For people who are wondering what may have been offensive about the video, a member of the nodoubt.com forums posted this. It's long, but worth a read if you're interested in the other side's perspective.
Quote:
Dear No Doubt,
I am a Spokane/Winnebago/Three Affiliated Tribes woman and grew up in the Winnebago Indian Reservation in Nebraska. The 90s were my *** years and in my adolescence I was badly bullied even having to transfer schools. In high school I was not treated well either going to a predominantly non-Native school and not fitting the social norm but through music I gained enough confidence to be myself and not let what anybody thought of me bother me. Songs like “Just a Girl” empowered me as a female and as an individual. Gwen, I always looked up to you for being confident and uniquely you which is part of the reason I loved No Doubt. Even later as I have been attending college “Just a Girl” helped me realize I was in a bad relationship. This is why I was deeply saddened to see the music video for “Looking Hot.” As a Native woman whose college educated mother chose to raise me on the reservation in order to be close to my culture and always be proud of who I am and where I came from, I was deeply offended by your trivialization of my culture. Eagle feathers, beadwork designs, the way that you fix your hair, even down to the colors that are used in traditional regalia all have spiritual and/or religious meaning for American Indian people. Many of these dances that we do at powwows have been done for hundreds of years and have a ceremonial purpose behind them. Being tied up in a prisoner type situation singing, “Go ahead and look at me ‘Cause that’s what I want” does more than add insult to injury. It makes light of American Indian woman that were raped and brutalized during U.S. colonization of America. It makes light of the genocidal policies of the U.S. government committed against American Indian nations. Dancing around a fire scantily “dressed like an American Indian woman” thrusting singing “Go ahead and stare at my ragamuffin” takes a whole new meaning when you take into account the current startling statistic that 1 in 3 American Indian woman will be raped in her lifetime and most of these will be by non-Native perpetrators. As somebody who lived through a sexual assault, I do not take this portrayal as fun and games. We as American Indian people cannot afford to. The rate of suicide among American Indian youth, ages 15 to 24, is the highest of any racial group. The media imagery of our people does affect minds and attitudes not just of the predominant culture’s view of us but the self-esteem of our own young people. It does so easily when American History classes do every individual taking them a severe injustice. All of this has real effects on our lives as we struggle to live in two worlds: the white world that constantly tells us that we are insignificant as our culture and traditions are constantly made a mockery of and the Native world which tells we need to learn our languages and ceremonies and protect them as sacred as we are in danger of losing this part of us. I hope that No Doubt and others will choose to recognize and rectify this publicly. There are ways to incorporate American Indian culture into music videos in a respectful way like Nelly Furtado did with her “Big Hoops” music video. We are not a trend and we are not a fashion statement. We are human beings, we are nations, and we deserve respect. I hope that No Doubt and others will choose to recognize and rectify this publicly. Until then I can longer support No Doubt or their music.
|
I can definitely see her point, and I have to say that I feel really bad for any longtime ND fans who were offended by the video--it must be feel terrible to feel attacked by your favorite band. However, I really don't think they had any bad intentions or that they were pretending to really be Native Americans. I saw the video as a parody of old cowboys and Indians movies (which in the case of LH, the "Indians" win).
The tweets, YouTube comments, and tumblr posts about this video were particularly vicious (though I suspect many of them were from completely white posters who take it upon themselves to be offended for other groups. I saw some people with actual Native American heritage saying they took offense to it, and some saying they enjoyed it).