UCI fraternity crossed the line with their “Pilgrims and Indians” party

Many Americans now know that it is insensitive to celebrate the Pilgrims, and the Conquistadores, and the other European invaders, who came to the U.S. and wrought so much havoc amongst the Native Americans, here in the U.S. and in Latin America.  Over 75 million Native Americans died as a result of the Euro invasion.

In November, a fraternity at UCI thought it was a great idea to hold a “Pilgrims and Indians” party.  As you might imagine, many others disagreed with that notion.

Many Santa Ana residents attend UCI, and our co-blogger, Sean Mill, graduated from that school, ergo my interest in this issue.

Here is M.E.Ch.A. de UC Irvine’s response to this scandal (it should be noted here that Assemblyman Jose Solorio was a member of this organization, when he was a student at UCI):

M.E.Ch.A. de UC Irvine condemns parties that bastardize the cultures of underrepresented students on our campus, such as the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity’s “Pilgrims and Indian” party, which occurred on November 23, 2010. While we recognize the fraternity’s right to free speech, it is not acceptable to do so at the expense of the culture and history of marginalized students. These parties promote cultural insensitivity and lack an understanding of the struggles and oppression connected to holidays such as Thanksgiving. While Thanksgiving was created to appease the American population at the end of the Civil War and it is also representation of the genocide of indigenous people in the United States. No student should be exposed to this kind of representation of their identity and culture, as it fosters a hostile environment on a supposedly safe campus.

M.E.Ch.A de UCI demands a response from Student Affairs and will not accept a “slap on the wrist.” The students responsible for these parties need to be held accountable and should attend a cultural sensitivity training, such as a Reaffirming Ethnic Awareness and Community Harmony (R.E.A.C.H.) workshop in order to challenge their positions of privilege and educate them on the cultures they mock.

M.E.Ch.A stands in solidarity with the American Indian Student Association (AISA) and the Native community in demanding a change in the UCI discrimination policy for these types of events, an increase of Native faculty and an increase in Native American courses. These demands should not be unreasonable nor impossible to achieve on a campus that is supposedly dedicated to the diversity and well being of its students. These demands will not only improve campus climate but also spread awareness to student of color issues and increase the retention of those students.
This is a important matter that cannot be taken lightly or overlooked. We hope you take this situation seriously and take steps to change policy in regards to these parties.

In Solidarity,

M.E.Ch.A de UC Irvine

And here is the response from the American Indian Student Association of UCI:

The American Indian Student Association at UCI is asking for your support and solidarity with us in regards to an event that occurred on November 23, 2010. In light of Thanksgiving, the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity at UCI decided to throw a “Pilgrims and Indians” party.

As soon as AISA was made aware of this event, it was reported it to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity and an official complaint was filed through the school. While the right steps were taken to ensure that our voices were heard; they were seemingly NOT heard. Although the school administration, faculty, and the fraternity involved were notified about the grievance filed and the situation; the party still went on. Advertisement for the event were still distributed throughout the UCI community through the attached fliers, Ring Road tabling and throughout the internet via a Facebook event. To make matters worse, university shuttles served as transportation for students JUST FOR THIS EVENT!

AISA members have went out of their way to voice their opinion on the issue. Dedicated their time educating and explaining why this event was exceedingly disrespectful to the Native community. Yet AISA members were subjected to seeing students of all stature prancing around adorned in rainbow colored headdresses, skimpy “loin clothes” and warpaint. Making a mockery of our culture and a direct attack on our communities experiences for the sake of entertainment.

As university students and as Native community members, it is not acceptable for us to have to endure these repeated cases of hostility towards us as people of color and Indigenous peoples especially in an educational institution like UC Irvine that advocates its dedication to diversity. This events and others that make a mockery of peoples experiences and identity are not to be tolerated. They create a hostile campus climate for people of color that are not safe and welcoming. That is why we are taking a stand and making sure that our voices are heard at the University of California, Irvine. We will not back down, and though we only have a .01% representation on the UCI campus; our voices are loud. Numerous other cultural and campus organizations stand in solidarity with us. This is not an isolated incident to Natives or other cultural groups, and we demand that this outright racism and disregard for who we are as Indigenous peoples and disrespect of our culture stops immediately.

