Earlier this month, No Doubt found themselves in trouble for their latest music video, “Looking Hot,” which critics said depicts Native Americas in a racist light. Apart from the song itself being kind of lousy and November happening to be Native American Heritage Month, the video has its share of stereotypical smoke signaling, headdress wearing, spear throwing and tipi lounging. In some shots, Gwen Stefani, the captured Native American lead — obviously — is shown tied up and writhing while villain cowboy, drummer Adrian Young, points his six-shooter at her. In an open letter from the UCLA American Indian Studies Center, Director Angela R. Riley wrote that the video advances the perception that “American Indians are mere historical relics, frozen in time as stereotypically savage, primitive, uniquely-spiritualized and — in the case of Native women — hyper-sexualized objects to be tamed.”

The band has since pulled the video as best one can in the digital age, and issued an apology on their website, stating: “As a multi-racial band our foundation is built upon both diversity and consideration for other cultures. Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people, their culture or their history. Although we consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts at the University of California, we realize now that we have offended people.”

With mounting accusations of Native American cultural appropriation happening these days — Lana Del Rey, Khloe Kardashian, Ke$ha, and Urban Outfitters, among others, have all dabbled and been scolded — the No Doubt video seems to have brought the discussion to a tipping point. But, in comparison to some of the other stuff out there, is the video worth getting upset about, or is it just some silly fun that happens to rely on the cliched Cowboys and Indians genre? To help make sense of what constitutes cultural appropriation as opposed to a cultural hybrid, an homage as opposed to an act of exploitation, we spoke with Professor N. Bruce Duthu, Chair of the Native American Studies Program at Dartmouth College and a member of the United Houma Nation of Louisiana. … Read More