community mural that was extremely whitewashed. when I become a teacher, I’m going to push for my school to incorporate more extensive bipoc history into the curriculum
I will put this. "What Makes the Red man red" does come to mind. I mean there was a lot of misogyny in that song and racism. The song is just about Native Americans as red because they blush, Wendy being told to get some firewood when she just wants to enjoy herself along with the boys, and the mother-in-law "joke". Oh and there was Peter being allowed to smoke by the chief who was voiced by a white man.
I love Pocahontas.......but I can barely call that Native American representation. It’s a romanticized fairy tale with pretty animation, good music, good characters, and a crappy villain
Spirit: Stallion of The Cimarron also had Native American characters, I really liked Little Creek
Finally someone on here who likes Pocahontas
as a native person it always pisses me off when indiegenous peoples are just called "natives" when we're all different tribes and nations, it's like if white people said "oh I'm from earth". It's so irrating lol
Are you implying that white people have the same amount of culture as one Native American tribe?
(Because if you're just talking about the United States, fair point)
I am so elated to have found you! Growing up I was never told. Ything about my paternal heritage or my biological father. I have recently connected with people of my heritage and proud to learn more about Taino Culture and History. Anyways amazing video and I hope more people find your channel!!!!
TAINO DAKA
I worked at Disneyland in 2016 and they never mentioned to us that they had Native Americans working there as a 'sit and gawk' type attraction. I did work in Tomorrowland but they took us on a tour during orientation and told us all the things about each land. Very interesting... But Disneyland is weird like that. They hide Song of the South the movie but have a ride dedicated to it. (They're turning it into Princess and the Frog but ya know... They act so embarrassed about Song of the South but only decided to tare it down in 2021... Uh huh... But I digress.)
Native Americans have been sexualized, made 'cool and trendy' with white washing and their histories have been destroyed and I think it's long, long, longgggg (several hundreds of years) passed due that -all- Americans join to stand behind them and help protect their cultures, homes and selves from the government. It's insane what people will ignore to enjoy their own privileges.
This is a great video. I love all your videos also. 🖤
I appreciate this video so much as it was done with so much respect for Indigenous people. Thank you for using your platform to amplify Indigenous voices. Our stores, our real life stores are often left out of conversation and it’s so easy to forget about us and dismiss our passion for change and education. I have a beauty Channel right now that I’m growing as there is lack of representation but I’m
Thinking about starting a separate Channel and talking about this kid of stuff! Big fan of all your videos I’ve watched so far!
This is such an amazing video- weaving your own childhood with what you consumed/played with to analyze indigenous representation is genius and makes the video have more weight!! I have to subscribe!
Thank you! ✨
I am will start off by saying I am white. I do not think Native Americans who choose to be in historical reenactment historical tourism is any worse than other historically accurate tourist attractions. In Florida, there are many Native Americans who choose to be employees as educators in places like orange grove farms and gator zoo facilties, or just in museums dedicated and run by Native American tribes. I think Disneyland in the 60s-70s in their park were eons ahead of the typical "side show" attractions of the time (that depicted natives of any continents as wild jungle people). I also enjoyed the historical areas of Jamestown and Yorktown in Virginia. I think accurate depictions are important to teaching history. Just my thoughts and experiences.
I really hate how people love to basically fetishize our culture, but refuse to admit how we live as a direct result of their actions.
I was not allowed to watch peter pan or Pocahontas as a child because my mother hated both representations of our people.
oh! I believe Disney had another racist short called Little Hiawatha, so they kind of have a history of fetishizing us.
I in particular grew up in a reservation so schools there had no choice but to teach us accurate history. Of course, my school was kind of bad for that , given the fact they would gladly take the funding they got for having native students, and yet treating us like shit.
