Lauren Edmonds
The newly painted Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World with a 50th Anniversary Crest. Photo taken August 30, 2021. John Raoux / AP Pictures
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A Texas High School Drill Team showed Native American stereotypes during a performance in the Magic Kingdom.
- Videos showed high schools singing “Scalp Them, Indians,” among other actions.
- Walt Disney World has issued a statement of regret that the performance took place.
Walt Disney World officials have issued a statement of “regret” after a Texas High School drill team showed Native American stereotypes during a performance in the Magic Kingdom, the Associated Press reported.
On Tuesday, the drilling team “Indianettes” of Port Neches-Grove High School, in Port Neches, Texas, performed at the Florida theme park and were accused of making racist stereotypes during their routine.
A video by Drill Team posted by Twitter user Tara Houska shows members chanting, “Scalp them Indians, Scalp them.”
—Tara houska ᔖᐳᐌᑴ (@zhaabowekwe) March 18, 2022
Videos of the performance also showed the students wearing fringed outfits while cracking and tapping their hands over their mouths in a stereotypical “war cry”, according to the outlet.
In a statement to WFTV, a Disney spokesman said the performance “does not reflect our core values, and we regret that it happened. It was not consistent with the audition band provided by the school and we took immediate action so this will not be repeated.The spokesman told the outlet that officials plan to update the resort’s performance policy in response to the setback.
Representatives for Walt Disney World did not immediately respond to insider requests for comment.
In a statement to KFDM, Port Neches-Grove Independent School District officials said they were “aware of the concerns about performance”, and were “committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in our school district.”
A Port Neches-Grove High School spokeswoman added that the drill team had done the routine at Walt Disney World eight times before.
“This is our eighth time at Disney. They don’t ask what you do like a performance. It’s just contest video and they see the uniforms. They did not ask for anything else. This is the same performance we did every eight times,” he said. said the spokesman, KFDM reports.
Representatives of the Port Neches-Grove Independent School District did not immediately respond to insider requests for comment.
Cherokee National Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., took to Twitter Ausso a Friday that accused the drill team of “using offensive and stereotypical images of our tribe.”
—Cherokee Nation (@CherokeeNation) March 18, 2022
The statement added that they had previously asked the Port Neches superintendent and school committee to stop using imagery, language, chanting and other practices that “dishonor” Native American tribes.
Tara Houska, an Indian and founder of the organization Not Your Mascots, wrote on Twitter that the performance removes racism.
“Shame on @DisneyParks for hosting this. Nostalgic racism is RACISM”, she written on Friday.
Hoskin and Houska did not immediately respond to insider requests for comment.
“Saturday Night Live” cast member Andrew Dismukes, a high school alum, also announced the performance on Friday.
—Andrew Dismukes (@andrew_vinny) March 18, 2022
“I think it’s horrible and that the school should change the mascot in all related practices,” he said. written on Twitter.
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