Navajo Nation demands apology for joke about 'drunk Indians'

Tuesday, March 5, 2013  

The Navajo Nation and the Native American Journalists Association are demanding an apology for a "drunk Indians" comment made on a CBS television show.

A character on the "Mike & Molly" show made a joke about the state of Arizona on last week's episode. "Why would I go to Arizona? It's nothing but a furnace full of drunk Indians," the character stated.

“You can see somebody who is drunk and tripping over themselves and it’s easy to make fun of them,” said Navajo Nation spokesperson Erny Zah told the paper. “But the disease itself isn’t funny, the coming home late at night, possibly beating on family members, the absence of family members, the fear it instills in a lot of children.”

"This comment shows blatant disregard for the original inhabitants of this land and perpetuates antiquated stereotypes of Native Americans," NAJA added in a statement on its website.

CBS declined to comment about the show.

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'Mike & Molly' Joke IS RACIST!!! (TMZ 3/3)