OutKast Offends

Personal Reflection 2

The 2009 Grammys were on last night and, as a suggested topic, I was keeping my eyes open for some sort of stereotype. Well, I didn’t come across one all evening. This topic did however spark my memory back to the 2004 Grammys and the infamous OutKast performance of “Hey Ya.”

If you haven’t seen this performance already, take a look:



As a Native person, this is highly offensive. I will just point out a few things that were utterly offensive and disrespectful to me.

The attire. For one, I have never witnessed a pow-wow that would allow members to be so scantily-dressed. As you notice, the women are bearing large amounts of skin, something that would never fly with Native elders. The color, which could be referred to as “asparagus/sea foam green,” is not a traditional color for Native clothing.

The war bonnet that is worn by the drummer is especially disrespectful. War bonnets are reserved for people of courage and honor, such as warriors or chiefs. I know many Native veterans who don’t own war bonnets.

The tipi blowing smoke in the background features designs from several different tribes all culminated together on one piece of leather. And, not all tribes used the tipi as a traditional living area.

Some of the women are wearing braided, pig-tailed wigs. The typical “Indian princess” image if you’re familiar with this stereotype. Andre 3000 is wearing a long, black, silky wig portrayed the “all Native men have long hair” stereotype.

There are so many issues that could be mentioned about this performance. Ironically, an award for the best Native American album was given at the 2004 Grammys, but was edited out of the telecast. Why is that?

I certainly would suggest this book to anyone interested in learning more about Native American history, "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" by James W. Loewen.

Maybe OutKast and their producers should have educated themselves before blatantly offending MANY people across this nation.