My 12-year-old daughter is absolutely in love with theater, and of the 20 (and counting) productions she had been in, her favorite by far is Peter Pan Jr. She’s been in it twice, most recently as the villainous Captain Hook, and previously as the Indian princess Tiger Lilly. This last time there was actually a Native American girl cast as Tiger Lilly, a role she had long coveted and was thrilled to play. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be exactly what she expected.
When my daughter performed Tiger Lilly, a group do ladies (white, of course) objected to the original costume plot, which had the Indians dressed as, well, Indians. We modified the costumes to be “warriors” instead of specifically Indians and it pretty pulled of a bridging of the gap. If you were expecting Indians, they looked like Indians; if you weren’t they didn’t. This time, Cancel Culture had taken things one step further, calling the character “Brave Girl Lilly” and removing any sign of the original character’s culture.
I have a hard time believing that Peter Pan author J. M. Barrie wrote his delightful and transcendent children’s book in 1904 with the intention of making fun of or dishonoring Native Americans (they weren’t called Indians in the book). I believe he wrote it to delight children and honor orphans using the tropes of the time. When Walt Disney transformed it into the wonderful film I grew up loving and I would venture to guess that you have seen, I believe the intent was the same. I’m not suggesting that we should be performing and celebrating “What Makes the Red Man Red,” which is not part of the musical production anyway, but I do think Tiger Lilly and the Indians from Peter Pan deserve to be remembered and honored, rather than whitewashed, or as we now say, “canceled.” After all, the Chief’s daughter was one of the heroes of the story. She was also included in the recent live-action remake, starring Indigenous actress Alyssa Wapanatâhk as Tiger Lilly.
We live in North Texas and one of the prominent tribes here prior to White invasion was the Kiowa Apache Tribe, known as a tribe of warriors. What if, instead of trying to walk away from the culture of prominent characters in Peter Pan, we embraced the culture and the people it represents. Perhaps we could reach out to local tribes, in this case the Kiowa Apaches, and ask them to get involved with our productions? The Indians of Peter Pan Jr. could actually be Native Americans dressed in traditional dress, performing their traditional dance and singing a traditional song in place of the current “Ugga Wugga” from the play. When creative minds get together, magic happens. Anyone who has been involved in any creative enterprise knows that when people get together in the spirit of love and cooperation amazing things can result.
Whenever a major course correction is needed in human culture, The Arts more often than not lead the way in bringing about change. Singers like Bob Dylan write songs about political and social issues that transform our hearts and minds, movie directors make powerful films like Dances with Wolves that shape our perception of history, athletes speak out in protest of critical issues, such as the NBA’s recent support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Entertainers seem to have a stronger impact on us than just about anyone else because we place them on such pedestals in our culture.
Perhaps this is another example of how entertainment might transcend being mere entertainment and become part of a an important cultural restoration. In the case of the Indigenous People of North America, such a restoration is long overdue.
-B
Ishmael's Legacy 