Blue Corn Comics -- Stereotype of the Month Entry

Stereotype of the Month Entry
(11/26/03)

Pantagraph Editorial

Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Valuable traditions lost in attempts not to offend

Holidays are becoming so generic in schools out of fear of offending one group or another that valuable traditions are at risk of being lost.

At a minimum, part of the fun and innocence of being a child is being taken away.

First-graders at a school in the Chicago suburb of Skokie made feathered headdresses, black Pilgrim hats and bonnets out of construction paper to wear at their class Thanksgiving party. But they didn't get to use them at school.

After complaints from a parent, principal Pete Davis contacted a couple of American Indian organizations and was told the generic Indian outfits promote stereotyping of Indians. Davis banned the outfits and invited an Oglala Lakota tribe member to come to the school and talk about his culture — and lead them in a traditional blessing.

We wonder what reaction the principal might have received if he also invited a minister to lead the children in a traditional blessing.

Maybe it's not fair — or evenly educationally sound — that Thanksgiving is among the few times Native Americans are mentioned in schools.

"It's as though we don't exist for 364 days, and then for one day we appear. That just isn't appropriate," said Faith Smith, president of the Native American Education Services in Chicago.

Unfortunately, demonizing the wearing of feathered headdresses by primary-grade children is likely to result in even less attention being paid to Indians.

We are not sure how much first-graders gained from the tribe member's visit. We're even less certain that wearing a few construction paper feathers would permanently warp the youngsters' perspective on Indians.

Instead, we suspect much is lost when young school children aren't allowed to dress in Pilgrim and Indian costumes that they make themselves.

Such direct participation helps reinforce the lessons of sharing and tolerance that are supposed to be part of the message of Thanksgiving.

Letters to the editor: bwills@pantagraph.com

Rob's comment
Dueling statements from this editorial:

>> Unfortunately, demonizing the wearing of feathered headdresses by primary-grade children is likely to result in even less attention being paid to Indians. <<

>> Davis banned the outfits and invited an Oglala Lakota tribe member to come to the school and talk about his culture — and lead them in a traditional blessing. <<

Some might conclude that having a tribal member come to a class means Indians are getting more attention, not less.

>> We are not sure how much first-graders gained from the tribe member's visit. <<

But the writer is apparently sure that playing dress-up has some educational value. Unfortunately, he or she has no evidence of this.

So meeting a real Indian is less valuable than pretending to be a phony Indian? That this position is wrong seems painfully self-evident, but apparently the Pantagraph disagrees.

>> We're even less certain that wearing a few construction paper feathers would permanently warp the youngsters' perspective on Indians. <<

Many entries in the Stereotype of the Month contest—for instance, those listed under The Big Chief—show how people believe all Indians wear headdresses.

>> Instead, we suspect much is lost when young school children aren't allowed to dress in Pilgrim and Indian costumes that they make themselves. <<

I suspect the writer is taking this stance because he or she supports a Eurocentric view of American history and is subtly prejudiced against Indians. But that's just a wild guess, much like the writer's wild guess.

* More opinions *

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