Full disclaimer, I am a white woman supporting my native friend.
Apryl is a Native woman of the Mohawk Tribe, South Quebec, currently living in Alabama with her son. He’s in kindergarten this year. She’s raising him according to her culture and traditions. The following is all posted with her permission, .
Last Thursday, she gets this from his school:
She’s obviously concerned. So she writes into the teacher with the following:
……At which point ‘Concerned’ turns into ‘Disturbed’.
At which points she gets a phone call from the teacher. She described the following:
“So an admin called me. I started by explaining I am mohawk, where my community is, and how I’ve grown up in and am connected to my culture and people and am raising (Son) the same.
I pointed out I am Disturbed by my understanding of the activities planned and why. They claim to focus on local tribes, but teepees. I explained the history of the headdress craft. I pointed out that dressing up like am Indian for the day is racist as hell.
Then I had to explain what the term redface is because she kept insisting there would be no face paint.
She wishes they’d known I was native before because I would be a great resource for planning future events, but for this one it’s too late to make changes. Dressing up is just in good fun, her daughter did it when she was in kindergarten as well. Detailed some craft making a fringed vest with a paper bag? About how they’ve done this event for twenty years and no one has ever complained. The children really enjoy it every year. She’s willing to give my name and number to the Indian Ed teacher too discuss further events in the future and see about signing (Son) up for the class. (I sent the paperwork in. He wanted to try it. I did this months ago. Also, the fact that we’re native is on all his fucking paperwork).”
So she writes the principal.
And Gets this in Response.
If you wonder whether her son understands the situation:
In case anyone is having trouble with the pictures, or TLDR:
My friend’s six year old son, a Native boy of the Mohawk tribe, was going to be exposed to his entire grade imitating his cultural heritage, while simultaneously watching them mash some thousand or more respective native tribal cultures into a grab pot of ‘cool’ things to celebrate. They did not consult the local Chickasaw, Chocktaw, or Cherokee tribes to participate, consult, or teach at this event, and instead are going to have the children dress in whatever their white parents’ impression of ‘native attire’ is. They were informed a week ago that this was racist. Apryl has done her due diligence in explaining to them why. They told her to be quiet because the kids have fun and no one has ever complained before.
She has since written the superintendent of the school district, and submitted a complaint to the ACLU and several of her social media groups for native parents and communities.
If you have time, Feel free to drop a email or phone call to the principal and help explain why persisting in exposing children to stereotypes of cultures that suffered so greatly at the hands of white colonizers IS, and will ALWAYS BE, a bad idea.
THIS EVENT IS TOMORROW, it was NOT cancelled or even postponed to address these concerns. Tell Principal Hughes that is it is 2019, and this is unacceptable.
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