I don’t remember a lot about Thanksgiving but I do remember the heartbreaking history I learned in fifth grade about the Trail of Tears, in Georgia public schools. Everything else... spot on. I’d still be ignorant myself today of modern realities but travel tends to break the spell ... a “missions trip” that was super problematic exposed me to Native American reservations as a teen and I was never the same since. The US has no right to condemn other countries for their actions until they properly empower and emancipate the third world country conditions they have crafted and the cultural and literal genocides that they’ve created and deny in their quest to stamp out native cultures in a practical way to this day...
Took a course last year in University where I had to write an essay on Disney's Pocahontas, my god it's uncomfortable, especially with the direct to video sequel where she goes on a fun quirky adventure to England... fucking hell
22:16 I relate to this and can remember doing this as a kid, it’s frustrating to think about now, knowing what I know now, because so many places around where I grew up were named after the natives that lived there, but it’s rarely emphasized that these people didn’t just “move out”/“die out”, they were driven to extinction and they’ve all been mostly forgotten
This is such an important conversation! It is insane that Thanksgiving traditions still exist to be honest. But I am not even American so maybe I just don't get it, but from the outside, all of this and the country itself is so...weird. Sorry
What is the best way to portray native American culture in fictional stories?
In Neverland it seems like the people there ended up there from the real world so I feel there could be some backstory about a tribe fleeing to Neverland.
This is basically how my school taught American history to me, an American:
"Yeah, so we basically caused genocide against a marginalized group of people because they were not like us. Yes, I know, how very sad and terrible... now let's discuss a dictator in Europe at the time! Why? Because we're not the bad guys! We had to gain freedom from our oppressors in Europe, we're the underdogs. They're the bad ones even though this piece of history has nothing to do with what we're leaning about except that it takes place at roughly the same time."
"What about gay people at the time?"
"Well, I don't know how many people would be happy while under a dictatorship. I don't think they would exist! I would hope no one was on the dictator's side!"
I can’t stop binge watching your videos. They’re so good.
Oh my fucking god. I just remembered that my elementary school did a whole thanksgiving day event as well. So weird.
I love this, quyana (thank you). Theres events such as "the golden potlatch" that was very racist back in the 1920s, they put on in Seattle. Theres so much history of colonizers stealing native people and putting them on display in other countries, like stealing islander people and bringing them here and feeding them cermeonial foods such as dog, everyday (medicine only ate for special occasions) they stole an inuit family and displayed them as zoo animals, stole canadian natives and usually they end up dying in captivity- its a very dark history, but I am so happy your covering it!!!!
This is a very good video, though I would like to point out: both Aladdin and Peter Pan are based on books. The strange mish-mash of cultures in Aladdin comes from the fact that it's part of 1001 Arabian Nights and the story seems to be set in China (an otherworldly China that is closer to the Middle East than China really is). Peter Pan is... very, very bad with its depiction of Native Americans (though it's a product of its time). Disney wasn't writing original stories (as they did with Lilo and Stitch) and remained as faithful as they could to the source material (really, read Peter Pan... the author calls them redskins, which is very, very cringy to today's audience). it's not an excuse, but it is an explanation.
They probably didn't cast tiger lilly as a kid because she has a very messed up fandom. Like the worst of rule34. I don't agree with the choice but for the sake of the child actors it was probably safer.
My elementary school took great effort in teaching us about indigenous people, and taught us about many of the tribes. However, we were taught about them like none of those people were around anymore. And we, too, picked whether we were native or pilgrims and did the buckle and feather hats.
I honesty NEVER learned anything about native American communities until I got to college, in graduate school I am learning so much how the goverment did the indigenous community dirty.
Wow, didn’t think I was going watch the whole thing, but I agree with your points 100%. But on a side note, yes, Disney, and other companies made racists films, but that was the culture. So it’s not entirely on them. (Not an excuse, just a extra thought) Also, when everyone in charge is “white” obviously the bias’s will occur (american culture), but I think they did the best what with they had, or even what the Big Mouse allowed them to do.
I just wanted to add about American consumerism of Native Americans. As you said, they are quick to take the good things, and claim to be “part” Native. But when I said I was shocked of the lack of support with the Native Protest with the oil/water/land rights. I thought I would see more people in support of what was going on. Shocker.. not so much... Hardly anyone cared.
