Over the recent Fourth of July opening weekend, The Lone Ranger was trounced by Despicable Me 2 at the box office. I also found myself at a Subway deli looking at a cut-out of Johnny Depp’s Tonto. And to be honest, as an Indian myself, it does not offend me as much as the Washington Redskins mascot. Johnny is a good soul; Dan Snyder and Washington Redskins fans are not. “I wanted to maybe give some hope to kids on the reservations.” Depp said in interviews during production, “They're living without running water and seeing problems with drugs and booze. But I wanted to be able to show these kids, ‘F— that! You're still warriors, man.’” Meanwhile, Amanda Blackhorse, a young Navajo woman protesting the Washington Redskins mascot said “They [the fans] yelled at us, 'Get over it.' And, 'Go back to your reservation.' And all the stereotypical things that we are all alcoholics: 'Why don't you go get drunk?' And they shouted so many profanities that I won't repeat. I got to see firsthand how our culture was being mocked," she says. "So many fans were wearing war paint and feathers and they were whooping and hollering. Some of them got belligerent and angry with us. They threw beer at us. That's not okay. I was afraid for my safety."Get the Story:
Jacqueline Keeler: Indians Inside Us: Depp's Tonto, Washington R-word and Paula Deen (Indian Country Today 7/21)
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