Building Respect One Drop at a Time

As I was watching “My Big Big Friend” with my daughter yesterday, there were some kids in a karate class. They were all portrayed to look like the diverse cast of regular kids (white, latino, African-American) EXCEPT for the teacher. Like no other adult on the show, the teacher of karate was drawn with very little detail except for slanted lines for eyes (get it, he’s Japanese).

Today, I ran into this article about a non-profit group of Alaskan Natives who engineered a game that is “culturally appropriate” without merely “appropriating” the characteristics of the group.

Here’s a description of the game: Nuna, the game’s hero, teams up with an arctic fox to find the source of the blizzard that’s threatening her community. Players explore themes of resourcefulness, cooperation, and the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next through the beautifully rendered gameplay.

In Isabel’s 2-K program last year, kids painted shirts for Thanksgiving. She wore the shirt again yesterday. It was her “Indian” shirt. I corrected her gently–we say “Native American.” This is especially important because my mom does and has lived in India for more than 20 years. My mom lives among Indians. My daughter had an appropriated Native American on her shirt.

Particularly when it comes to respect, every little thing is a drop in the bucket. But once the drop is in the bucket, it can’t be taken out.