But in conclusion. Yes, companies need to own up with what they did. But more importantly us as consumers need to be help accountable also. It’s because our acceptance of it that it’s lasted this long. So when people make a statement of lack or representation and integrity. This is what we are talking about. When everyone in charge is a “white” male, that is the issue. You can’t expect a system based of racism, and the culture that keeps them in power, to fairly represent others and their struggle.
Thanks for the video. Love getting the blood flowing.
I absolutely loved this video and am so happy it came up in my recommended. It was super informative and I definitely learnt new things, thanks so much for making this video. I’m absolutely subscribing ☺️💕
Thank you so much!!
“Anything where white Americans arent the heroes is shoved under the rug.” YES. Wonderful video thanks for the research and time this took
I love this video! You covered a wide range of topics in such a succinct way. I like the fact that you started with your own name and broadened the conversation more with each topic. Thank you for recommending other channels and creators as well! I look forward to more of your videos 😊
Thank you Arria!
Awesome work. I love your self-reflexivity and socio-cultural + media analysis. Greetings from Gabrielino + Tongva land aka Los Angeles.
Thank you so much Carolina ✨
"There probably isn't any way that colonizers can interact with Native Americans in a way that's not insensitive unless that cultural transaction is totally controlled by the Native people themselves." That's literally it
Thank you so much for talking about this! It’s nice to know that other people do care and I’m not crazy or annoying for caring about my people.
I have a story related to this.
Not even a month ago I was riding in the car with my sister, and my sister’s friend, and their siblings. One of the siblings, a 7 year old boy said that he “wants to be an Indian “. I could just feel the tension in that car rise as the kid’s mom asked. “Hey bud, do you mean a person from India, or..”.
No he meant a stereotyped Native American.
We told them to call “Indians “ Native Americans, Indigenous people, or First Nations.
This kid had probably learned from school the classic character of a big man who rode a horse with a bow all dressed in suade and body paint. Just like I unfortunately had.
Well his mom said that she would talk with the school and him about these people and their history….
( Background information) we are in Asheville North Carolina. All white people in the car. And it was the week before thanksgiving break, so in school these subjects are brought up. Again this kid was 7 so he didn’t know any better , but his teachers should.
I’m sorry to all Native American people. There is no way I can pretend to relate to this kind of thing happening. And I promise that none of my future children will say anything like this.
( I’m trying to educate myself, so if you know of anything by Native American people I can use to help myself with please comment it.
Again, I’m sorry.
I'm a white European belonging to a minority that was subjected to oppression, slavery, exile and random-ass killing that centred around what language we spoke. We're still subjected to racism and dismissal by our neighbouring country who feels a massive need to control us while wishing we were dead (with only the law holding them back). It's easy to feel some sort of kin towards indigenous from other countries, but they have it fair rough still that baffles me. The US seems to get taught that individualism is all that matters which creates these racists.
This is a very interesting and informational video, thanks a lot. I in Germany right now, therefore it's great to learn more about its history. By that I mean ACTUAL history and not the short and often problematic versions from the history books we read.
I think schools often have the problem of not learning about the background of certain events. As an example, we learned about the Third Reich, but we didn't learn about Hitler's past and where the whole ideology came from. It's presented as if they woke up one day and had this idea, although all that had been thriving around Europe for ages and a bunch of such stuff was especially radicalized after the defeat in WWI. Same goes for a lot of events. I think it's important to know how it came to certain tragedies and occurrences, but unfortunately, we often don't talk about it.
this is a great video!! so glad i stumbled across your channel:)
So I don't if you play video games but their is this video game called Red Dead Redemption 2 which is set in 1899. It's interesting to note that there is a random encounter in this game detailing with an army officer who "rehoused" Native Americans in this Fort that you can find in game. It's honestly such a sad and brutal reminder that the US was founded on Genocide and Slavery. If you want to watch the encounter here's the link: ruclips.net/video/GXx2WQM0G20/видео.html