pay to play? part II

following-up to a previous post ... the bureau of brady braves declares here and now that one does not have to pay to play [NDN]. during the past two ventures to a local toys r us for the latest in elmo gear, the bbb has spotted the dvd version of disney's peter pan playing on a tv near the registers. and both times, it's been different scenes in which non-native characters play "indian." (is that all they do in that movie?) having seen this reminds us that we brady braves don’t need to pay to play.

rather, just hang out in toys r us and watch peter pan. for further authenticity in "indian" play (authentic pseudo-"indians"?), be like zack "running zack" morris in that 1990 episode of nbc's teen sitcom saved by the bell in which running zack dresses up in full headdress for a class presentation. for how-to instructions, tune into tbs. or tune into tv land and nick-at-nite and superstation wgn, where you can learn from barney "chief noogatuck" fife how to choke on a pipe in the andy griffith episode "the pageant," learn from granny clampett how her great-great granny "scalped redskins" (her words) in the hillbillies episode "family tree," learn from peter and bobby brady (before they receive "indian" names) how to run around in construction paper feathers, clap hand to mouth, and yell "woo woo woo" (or is it "waa-waa-waa"?), and learn in a 2006 episode of disney's suite life of zack and cody how to construct a headdress.

really, brady braves, why pay to play when you can learn the ways of opie's tomahawk club in andy griffith and bart's pre-teen braves in the simpsons? why pay to play when you can learn how to "count to five in american indian" from ralph malph in happy days? and the list of "how to play" as according to sitcom stars goes on and on--from 1950s lucy to today ...

or scratch the above and just call up chuck "walker, texas ranger" norris for all your brady bravin' occasions. unless he's busy infomercialin' the latest in fitness equipment or hangin' out on the bogus texas cherokee rez in hallmark channel reruns, walker should be ready to show you a few moves he swiped from billy jack.

bbb

paying "indians" to play "indian" ...

thanks to Newspaper Rock (Where Native America Meets Pop Culture) for Indian Country Today link to an article entitled "paying to teach and 'play indian.'" folks across the u.s. continue to pay for "indian" spirituality. as D'Shane Barnett (Mandan and Arikara) was quoted in the article, "People cannot claim to understand our ways with one breath and then offer to sell them with their next breath.''

here at the bureau (a free site, incidentally, for all the brady bravers out there, unlike supposed "new age native healing" sites where you, too, can find the inner-"indian" for just $99), we don't want to disrespect those who are trying to find their way in this world. but some folks are profiting from other people who, as Barnett has been told by "a couple of different medicine people," are "filling a void.'' cultural appropriation time and again for hundreds of years here, and it continues time and again. (NBC's Today Show, as the bbb has mentioned before, helps to promote it.) many people are seriously hurting, are in need of healing, and others are cashing in on that.

here at the bureau, we'd add that in many settings, the phrase paying "indians" has interelated ambiguities: 1) paying as a verb, as in non-natives forking over money to "indians," which in quotes here, means those pseudo-"indians" who base their work on non-indigenes' understandings of indigenous approaches. 2) paying as an adjective, as in the new pseudo-"indians" becoming "indians" through payment. continuing today's language lesson, bobby "little bear who loses his way" brady will now demonstrate it in a sentence: the paying "indians" are paying "indians" for playing indian to become paying "indian" players. thanks, bobby.

but pseudo-ers/pretenders don't need to pay to play. in the next bbb post, we'll share with you what to do. stay tuned ...