From mascots to headdresses, this country has no shortage of ways to stereotype and minimize Native Americans. Last night (July 28), Twitter user @CheyNicole2014 (whose name is listed as “Black Lives Matter”) implored her followers to use the hashtag #NotYourNativeStereotype to show the diversity and beauty of Natives around the country.
To all my #Native followers: has anyone told you "you don’t look Native" or anything related? Please retweet!
— Black Lives Matter (@CheyNicole2014) July 28, 2016
@CheyNicole2014 I would like to start the hashtag: #NotYourNativeStereotype for any Native who shares selfies or their experience.
— Black Lives Matter (@CheyNicole2014) July 29, 2016
I started #NotYourNativeStereotype because we are so often compared to a Disney fantasy and if we don’t fit the bill, we are ignored.
— Black Lives Matter (@CheyNicole2014) July 29, 2016
This morning, it’s trending—and bringing us life. Here are some of our favorite tweets.
#NotYourNativeStereotype. Not extinct. Not drunk. Not uneducated. Not passive. Not savage. I am perfect. pic.twitter.com/jrkAqtJ85S
— D Girl Wid uh Accent (@LuciisMe) July 29, 2016
Multilingual. College student. Queer Chickasaw Freedmen. #NotYourNativeStereotype pic.twitter.com/X2rmuKhgmo
— shadE (@chipotalosa) July 29, 2016
we are not Halloween costumes nor are we music festival accessories, nor team mascots #NotYourNativeStereotype #NativeAppropriation
— Tobi Jenelle (@nvisionsunshine) July 29, 2016
#NotYourNativeStereotype
BTW… I don’t live in a Teepee pic.twitter.com/h9D1FSAnVR— Jas Alvarez (@that1native_) July 29, 2016
#NotYourNativeStereotype because we come in all different shades pic.twitter.com/wgwWfs4sva
— Hufflepuff (@_Beyoncesweavee) July 29, 2016
I am 4/4 Navajo. I am not a myth nor Asian. I am someone who is on their way to success. #NotYourNativeStereotype pic.twitter.com/Kg5bSA8Gdu
— Justin Billy (@NavajoJustin) July 29, 2016
Writer. Lawyer. Mother. Ivy League grad x2. Black/Pueblo. #NotYourNativeStereotype pic.twitter.com/cHTejzkdIW
— Rebecca Roanhorse (@RoanhorseBex) July 29, 2016
#NotYourNativeStereotype
"Yeah isn’t it right that you guys get into colleges just for being native" pic.twitter.com/87mOpbi9Rf— Ostentatious Native (@LaneyyBoyyTalkk) July 29, 2016
two spirit / mi’gmaq / #NotYourNativeStereotype pic.twitter.com/1jUJBd0e2D
— cryptid (@bedeeelia) July 29, 2016
#NotYourNativeStereotype never worn a headdress or been to a casino and I live in the city.
Osage&Chichimeca Jonaz pic.twitter.com/h9gsPf595a— Carpet Weed (@Olivia_Graciela) July 29, 2016
#NotYourNativeStereotype graduated high school, ontario scholar, going to uni, colonized a white boy as reparation pic.twitter.com/7znPShlioz
— pancake (@relatbel) July 29, 2016
If you can’t do #notyournativestereotype selfies that’s alright, you’re still Native, you’re still cherished. pic.twitter.com/oEKzVDjx9i
— Mari, Anishinaabae (@CyborgN8VMari) July 29, 2016