Disney World has offered its “regret” after a Texas high school drill team was accused of stereotyping Native Americans for a performance during a parade at the Magic Kingdom theme park in Orlando, Florida.
The performance by a 50-member all-girls team from the Port Neches-Groves High School on 15 March faced widespread backlash after videos of the parade went viral on social media.
The “Indianettes” team wore fringed outfits and danced to Native American-inspired music, with moves seemingly appropriated from their culture.
The girls performing during the parade could also be heard repeatedly chanting: “I-N-D-I-A-N-S, scalp ’em Indians, scalp ’em.”
Critics on social media pointed out the racism implicit in the performance and questioned Disney World for allowing the “Indianettes” to perform.
In a statement on Friday, Disney World said “the live performance in our park did not reflect our core values, and we regret it took place”.
Theme park officials said the performance “was not consistent with the audition tape the school provided and we have immediately put measures in place so this is not repeated.”
Tara Houska, an Ojibwe tribal attorney and former adviser to Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, called the act “dehumanising.”
She wrote on Twitter: “Cuz a bunch of kids in fringe chanting ‘scalp ‘em Indians, scalp ‘em’ is an honour, right?”
She added: “Any Natives who attend [Port Neches-Groves High School] should prolly just accept their classmates dehumanising them cuz ‘tradition’, right? Shame on [Disney Parks] hosting this. Nostalgic racism is RACISM.”
Ms Houska has also co-founded “Not Your Mascots”, an organisation “dedicated to fighting against stereotypical native representation in sports”, that also criticised the performance in a tweet.
Kelly Lynne D’Angelo, a Native-American writer, quote tweeted Ms Houska’s post and said: “99 per cent per cent of the people sharing their outrage about this are Native people. Can’t you see that’s the problem too?”
“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? Stop this and grow up.”
Meanwhile, the school district issued a statement in which they said that they were “aware of the concern regarding the performance of our band and Indianettes at Disney World.”
“We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our school district. Our district is nearing 100 years old, and our Board of Trustees is committed to always making the best decisions for our students, staff, and the communities of Port Neches and Groves,” the statement added.
The school has faced criticism in recent years over the racial connotations of its mascot, a Native American in a headdress. The school has maintained that the “Indianettes” have been a tradition for half a century.
Ms Houska pointed out on her social media how in her “ years of advocacy on many issues, hostility toward living Native people over Native mascots never fails.”
“No other topic comes close to the vitriol surrounding Native mascots. Native mascots are tied to supremacy, colonial narrative. It’s about so much more than sports,” she added.
