WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ANDREE 3000 INDIAN-related Custom performance

[bluebird]

I THINK THE PERFORMANCE WAS AWESOME BUT WONDERING WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK OF ANDREE 3000 and his dancers customs and great Tipi on stage.

[Str8Dancer49]

Are you on CRACK?

First off, this is in the WAY WRONG SECTION.... Why the hell'd you put this in the Gourd Dance forum? Needs to be moved to Chit-chat or some place....

Second, that performance is just about the same as mascots.... racist to the core. Of course, non-indian's will talk about how cool they are and how they honor us, some skins will capitulate to the colonizers and say they liked it too, but at the end of the day, it's still a bunch of racist bull sh!t.

If anybody went out there in black-face makeup, there'd be protests and riots in the damn streets.

Plus, the Grammy president was just up on stage like 5 minutes before talking about how the illegal use of music was a crime that threatened the whole music industry, then Andre's intro used some obviously well-produced (sound-quality wise) powwow music. Are any skins getting paid off of this? What CD was it off of? I guess the Grammy's objections to stealing music only apply to non-NDNs...

So, not only was that bit of the show a racist parody (ie.: the "tipi," the costumes, the "dancing," the hand flapping over the mouth woo-woo gestures) and a clear instance of theft (the powwow music), but the Grammy's don't have the balls to broadcast the Native category.

[Str8Dancer49]

For anybody who missed what I'm talking about, here's a pic if I can get the attatchment to work..... Judge for yourselves.

[bluebird]

WELL for one excuse me for missplacing this thread into the wrong catergory...i am new to powwows. com and would appreciate if you wouldnt attack me personallly but the performance instead...

I do see where it can STRONGLY incorrect...i guess wanted to hear what others thought of the performance customs.... not that i do not think for myself just the fact remains i was curious of other indians reactions



STAY COOL and life will be so much easier

[Str8Dancer49]

Ok, first, let me apologize.... That performance got me pretty ticked off for the reasons listed above, and I should not have directed that at you personally....

So, on to a more reasoned debate.... On your website, you state that you're a "little Indian activist," true? I just don't get how an "activist" doesn't find this issue completely offensive, so maybe an explanation on your part is in order. How or why exactly was that performance not offensive to you? I don't expect that people will agree with my points above per se, but, dang, this board is full of folks who've expresed anger about similar public parodies of Native people.

So the big question I guess is this: What makes Andre & his dancers less offensive than, say, the University of Illinois's mascot? That raises a separate question (but admittedly one that may be to broad for this particular discussion): If you were OK with the Grammy performance, where do you stand on mascots?

[bluebird]

well i am an activist i tackle the worms and issues i can get to...
true true i do agree after talking with people that the performance at the beginning of his show was very disrespectful even though many will look at it as a sign of showing off Indian culture though how twisted he made it seem. andree 3000 does not understand that his customs were disrespectful tho hurtful to others yet the people who participate in the sterotypic Indian depictions at games now these actions are discriminatory and unwanted... I rather some one saw this performance and wanted to have more respect for indian culture also wanted to learn about the music in the begging of the performance, than hold on to stereotypes who hold no real meaning or value to what WE truly are...

[native_honey03]

Okay at first I thought that it was offensive, but then I thought about it and figured that I would look at it as native americans being an inspiration to him. I don't think that he had any intentions of offending anyone, and I'm sure that if he knew he was gonna be offending anyone, he wouldn't have done it in the first place. Yeah sure he had the chicks jumping around in skimpy little outfits, but I don't think that that part of the performance was directed towards native americans. Most people do things without thinking if it's gonna offend anyone, probably because of the fact that they don't know what's offensive to certain people. So therefore he probably didn't know that it would be offensive to some people. How often do we get acknowledged for our culture? Not very often, so I guess in a messed, kinda fu*ked up way we should be glad that our culture was being acknowledged, even though it was brought up in the manner that it was.

That's just my opinion...just watch me get attacked*lol*, oh well what can ya do about it!

[WhoMe]

_______

"Making a mockery of Indian Culture does not honor me!"

What is honorable about one minority culture making another minority culture look foolish "on National Television?"

The message that was sent out by Andre 3000's stunt was "It is okay to perpetuate stereotypes of Indian people!" Why didn't he consult Indian people to find his act was disgraceful?

