Food Indians

While not a new phenomenon in American Indian appropriations and all other things Indian, we wanted to take time to talk about Food Indians. Yes, many (or all) Indians like food, so if that’s what you’re thinking, you’re off base. The food Indians we are referring to are the lovely, and strange, Indians we often see gracing the covers of our staple foods, favorite candies, and even alcoholic beverages.

We want to start off with the Calumet Baking Powder Indian. I find this food most interesting food to star an Indian as its mascot as it is a staple in many Indian people diets. Interestingly enough, baking powder is an important ingredient in Indian Fry Bread. We highly doubt that Calumet took this into consideration when they decided the silhouette of an Indian with a headdress would be their mascot. We also are fairly certain they weren’t thinking of the real Indian “Calumet”, which is a smoking pipe used in American Indian ceremonies.

Regardless of what they were thinking, don’t you agree that it’s quite rude to put an Indian figure on an ingredient that most Indians use on a daily basis? Whenever I look at the container of Calumet, it always seems to be saying to me “This is what a real Indian looks like”. We know this isn’t true, and most Indians do as well, so it often seems like the packaging is mocking the idea of an Indian, and mocking the idea that Indians still exist, especially in a modern form.

Next on our list of food Indians is the Tootsie Pop Indian

What on Earth does an Indian chief have to do with these suckers? We’re not sure, but what we do know is that if the Indian Chief is shooting his bow and aiming for a star on your Tootsie Pop wrapper, you get a free Tootsie Pop (or so urban legend says). The worst part of the Tootsie Pop Indian is that it’s a child’s food, and children everywhere grow up thinking that the Indian chief’s primary role is to give free Tootsie Pops to children everywhere. Also, they learn that “real Indians” wear headdresses, frilly pants, and only shoot bows and arrows. We wonder if the Tootsie Pop Indian was updated- would it feature a man in blaze orange aiming for the star with his 20 gauge shot gun?

The final food (or technically drink, this case) Indian that really grinds on our nerves is the Leinenkugels Indian.

Leinenkugels beer features the face of an Indian maiden on its labels. I'm fairly certain that I've never met an Indian woman who looked like the woman above. She is definitely not portrayed as "modern", as we can tell by the picture she is wearing "traditional" clothing, but somehow she is also wearing lipstick? We also see the portrayal of Indians on beer. I don't think it's appropriate to feature Indians on beer, as many know the fractured history of American Indian people and alcohol problems.

Although the top nerve-grinding Indians are featured above, below are severl "honorable mentions" when it comes to food Indians.

hipster headdresses

The “hipster headdress” is a fairly recent pop culture phenomenon. Painted or dyed feathers often adorn the heads of (overwhelmingly white) celebrities as well as non-famous hipsters. Many arguments are made to defend the non-racism of the hipster headdress, mostly about “honoring Native culture” as if all indigenous people are from one huge tribe. In practice, these ridiculous dyed-feather monstrosities are actually very disrespectful and ignorant “fashion statements.” Actress Juliette Lewis recently formed a band called Juliette and the Licks; in every performance and every picture of the band, she is wearing a tribal-style headband with feathers attached as well as “war paint” on her face.

A lot of people don't realize that American Indians still exist, or that we don't all live in teepees. Indigenous people are rarely visible in mainstream culture, and when something “tribal” pops up it's usually a non-Native person dressing up and “playing Indian.” This cultural phenomenon sends a few different messages to various audiences, mainly that this type of racebending is acceptable, edgy and fashionable—but also that Indians don't exist anymore and are a thing of the past.

Hipster headdresses are problematic for a few reasons. First, they create a stereotypical image of Indian people. There are 565 federally recognized tribes in the United States and even more in Canada—diversity absolutely exists within Indian Country. Second, headdress-wearing hipsters are essentially dressing up as someone from another race. Blackface is no longer socially acceptable; why is it okay to wear a feather headdress, moccasins, warpaint, etc.? Third, we DO still exist. Indians tend to be invisible in today's society; many people assume that we are Italian, French Canadian, Asian, Latino/a, etc.

While hipsters may assure everyone that they're “honoring” Native Americans by wearing headdresses, we really don't feel honored by privileged hipsters co-opting something like the headdress—something that a) not all tribes used and b) actually had a purpose other than being “cute.” If you're a non-Native resident of North America and find yourself wearing or wanting to wear a headdress, stop and think about what you're doing, who is affected and whether it's really worth it to insult a group of people who were here for centuries before you and your ancestors.

Indian Headdress

To start off our blog on American Indian appropriations, we thought it would be most important to start with the “Indian Headdress”. Most often, this is worn in a tiara-like fashion by those who want to look Indian without doing very much. Common examples include the “Indian” in the Village People, Mascots for various sports teams, and random examples everywhere, including the picture you see here:

















The first thing we would like to point out is the fact that these people most likely know NOTHING about American Indians. If they did, they probably would realize that there are many types of headdresses, that there are specific reasons why certain American Indian figures are entitled to wear the headdress, and that even if they were important American Indian people, they would not wear a headdress like the one above.

Study the picture above. Does anything seem amiss besides the fact that it is Ronald McDonald underneath the headdress? Are you considering that is was headdresses actually look like? Forgive me, but you are hugely mistaken. The question we should be asking is “Is there anything that could be considered politically correct about the picture above?” We would argue that no, there is NOTHING politically incorrect about the picture above. For example, look at the feathers in that headdress. What kind of bird, in North America, has white feathers with red tips? Unless some Indian happened upon a McCaw Parrot that mistakenly flew all the way to North America, and decided it would be okay to make a headdress out of it, we extremely doubt that anything like the headdress Ronald McDonald is sporting would appear during ANY American Indian gathering.

















Now we’re going to cover the reasons WHY one would wear an “American Indian” headdress. First, we can’t really think of any reasons why anyone. The only reason we could postulate that someone would want to wear a headdress is to show that they are in charge, or important, in some way or another. But, wouldn’t that sort of be like non-Jewish people walking around with outfits from 30’s and 40’s with the Star of David stitched into their suits?

















No, because it would seem like you were mocking a group of people that had been specifically targeted, and then killed. Wow, that actually reminds me of something, maybe… oh yes, the American Indians! So why is it that people can walk around with silly colored feathers on their head, call themselves an Indian chief, and have everyone be okay with it?

We think it’s because Americans can feel sorrow for what another country has done to its citizens, but when faced with the reality of what Americans have done to those who were in this country first, they make it into a joke. It is easier to “laugh it off” in regards to our country’s misdeeds, and the case of the “Indian Headdress” is a prime example of how Americans can laugh off our country’s fatal errors.
And if you have any doubts of what a real Indian Chief with a real Indian Headdress looks like, see this picture: