The drill team had already made news when parents complained online that Disney had asked the drill team to display Native American battle bonnets without their uniforms, commonly referred to as headdresses. Native Americans maintain that wearing a headdress, even an imitation, is a form of cultural appropriation that diminishes the stature of those who have earned the right to wear them.
Tara Hauska, a Native American and founder of Not Your Mascots, an organization that fights against conservative native representation in sports, shared the video. Twitter And wrote, “Indifferent racism is racism.” A TikToker, who is indigenous, also posted a video, writing that he was “disgusted” by the performance. Another Twitter user who identifies as Native American wrote That Indians need to be banned everywhere as a mascot.
Disney condemned the demonstration and said it had taken steps to ensure it did not happen again.
“Live performances at our parks do not reflect our core values, and we are sorry that this happened,” Disney spokeswoman Jackie Wahler said in a statement. “It did not conform to the audition tapes provided by the school and we have immediately taken measures so that it is not repeated.”
According to 12newsnow, the Indianets were not in the high school audition video to perform at Disney World.
Port Neches-Groves High School is on spring break, and representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Andrew Dismux, A saturday night live The castmember and alum of the high school wrote on Twitter that they think the mantra is “terrible” and that the school should change its mascot, the Indians.