Let's look at the facts:

First we heard an actual Navaho music opening. . .

Next comes the sillouettes of the tipi with smoke coming out of it. (Is this where Navaho people live? I don't think so).

This is followed by the lights being brought up of Andre and his dance girls dressed up in puke green "Disneyland Pocahontas" outfits.

Then they showed the keyboard player dressed in the "Chaif" (not chief) regalia.

Then the girls started dancing and woo wooing (did anybody's tribe really do this as a part of their traditions?)

Is this what Indian women do when they dance? Is this the dwelling where Indian people live in today? Is this how Indian people behave in real life?

To the "uneducated public" who have never met a real Indian, this is EXACTLY the message they got from this performance.

How does this honor us? How many hours are we going to collectively take to try to explain ourselves to our coworkers, peers and neighbors who are not Indian and think it is okay to perpetuate these stereotypes because "they saw it on the GRAMMY'S"

_____



Now let's put the shoe on the other foot. . .

What if one of the Indian Grammy nominees came dressed as Little Black Sambo and his backup dancers wore slave shackles and bones through their noses and sang happy booga booga songs to a rediculous background melody?

Would this be accepted by the public?

Why is it we as Indian people are not treated as Human and our culture is forever being mocked . . . in the name of "honoring us."

What kind of message does this send to our young Indian children?

It feels even more stinging when it comes from another minority who's culture also was done many injustices by the dominant culture.

_______

WRONG is WRONG!!!!!!

[storm]

uh oh,
I just thought it was a video clip from some big Eastern powow
I am teasing, (If i do not find some humor in this I will punch the tv.)
but in the early 70's I went to Kalmazoo powow. My first trip out of OKlahoma...There was plenty of OK stuff BUT
I swear I saw many of the same "costumes" up there back then...
Where will it end...I know we need the POWOW channel....

[bluebird]

So i am guessing many of you found what he did offensive? i hope this gets talked about amongst all the grammy talk becuz usually the industry picks on someone for their performance and what it means.

[superndngyrl]

Yea i was reading eonline.com about the grammy's and they rated that performance as the TOP performance of the nite.

[Buckskinrose]

I thought outkast's performance was really good. Andre' 3000 is crazy like that and he was just trying to get a rise out of the audience and get them talking.....which he has.

I was not offended by it.....the floor girls at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods were dressed in similar attire serving drinks at those casino (which are tribal casinos). If we as Native Americans are still perpetuating the stereotypes how can we get mad at others who do.

Plus who hasn't seen a hobbiest or wannabes at a powwow "dancing" and "carrying on" like that in similiar types of "buckskin" outfits. And like most the powwow people, we just sit back and laugh and get a kick out of "them trying to be Indian"

Of course, my husband pointed out that if someone came out black faced everyone would be outraged.....but I think I would sit back and laugh at that just the same. There are too many Native American issues that can be taken more serioursly than to get upset at this. Just my thoughts.

[redskyndn]

Outkast

I didn't see this broadcast, however a similiar thing happened
a few years ago with a couple ice-skating. The woman wore little pasties on her chest and was scantily clad, to top it off--no pun intended she had on a War bonnet. I was really peeved. I posted the info here on Powwow.com AND I wrote to the station can't remember which. When Left Eye (I think her name was Lisa Lopes) was on the cover of a magazine scantily clad with a War bonnet on--I called the magazine and blessed them out--primarily because they were a minority magazine. I felt if they want other people to respect them and not discriminate they should do their home work and give the same respect they expect. Gosh I hope I am not rambling... My Wife and Kids (Wayans) also did a segment I found offensive. I am not sure why blacks do not see the pararall. But then we have lots of NFL guys running around making millions while another minority group is being disparaged
anyone ever think about taking the NAACP to task on this one.
I know it's not there responsibility completely. But is it advancement at another groups expense. I can't imagine anyone turning down the millions soley on principle--except Indians.

I guess I need to write a letter....

The flame's mom

aka Nahyssan

[dancnbrd]

DISGUSTING!!!!!:Mad Love the song, love andre 3000, thought the stage get up was TASTELESS!!!

As many of you already said, if the shoe were on the other foot....

The grammy's made such a big stink about Janet's titty, yet they let a race of people be mimicked onstage!!!!!! I'll be writing them with my two cents....just like I did a few years ago when I thanked them for finally recognizing our music!

[Roobz]

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