Controversy continues to swirl around No Doubt's portrayal of First Nations peoples in the band's latest music video, "Looking Hot." CBC Music decided to take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly portrayals of Aboriginal culture in pop music.
Hoop dancers in 'Big Hoops,' Nelly Furtado’s music video: good
Furtado has a track record of working respectfully with First Nations and honouring the culture.The video for "Big Hoops" shows powwow and hoop dancers giving a mainstream audience a glimpse at Aboriginal culture.
Ke$ha wearing a headdress on American Idol: bad
Not only was her vocal performance a shambles, who decided to style her? Yeesh. Headdresses are a privilege, not a hipster fashion.
Outkast’s 'Hey Ya' performance at the 2009 Grammys: ugly
People were immediately outraged with Outkast's green-fringed costumes that were supposed to reflect Native American traditional clothing. The choice to come out of a teepee: even worse. It wasn't an honour, it was a caricature of the culture. They might as well have shown the "What Makes the Red Man Red?" scene from Disney's Peter Pan.
Buffy Sainte-Marie’s 'Darling Don’t Cry' music video: good
The first lady of Aboriginal music is always respectful to the Aboriginal culture. Everyone could learn from her. This video shows First Nations people in a modern context, honouring their traditions at a powwow.
Cher’s 'Half Breed' music video, circa the 1970s: bad
Can we really blame Cher for this stereotypical fiasco? Yes. If Buffy can say no to perpetuating negative stereotypes, then Cher could have, too.
The Native American character in the Village People: ugly
Yes, Felipe Rose is half Lakota Sioux, but watching him jump around in a headdress and fringed pants — shiver. Of course, it was the 1970s and we were just coming into social awareness. Should he have sold out like that?
Digging Roots' 'Spring to Come' music video: good
Besides the colour of their skin, there is nothing overtly “native” about this video. First Nations in a contemporary light with no cultural references at all is progress, people.
Vanessa Williams’s song 'Colours of the Wind,' from the Disney movie Pocahontas: bad
Yeah, this song has a nice, clean message for the kiddies, but the sexualization of Pocahontas in the film doesn’t do the reality justice. The fact remains that documents recorded Pocahontas as being 12 years old when she saved John Smith — the love interest in the Disney version.
Tim McGraw’s 'Indian Outlaw' country song: ugly
With lyrics like “You can find me in my wigwam/ I’ll be beatin’ on my tom-tom/ Pull out the pipe and smoke you some,” need we say more?
Do you think it's time musicians became more culturally sensitive, or is it OK to misappropriate cultures that are not your own for the sake of art? Let us know below.
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