TitanTiger 20,499 Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Native American Group Calls for Boycott of OutKast Friday, February 13, 2004 ALBUQUERQUE  — George Toya of the Jemez Pueblo powow group Black Eagle was happy when he heard the American Indian chant that opened the final performance at the Grammy Awards show. He thought he was was about to see a fellow American Indian group perform. "It was a Navajo song that I recognized, and I got a little excited," said Toya, who along with the other members of the group were at the ceremony Sunday to pick up a Grammy for Best Native American Music Album. But the drumming was actually the intro to a performance of the song "Hey Ya!" by Andre "3000" Benjamin of the hip-hop group OutKast. Benjamin and some women danced around a giant green teepee while wearing war paint, feathers and fringed costumes. Toya couldn't believe it. "I told my wife who was sitting beside me, 'Somebody is going to be (angry) about this,'" he said. American Indians across the country were angered by the performance, which they say was disrespectful to their culture and a perpetuation of tomahawk-and-teepee stereotypes. "I like OutKast. I like their music," said Albuquerque record producer and musician Tom Bee, who was nominated for this year's Native American Music Grammy and was also sitting in the audience. "But I thought the show was not correct. It was degrading." The San Francisco-based Native American Cultural Center is calling for a boycott of OutKast, which won three Grammys at the show; Arista, their record company; the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization that sponsors the Grammys; and CBS, the network that aired the show. The center has also filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission . The Oneida Nation and a former Miss Indian World criticized the performance on Tuesday. Indianz.com has launched an online petition calling for an apology from Benjamin. By Wednesday night, there were 2,500 signatures on it. "I don't think you meant to offend, but you hurt us," wrote a petition signer named Megan Jones. "Please acknowledge our feelings and apologize." Arista Records did not return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment. CBS issued an apology on its Web site that stopped short of saying Benjamin's performance was insulting to the 2.3 million American Indians in the country. So far Benjamin and Antoine "Big Boi" Patton, the other half of OutKast, have been silent. Bee was particularly angered by the fact that the dancers who accompanied Benjamin wore feathers, a sacred symbol for Natives. "The use of them for a costume is offensive," he said. "It's like using a Torah as a prop." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111335,00.html As a man of Irish descent, I'm going to calling for a boycott of all things Notre Dame because that stupid little leprechaun is insulting to my heritage and the moniker "Fighting Irish" wrongly perpetuates a stereotype of the Irish as a violent people. :roll: One day, I hope we are all going to regain a sense of humor and take ourselves a tad less seriously in this country. But something tells me it will only happen by an sovereign act of God Almighty on the level of parting the Red Sea or turning water into wine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueTiger 0 Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Thats crazy that Outkast did that. WARR EAGLE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM4AU 332 Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Also, with Scottish ancestry, I am going to boycott Mike Myers and the makers of "Austin Powers" for their stereotype of my people with "Fat B@st@rd." :roll: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,499 Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 Yes. That was hurtful as well. I actually have Scotch-Irish descent if you want to be technical about it, so I call for a boycott in that area as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channonc 466 Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Of all minorities in the country, the Native Americans have the least amount of respect. Sorry, Outkast should have been much more sensitive. If the tables were turned, and this insulted African Americans, we would be hearing all about this. They should at least appologize for offending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,499 Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 Of course, if the tables were turned once more and they insulted white people of European descent, we'd be hearing...crickets. My point is, I think people of all stripes, but especially certain minorities these days, are hypersensitive and need to get over themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channonc 466 Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 My point is, I think people of all stripes, but especially certain minorities these days, are hypersensitive and need to get over themselves. I agree with you on that most of the time people get all upset over something stupid. I am just pointing out that Native Americans seem to be the one minority no one cares whether or not they are offended. Just pointing that out. On the whole though I do think that people in general are way too oversensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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