To think racist stereotypes shouldn't feature in a school play?

[LadyFuckrington]

Went to see dd in her play last night and was pretty horrified by the 'Indians' dressed in feathered headgear and talking like um how.

I sat there with my mouth open because it had shades of 'blacking up' and just didn't sit well with me.

Am I being ridiculous? Dd was a cowboy in the play, which was set in the Wild West and they all did terrible American accents, but the whole pidgin English representation of the native Americans speech made me wince. That and the fact they were listed in the flyer as Indians.

Aibu? I feel like complaining to the school really but I'm not well at the moment and can't tell if I'm overreacting.

You are not being unreasonable. It is just quite silly really to give kids these kinds of stereotypes.

If you are unwell you may be finding it more offensive than it really was though.

If you want to write a note, write and say what you feel. But do wait a bit or so before sending the letter or email. When I read back what I have written I usually like to change it and realise I have over reacted or not worded it well.

Ffs what's the issue with Robin Hood and gender stereotypes? The problem with ops is that american Indians ( or whichever term is correct) didn't walk round saying 'how' and talking like refugees from a 1950's film. But I would hazard a guess that certain rather sexist gender stereotypes are the most historically accurate parts of the whole Robin Hood thing.

dressed in feathered headgear and talking like um how.

Did you miss this bit of the post Leader? The offensiveness here is not people playing a role outside their ethnic background. It is how that role was written - like something from 1960s US tv. It is offensive racially and also from an educational point of view pretty damn sloppy.

I have been to many colonial/pilgrim/native american type plays in school here (in which kids from all ethnic backgrounds played people from ethnic backgrounds not their own) and I can assure you there wasn't one line of "Um How" and no feathered headdresses either. So no offence.

love the book burning reference - nice work there.

robing hood is all about
Guy......all that bak leather

People aren't seriously suggesting a school musical based on the legend of Robin Hood is historically accurate, are they? I mean, did Robin Hood really settle his score with the sherif with a custard pie and a merry chorus? Is that the history?

Gosh, I feel foolish now.

Yanbu OP. I would feel the same and cannot even comprehend our dd's school doing something like this. Cannot bloody stand it when someone says they feel uncomfortable due to stereotyping and people say 'pc gone mad'. People who say this are probably jeremy clarkson fans . I would say something to the school. It is enforcing these horrible stereotypes.

The Sioux word for hello is 'how'. I have a feeling some red Indians might have said it once or twice.

DearLeader You are even more spectacularly missing the point in your post at 23.29. Canyouforgiveher explains it.

YY to what canyou and Lass said.

Something about Robin Hood isn't 'historically accurate', but it is based on writings from the late medieval or Renaissance period and representations of it we see today tend to reflect the period they were written in. The Merchant of Venice is total fiction but contains racial stereotypes.

I hate to invoke Godwin's law, but should we forbid all these plays because they don't fit in with a few people who feel that the fact their viewpoint is the trendy one at the moment they have a right to supress anything which might contradict their views?

Oh and it's American Indian, not red Indian.

Why is repeating a word which is genuinely a part of the Sioux language racial stereotyping? Is saying Bonjour to someone French racial stereotyping?

The only point in Robin Hood prince of wankers thieves was Alan Rickmans skill to make even the sheriff sexy.

Oh God yeah. Sorry, forgot I was supposed to consult 'The Guardian Bookof Right On' beforeI posted.

Why is repeating a word which is genuinely a part of the Sioux language racial stereotyping? Is saying Bonjour to someone French racial stereotyping?

If anyone asks me to give an example of "disingenuous" I'm going to use this. You are just fab Leader. thanks so much.

I just think someone writing a play today, based on a legend, who is updating the play to suit cultural mores (surprisingly no-one got racked, burned for their religious convictions or went on a crusade in the version of the play at Ds school) can also give the female characters something decent to do.

Actually, strike that, I think Ds school should have picked a better play.

Shakespeare rewrote and updated old stories to fit his times as well btw. This isn't new.

"How" is in Lakota/Dakota spelt "hau" (there is a different word for saying "hello" to a woman)

The problem with using just that one word is the way it has been appropriated and misused by bad Hollywood films. So unless the American Indian characters were going to do the entire play in Lakota it's offensive and pointless.

I'm a Telegraph reader by the way.

Shakespeare and Greek classics are totally different. You don't tend to have 5 year olds acting in them or watching them. Schools studying these plays talk about the historical context and the racism within them.

And if you do use 'how' to mean 'hello' it also doesn't make sense in that it seems really unlikely they'd use it inanely at random intervals throughout conversation as its often portrayed. 'Umm hello me big chief sitting bull umm hello big chief dance round totem pole umm hello'. Somehow I don't find that a likely sentence structure. Infact the more I think about the stereotyping the more I change from my original view that it wasn't great but was probably done more as a compliment than an insult, I think the language is what has really put me off. I'm now making mental comparisons to that vile bud bud ding ding song

I suspect a couple of posters on this thread would have no problem with references to "Bongo Bongo Land" and similar comments.

I have a feeling some red Indians might have said it once or twice. Do you use the N word and wonder why people get offended? Because there really is no reason to say 'red Indian'. Unless you are genuinely too stupid to learn new phrases. I imagine you still send telegrams and have a calling card.

My dd is half Mexican and half Irish. She had a substitute teacher in a Dublin primary school who decided to talk about things she hadn't a clue about, including what life is like in Mexico as if it were still in the 19th Century. My dd kept her mouth firmly shut but the entire class were well aware of how stupid everything the teacher was saying was.

YANBU OP. It's this type of ignorance that is costing our country dear in lost business and opportunity. Global economies and the ensuing shifting political and economic power balances require populations with inclusive cultures that are able to interact with respect. Schools should be equipping young people for the modern world and not putting up barriers to their development by teaching them inaccurate stereotypes.

Dramatisations of Greek plays, Shakespeare and even specific literary examples like Uncle Toms Cabin etc are most usually staged through the prism of our collective enlightenment. They serve to educate and illicit discussion about how far we have come in terms of our understanding of the world - it's not flat for example and there's no point arranging for the killing and burying of your wife, your workers and half your livestock alongside you in a giant tomb because you really won't be needing their company when you're dead.

It's a natural human response to react with fear and defensively when one can see ones privilege being overturned as the balance of power shifts. Natural but not rational or intelligent. Perpetuating stereotypes, persisting in using outdated language and then justifying these acts of disrespect may make you feel better today, less unsure about the role you play and your place in the modern world but they don't change reality.

Reality is in 2015 UK that it's not ok to use racial stereotyping in a school play. We know better. We should behave accordingly and teach our children to do so too, so that they can benefit from the advantage of the things we have learned - after all, their futures depends on it.