Art Pedroza Editor
Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.
Art Pedroza

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

View Comments

  • White supremacist..lol. Like most white people I would give my left boob for a tan!

    It's not fun looking like the local vampire:)

  • Michelle, nothing wrong with being white like a vampire either :) I think it would be cool to send all racist groups to an island far far away to let the rest of us live in peace. Art Pedroza, David Duke, Louis Farrakhan, Meir Weinstein, and others can duke it all out in one last showdown.

    • Mochi,

      And why am I listed amongst all these racists? I am a peace-loving Libertarian-leaning pro-migrant liberal. I am most definitely not a racist - but I do spend a fair amount of time illuminating my readers as to the actions of folks like Michelle and her Minuteman pals.

  • Mochi,

    Can we add to that Island: losers, waster's, welfare queens, bad parents, teacher's unions, union's, the dull and the ignorant!

    What a really interesting island; we could do tours!

    :) love your name very french!

  • And why am I listed amongst all these racists?: I would say you are not a full racist, your just a product of your environment and you're ethnocentric!

    I have never met a minute man and I think going down to the border is not only danger for them, but a waste of time. I suggest they stand outside the Anaheim Social Service and protest the fact that it is so unjust for foreign nationals to be picking up a check from a service that was intended to help struggling American Citizen's!

    And the fact that you keep saying Migrant, when you know that you are being intellectually dishonest only makes you appear to be lying for a reason, and that reason would be that you value skin color over your own people!

    Just saying!

  • Art, you are just fooling yourself. Most racists that run blogs run stories that claim the race or ethnic group they are rooting for are victims. I know one blog in OC run by a guy that seems to run mostly stories about how white people are victims of non-white violence. You are doing the same thing and, in the end, do more harm then good. You encourage brown people to be easily offended and maladjusted. You alienate non-brown people by making them think brown people are easily offended. Most sane level headed brown people think you are off your rocker just as most sane level headed white people think David Duke is whacked out. If you didn't seem to support M.E.Ch.A or La Raza, I might believe that you don't have supremacist views. Don't attack one racist organization unless you attack them all.

    • Mochi,

      I don't consider M.E.Ch.A or La Raza to be racist organizations and I think you would be hard-pressed to find many Latinos who would agree with you.

      You sound like a Republican.

  • Michelle,Vampires rule! we'll talk racism some other time. Pedroza is not a racist. He is a "libertarian". Which is dangerously close to being an Anarchists. Which is strange because like most libertarians he seems to have a lot of government ties. Sorry Mr.P We are all guilty hypocrites! Only Michelle Q. believes her own hype.

  • Michelle reminds me of Mubarak, or the last of the Mohicans. She better find a mexican to date fast. time is running out. just kidding. Dont spell check me, por favor.

  • Admin, maybe a Republican like Abraham Lincoln that was against slavery. Definitely not a modern day Republican.

    How do you feel about a college club that was only for white people and the unique problems they face? They could complain about how hard they have it being a minority and how thanks to affirmative action they get turned away from schools like Berkeley even with near perfect SAT scores. Or they could just celebrate their heritage, culture, art, music, architecture, engineering achievements, scientific discoveries, etc. My guess it's only ok with you when brown people do that but not white people.

    • Mochi,

      White people are not an aggrieved minority in this country. Their ancestors took part in killing 75 million Native Americans. I don't feel sorry for them one bit.

      But if they want to have a club, that is fine. That by the way is what frats are. And the one at UCI that had a Pilgrims and Indians party crossed the line...

  • "Michelle reminds me of Mubarak, or the last of the Mohicans. She better find a mexican to date fast. time is running out. just kidding. Dont spell check me, por favor."

    MQ says:

    Are you kidding, it would be like clash of the titans! :)

    What hype?

  • "White people are not an aggrieved minority in this country. Their ancestors took part in killing 75 million Native Americans. I don’t feel sorry for them one bit."

    MQ says:

    He is not racist hmm?????

    Art, White people plus brown people have conquered this world for as long as the world has existed....Like in Mexico over 30 thousand people have been butchered due to drugs... drugs, land, power, etc....

    In Africa millions of men, women and children where butchered at the hands of another tribe.

    Next year, I am going to have a party called: cowboys and indians! I am going to dress up as little big horn!:)

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