Disney apologizes for cheer routine

[PollyannaMom]

They absolutely should have been banned with a name like Indianettes.

I don't think the name alone should get them banned, because the word Indianettes could be from the state of Indiana (or apparently two towns in Iowa and Pennsylvania) rather than from American "Indians". (But I do think if they wore the headdresses in the audition tape, that should have been a red flag.)

And the school should be banned from any further appearances.

Absolutely! If the rules don't specifically say they can ban them for offensive routines (which they probably do somewhere) I bet there is at least a clause against changing your pre-approved routine.

 

[sam_gordon]

They absolutely should have been banned with a name like Indianettes.

I'm sorry, I still don't understand this reasoning. Why is a sports team using a nickname of "Indians" bad, but "Commodores", "Knights", "Hoosiers", "Rangers", "Lancers", and "Senators" to name just a few, are fine? Shouldn't it come down to HOW the name is used?

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Awareness of the inappropriate use of Native Americans as mascots has been around long enough that anyone who hasn’t changed their offensive mascots by this point is doing so as an act of defiance. That school’s administration, the cheer coach, and the choreographer (if they have one) are all certainly aware of the controversy surrounding their mascot and I fully believe the girls are as well (though I don’t expect teens to make great decisions when they’re surrounded by adults who don’t make good decisions themselves).

As if the words to the cheer weren’t bad enough, the choreography was filled with as many stereotypes as they could cram in there — the clunky attempt to synchronize native dances, the hand over the mouth… yikes. The whole routine, top to bottom, was built on Native American stereotypes. The fact that they conveniently performed a different, completely inoffensive routine on their submission video before quietly switching to this last minute tells me they were intentionally trying to get away with it, which means I have absolutely zero sympathy for any of them. Disney should permanently ban the school from ever performing there again.

 

[fly girl]

Disney knew what they were about. This is a video of them performing at Disney in 2016. They didn't need to be mind readers.

That was what, 6 years ago? I didn't see their audition tape (is it even available?) so I have no idea what they were wearing, their dance moves, or their chants; but, they could have presented a 180 degree image difference than this 2016 clip. Disney may have remembered them and with the new audition tape felt they made enough significant changes that it was no longer deemed offensive? Many teams have altered what they do and don't do in the last few years.

Obviously, we have learned this team has not made ANY changes which is downright sad and scary. YIKES!! Just bad.

And they absolutely should be banned from performing here on out.

 

[Jennasis]

It was gross. Shame.....such shame.

 

[sheilafri]

Yes, and as I said the actions were inappropriate and just plain wrong. I do not approve of that at all, but I also wasn't addressing that, I was addressing the racist idea that they shouldn't have been invited because of the name or even the headdress, as far as that goes. If the show itself was high quality and didn't have that last part it would have been a tribute to a culture to be connected with it. However, they went rouge and somehow people think that Disney should have known. That part is garbage.

I know, I went to a school in the north that were nicknamed "the Rebels". Hell, we even had a confederate flag as part of the decoration. Because in those days the same logic was used to ignore the civil war out of shame, therefore we really didn't connect it to slavery. We didn't know what it really meant. The only reason we even had that name was because the city we were in started with "south" in the name and we all thought it was clever to connect it with what we thought was an innocent tradition of the south not the civil war and slavery. The very act of the "elders" at the time to prevent us from knowing about the real cause of the war made us now have to feel the shame of what was so innocently created. The same demand to block knowledge that seems to be what is being tried even today. It comes from ignorance and bigotry. Had we been aware that our use of that name and symbol would have been hurtful to people I don't think we would ever have done that. The is the importance of real knowledge.

Disney has stated that they have taken steps to insure that the embarrassment doesn't happen again. I assume that means that the band will not be back. It is just mind boggling to me that so many feel that Disney "should have known" to assume the worst because of a name. Like I said, that also is racist.

You highlight the importance of learning from mistakes. Just because you don’t intend to offend someone doesn’t mean that the words or action are inoffensive. It takes compassion and empathy to recognize when our words or actions have been offensive. Then we need to change our behavior to show respect to others.

 

[cjlong88]

I'm sorry, I still don't understand this reasoning. Why is a sports team using a nickname of "Indians" bad, but "Commodores", "Knights", "Hoosiers", "Rangers", "Lancers", and "Senators" to name just a few, are fine? Shouldn't it come down to HOW the name is used?

“Indian” is used by people to refer to the general race of people who lived here before us. The other examples you mentioned do not. You would never see schools use “Caucasians” or “Japanese” as a mascot. That would absolutely not be okay.

Knights, Rangers, Lancers, etc are all titles referring to what people can do. It’s not a fundamental part of their identity. You can choose to be in an armed force. You can’t choose to be black or white. Mascots shouldn’t be based on any race.

 

[Planogirl]

Ironically, the term Indian is used here but normally refers to the many people from India that live here now. The term was never accurate anyhow.

Our school changed their mascot just because people could take offense. They were known as the Coons which in this case was an abbreviation for Raccoons. Of course it could be misinterpreted and schools should realize that. This goes way beyond a misinterpretation.

 

[MillauFr]

“Indian” is used by people to refer to the general race of people who lived here before us. The other examples you mentioned do not. You would never see schools use “Caucasians” or “Japanese” as a mascot. That would absolutely not be okay.

