Remove Native American Costume

[borzoi]

Could it just be changed to read the Pocahontas costume..... she's a character[ Not just used by disney]

I understand how some may feel and I'm fine with making everyone comfortable

She was a very real person that was kidnapped at a young age and forced to marry a colonizer of her people, and 'Porcahontas' is recognized by many tribes to be a racist slur now... I don't think that'd be the best change... ._.

[Eaglespirit]

Could it just be changed to read the Pocahontas costume..... she's a character[ Not just used by disney]

I understand how some may feel and I'm fine with making everyone comfortable

She was a very real person that was kidnapped at a young age and forced to marry a colonizer of her people, and 'Porcahontas' is recognized by many tribes to be a racist slur now... I don't think that'd be the best change... ._.

Sacagawea maybe?
I don't know if her true story is as sad or not?

[Scrump]

Could it just be changed to read the Pocahontas costume..... she's a character[ Not just used by disney]

I understand how some may feel and I'm fine with making everyone comfortable

She was a very real person that was kidnapped at a young age and forced to marry a colonizer of her people, and 'Porcahontas' is recognized by many tribes to be a racist slur now... I don't think that'd be the best change... ._.

Then how about the Sacagawea. She as a symbol of peace and shes well known. She was a strong women that even when is far as traveling with a newborn on her side

[borzoi]

snip

Then how about the Sacagawea. She as a symbol of peace and shes well known. She was a strong women that even when is far as traveling with a newborn on her side

snip

I don't know if her true story is as sad or not?

i don't plan on getting into the story of sacagawea, but even basing it off of her: this still would have to alter the cat's wear to be based off of lemhi shoshone wear, which could also potentially change the name to something even more simple: shoshone ''costume'' or traditional wear or alternate titles like that. which would be a thousand times better and non-aggressive compared to what we have.

[eyesemote]

Considering the sigma against Natives, I'm for removing it. To this day, Their lands are stolen and torn apart. Their history ignored and generalized. etc. If you are fine with it, then you probably aren't living near the pipeline that's poisoning your water with oil. "But it's just a cute lil outfit!" Fiction affects reality, children need to know about serious issues. Stop stereotypes.

[VanyaDuvainel]

Reading through this thread was an emotional roller coaster. The problem has evidently presented itself as a complicated issue with multiple view points. So far, what I've gathered is this:

• There is definitely a problem with this costume as it currently is on the site. Even if it doesn't offend everyone, or even everyone of any particular culture, the points presented have brought me to the conclusion that the costume, for one, is too stereotypical and inaccurate to be respectful, and two, titled in a vague enough way so as to generalize and stereotype a wide variety of cultures.
• The costume should not be removed from the site. This would be both unfair for those who currently own the item, and disrespectful to the culture it is supposed to depict.
• The costume should be edited and renamed. If the items are made to be accurate in terms of visuals and name, it is much less disrespectful. Furthermore, the item being depicted as a "costume" can be offensive, though whether or not it is possible for this item to remain a costume is still subject to debate.
  
  • It might be possible to change the costume so it depicts a historical figure in a respectful way.
  • The costume could be made to depict a particular style of dress considered "traditional" or something to that effect, thus rendering it as proper clothing and not a costume at all.

[☆ Lincoln & Grover ☆]

I think that the costume should stay, because it is not really intentionally trying to offend anyone. A similiar thing happened in animal jam where they discontinued releasing the headdress item.

[Ecko]

I think that the costume should stay, because it is not really intentionally trying to offend anyone. A similiar thing happened in animal jam where they discontinued releasing the headdress item.

Exactly, as I mentioned earlier the images shown in example of 'we are a culture, not a costume' show people wearing outfits intending to mock, make fun of, etc. It's one thing to be upset and offended by people making fun of you, but again I bring up what about those who dress and act in a non demeaning way? At our local powwow each year plenty of people come and dress up in native american style clothing even if they are not native american and it's not a problem because no one shows up in outfits like those depicted in the images and no one is disrespectful because they come to join in and share the culture.

Plus the original poster first said that the idea of the outfit was unacceptable, but then they go on in another post to say that the outfit is perfectly fine, but just the labeling is wrong. Yes there's a lot of people out there who are offended, but there is also a lot who aren't.

[Obius]

Could it just be changed to read the Pocahontas costume..... she's a character[ Not just used by disney]

I understand how some may feel and I'm fine with making everyone comfortable

She was a very real person that was kidnapped at a young age and forced to marry a colonizer of her people, and 'Porcahontas' is recognized by many tribes to be a racist slur now... I don't think that'd be the best change... ._.

I don't know. Historians are not sure what exactly happened with Pocahontas (Matowa) on board the ship. Supposedly she was married and married again. Or she never married but served as a major translator. Or she was forced all the way. I think the racism of her stems from her inaccurate portrayal. I am still reading up on this (literally right now) as I never really dug deeper before. For me the film was a message about equality. Her being a racist image was pretty far from my mind when I saw the film.

How would you feel if the outfit was more accurate to a tribe that had existed? What about dropping the "native american" label? Is there any alternatives that would work in its place?

[Metallic Dragon]

The issue will be discussed amongst the staff and we'll let you know when a decision is reached.