A problem with VAMPS

Originally appeared in tumblr, aliw117, 2016. Artist photo taken from their official Facebook Page. For me, it was a shock and sheer disappointment when I saw the extent of VAMPS’s cultural appropriation and misrepresentation of Native Americans. VAMPS has great music. They’ve collaborated with Apocalyptica and opened with them for the SIXX A.M. tour in … Read more

Missio music and a skull in a headdress

[Image of the single ‘EVERYBODY GETS HIGH’ taken from Big Hassle publicity site.] A promo went through my timeline that linked to this: Dive into the MISSIO realm! Play our game to unlock exclusive content. You won’t come close to beating my score… https://t.co/BFdRTv0Grl pic.twitter.com/JmLT7T1J9M — MISSIO (@MissioMusic) June 2, 2017 The title “EVERYBODY GETS … Read more

Tattoos, artists and ink

For all the times that I’ve seen offensive tattoos with Native-esque symbols or items, there has always been one thing clear — there are at least two people at fault for the offense. The person getting the disrespectful image, and the tattoo artist who inked it on them. Some time ago, I took the time … Read more

Welcome!

Thank you for taking the time to check out NTVTWT.com and my blog here. Entries are longer than would be feasible for a tweet or a tweet thread. I hope to share with you thoughts, tidbits about my family and important issues in urban and reservation life. As many things in between as well. A … Read more

SXSW Panel Picker “Playing Indian and Other Racist Nonsense”

Ali Watson and Johnnie Jae have submitted a SXSW Panel Picker proposal for the 2019 SXSW conference. The topic is “Playing Indian and Other Racist Nonsense“. With this panel, we propose to address the harm of trends such as Pretendian-ism, or the act of pretending to be Indigenous, such as claiming to be Cherokee or … Read more

Rachel Lorin officially appropriating part one

If there’s one thing that Indigenous people can count on from a number of non-Natives it’s cultural appropriation. Despite countless examples of how offensive such a practice is, there are still those who disregard that respect and do it anyway. The average person can often fly under the radar anywhere else online, but when it … Read more