Knights, Rangers, Lancers, etc are all titles referring to what people can do. It’s not a fundamental part of their identity. You can choose to be in an armed force. You can’t choose to be black or white. Mascots shouldn’t be based on any race.

The most well reasoned and best post in this thread.... You win the prize.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Notre Dame Fighting Irish?

 

[TippyThomas]

Notre Dame Fighting Irish?

I wonder if they eat Corned Beef before activities?

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I wonder if they eat Corned Beef before activities?

I haver never seen that served at their ballgames lol. I know they DO know how to party though. It is just a wonderful atmosphere at ND. We try to go to a game every year.

I am slightly Irish, but I am not offended by the Notre Dame Mascot. I am only offended when they play badly.

 

[MillauFr]

What is corned beef anyway? Why just have regular beef?

 

[sailorstitch]

I'm sorry, I still don't understand this reasoning. Why is a sports team using a nickname of "Indians" bad, but "Commodores", "Knights", "Hoosiers", "Rangers", "Lancers", and "Senators" to name just a few, are fine? Shouldn't it come down to HOW the name is used?

Hoosiers isn't a mascot. It's what the people that live in Indiana are called. Like Texans are from Texas.

 

[purpliequeen]

I just heard about this in an article written by Disney Food Blog. I also saw the clip. I appreciate this thread here on the DisBoards. Lots of good conversation.

I am personally disgusted. I can't believe that this group got away with marching down Main Street USA in the "Happiest Place on Earth" at Walt Disney World Resort - a company that supposedly cares about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. (Especially on the coattails of another piece of legislation that went through recently...) I'm disgusted. A marching band named "The Indianettes" should've been a red flag by the organizer. I'm being saucy here: I can only imagine the thought process there: "Oh good, Indianettes will march first and then let's put Pocahontas and her float with Meeko right behind them. Nice mix and matching. Oh and their headdresses that they're wearing will match / fit right in with the theme!" But seriously - when they yell "scalp 'em, Indians, scalp 'em" - who's that intended for? Pocahontas? Are they telling us to scalp Pocahontas?!

Like what the?! I'm ashamed. Disgusted.

It's one thing if the organizers clearly didn't know... but there were so many opportunities to stop this. The first would be the name. Hmm - not a great name for all the reasons mentioned above. There's a reason why the Redskins changed their name recently. But OK maybe they let the name go. The second opportunity would be the outfits - wearing headdresses as they're about to enter the parade route. Glad someone caught that and asked them to remove; shouldn't there have been more follow up here at this moment? Maybe a manager called over to understand why the headdresses were part of the uniform when supposedly they weren't suposed to be? But then walking down the parade route with the choreography - the chanting - and the words! Are you kidding me? So it's OK to scream "scalp ’em Indians, scalp ’em" while marching down Main Street? So that's OK? What's next - racist tropes & screaming inappropriate things about another group of people? Or screaming profanity/F Bombs? Amazing that these people got through the whole parade route with the routine... Makes you wonder what else they'd let people do in a parade route...

I'm trying to think of other examples here... Like what would the organizers of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade do if they were in this situation? I can't imagine they'd be OK with this routine down their parade route and in front of Macy's in NYC....

Disgusting. Just goes to show that the Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiatives are all a front....

 

[penn19]

Ironically, the term Indian is used here but normally refers to the many people from India that live here now. The term was never accurate anyhow.

Our school changed their mascot just to realize that people could take offense. They were known as the Coons which in this case was an abbreviation for Raccoons. Of course it could be misinterpreted and schools should realize that. This goes way beyond a misinterpretation.

I remember the water tower with that image on it. I can’t remember how long again they got rid of it though.

 

[kymom99]

I remember the water tower with that image on it. I can’t remember how long again they got rid of it though.

In Cincinnati there used to be a car dealer with the advertisement, “where paddock meets vine at the big Indian sign.” That was decades ago. “The big Indian” sign is long gone.

 

[Jennasis]

Seems the school's community is (big surprise) doubling down on their precious tradition of racism.

What awful people.

 

[MrsPete]

... You would never see schools use “Caucasians” or “Japanese” as a mascot. ... nights, Rangers, Lancers, etc are all titles referring to what people can do. It’s not a fundamental part of their identity.

One of my students has a tee-shirt that says something like "Go, Caucasians!" and looks like a sports tee.

I am slightly Irish, but I am not offended by the Notre Dame Mascot.

I'm very Irish, and I'm not offended by the Notre Dame Mascot. Being Irish isn't offensive, nor is being any other race.

What is corned beef anyway? Why just have regular beef?

Corned Beef is a cheap cut of beef that's been brined and spices. It's high in fat and sodium, so you shouldn't eat it too often, but it's completely delicious. It's also pretty expensive. Served with potatoes and cabbage, it's an absolute must for St. Patrick's Day.
Boiling a Corned Beef is the most common method of cooking, but I prefer to slather it in mustard and cook it in the crock pot.

 

[sam_gordon]

Hoosiers isn't a mascot. It's what the people that live in Indiana are called. Like Texans are from Texas.

That's what I've heard athletes from Indiana University referred to as. And yes, they're from Indiana, but so are Purdue athletes, Notre Dame athletes, Ball State, and probably dozens of others.