Disney expressed its “regret” over a high school drill team performance, which has been widely condemned online for its invocation of racist stereotypes against Native Americans.
The drill team from Port Neches-Groves High School in Port Neches, Texas — known as the “Indianettes”— are facing widespread backlash, triggered by a clip of their performance on Main Street earlier this month. It shows the all-girl squad in purple uniforms lined with white fringe, breaking into dance moves that seemingly borrow from Native culture as they repeatedly chant: “Scalp 'em, Indians, scalp 'em.”
Tara Houska, a Native American and founder of “Not Your Mascots,” an organization that fights stereotypical native representations in sports, slammed the performance in a tweet on Thursday. She also shared the video, filmed March 15, which has since been viewed more than 1.2 million times.
“Cuz a bunch of kids in fringe chanting 'scalp 'em Indians, scalp 'em' is honor, right?” she wrote.
“And any Natives who attend @pngisd should prolly just accept their classmates dehumanizing them cuz “tradition”, right? Shame on @DisneyParks hosting this. Nostalgic racism is RACISM.”
Kelly Lynne D’Angelo, a writer on TNT’s “Miracle Workers,” retweeted Houska’s post and called on others to speak out against the performance.
“99% percent of the people sharing their outrage about this are Native people. Can’t you see that’s the problem too?” she wrote.
“Why must WE be the ones to speak up of all the blatant racism against us? Of our constant mistreatment? Why must we fight, tooth and nail, for you to understand we are human and alive and thriving too?”
In wake of the backlash, Disney in a statement to Deadline said it was not aware the stereotypes would be featured in the performance and vowed such a thing would not happen again.
“The live performance in our park did not reflect our core values, and we regret it took place,” Disney spokesperson Jacquee Wahler said. “It was not consistent with the audition tape the school provided and we have immediately put measures in place so this is not repeated.”
Others online noted the PNG drill team performance was also missing an element usually worn during their performances: their headdresses. Native Americans have said that wearing a headdress, even an imitation, is equivalent to cultural appropriation and demeans the status of those who have earned the right to wear them
The controversy comes as Disney continues to navigate the backlash sparked by its response to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act. The legislation, widely referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, bars teachers from discussing “sexual orientation or gender identity” with young students in kindergarten all the way through grade three.
The tourism giant faced widespread outrage — including from its own employees — over its failure to denounce the bill. It prompted an apology from CEO Bob Chapek, who also suspended political donations in Florida for the near future.
The “Indianettes” scandal also comes amid efforts by Disney to be more inclusive.
Both Walt Disney World and Disneyland recently updated their Jungle Cruise attractions to remove “negative depictions of native people” and also has plans to update its Splash Mountain rides based on “Song of the South.” The film has been pulled from distribution for its romanticized portrayal of race relations in the South following in wake of the Civil War.
In a statement to Forbes, Houska slammed Disney’s response as “paltry,” adding that if the company “is actually committed to inclusivity and diversity, this behavior should be unequivocally condemned and an apology issued.”
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