WhoMe

What do you think of a doll dressed in a jingle dress and sold for profit?



See this link:

https://store.americangirl.com/pls/a...groupid=376168



Is this education OR exploitation?

Good or bad?

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"Today, recognizing and respecting the origins of powwow aids in our Cultural Survival. If enough people break the rules because they are not satisfied...."We will have no culture."

WhoMe

WocusWoman

I no longer have a daughter young enough for this doll, but I would've liked to have had this doll around when she or I was little. I always got stuck with a white or a black doll when I was little, and I was always upset that neither looked like me and my family. I believe they sell this series of dolls under the guise of education; but we all know if it weren't a money-maker they wouldn't even be making them.

pretty_indian

yeah, if i had kids, i'd buy it.but i agree with wocuswoman and what she said about the momey making thing

pretty_indian

money*

Singing Otter

I think it's being sold under the guise of education for massive profit (some of these dolls go for hella cash on ebay... especially the ones with the full sets... teepee, bed roll, cradle board, craft kit, horse, saddle, etc. ). It's all about lining the pockets... no matter how well the underlying intention.

In this case I think it's a potentially good thing because it seems to put a positive spin by reflecting culture instead of stereotypical bull. It's refreshing to see something out there not dressed in road kill. I agree with wocus. As for me, I got the White dolls, Black dolls, and Indian dolls.... but I didn't like dolls that much (until the first cabbage patches came out and I got one named Frieda Carlina.... looked nothin like me but I loved her anyways lmao). I got a barbie but I cut her azz up hahahahaha. Took her head and legs off and used her decapitated body as a microphone. My parents were like, "wow." But I was having fun so they were cool.

As far as seeing a doll in a jingle dress being sold.... I've seen them before the Kaya dolls came out. How do I feel about it? I don't know. Never really thought about it before.

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paintedsun22

I'm way too old to "play" with dolls but I have this one on my shelf. I think the doll and the dress are presented in a respectful fashion, money or not. It is not offensive or "fake" so I am not opposed to it.

ndngirl73

i kinda like this doll....too bad my daughter isnt into dolls. i think its better than the weird barbie dresses they had out there for "Indian" Barbie..


i like that Kaya has enough outfits to do an "all-around" :)

and i actually think its pretty cool with all the accessories...do you think my barbies had a parfleche? no but i would have liked it if she did.

i had all the barbies too. but i never had a ken doll so i used my brothers geronimo..

rezgranny

I think the doll is very cute and if I couldn't make my own I would probably buy it. I have a 2 1/2 yr old granddaughter and I've already made her a doll in a traditional style dress. Cloth dress with ribbon, buckskin on the bottom and sleeves, with hightop moccassins. I looked high and low for a little brown rag doll, but could only find one one which was really dark, which I believe to be a little black doll (excuse me if this term is politicaly incorrect). It had long blck hair which I braided and wrapped with ribbon. This doll is one of her favorites. She loves to make it dance to pow-wow music.

Wojapi4Me

I also think the doll is cute. So much so that I ordered one yesterday for my daughter. She's going to love it I'm sure. Like rezgranny's granddaughter, my daughter makes her dolls pow wow dance so this one will actually look the part. LOL
She's been using her Barbies so far for that...well her Wizard of Oz figures too...see, this way if she decided to card at her pow wows...her Kaya doll will still be able to dance LOL

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chazziff

it a cute doll - i would buy one for my 3 and 1 year old.

but gonna get my sis to make them some baby dolls in moss bags for x-mas. she does make these dolls for extra cash and they fly off her craft table at flea markets and the like ...

my other sis worked as a head start teacher for awhile and she had some native dolls in her lil toy box but they were kinda creepy lookin and my girls wouldn't play wit them .. lol!!

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River Spirit

I think the benefits far outweigh any perceived negative. I can't help but think that those of you totally opposed to this doll, the money being made on it, would be singing a different tune if it was a nice handmade doll being made by tribal members and sold at pow-wow or on EBAY. We are responsible for making our dances 'public domain'. If we didn't want them copied, imitated, etc., we should have kept them to ourselves. I remember one of my first dolls. She was hard dark brown plastic, no movable joints, with mohair braids and eyes that blinked. She wore a beautiful white buckskin dress and mocs, beaded. I was so proud!! My adopted White parents wanted me to have something of my Native heritage. They didn't know any other way (this was the 50s/60s) but spent $$$ when they came across her in their travels and bought her for me. That doll was well-loved. Girls need dolls that look like them. White dolls for non-Whites just don't cut it. Neither do Black dolls with short curly hair. Dolls help us with our own esteem. I think the American Girl doll is great. I've seen the dolls and the books in stores. Better something than nothing.

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"The Cleveland Indians are going to change their name. They don't want to be known as a team that perpetuates racial stereotypes. From now on they're just going to be called the Indians." - Native Comedian Vaughn Eaglebear, Colville/Lakota

River Spirit

not as bad as you all think........

American Girl has a long-standing commitment to children's charities nationwide. The company has generated millions of dollars for programs that support education, literacy, environmental awareness, multicultural appreciation, and fine arts through innovative partnerships with nonprofit organizations.

American Girl administers its philanthropic efforts in several ways.

American Girl Fashion Show: American Girl offers nonprofit organizations a fully conceived fund-raising Fashion Show event that leverages the widespread appeal of the American Girl brand to raise funds for children’s charities. Blending learning with entertainment, the American Girl Fashion Show offers a unique, memorable experience for girls and their families and friends. Since 1992, American Girl events have generated millions of dollars for worthwhile causes nationwide.

United Way: Since 1992, American Girl has generously invested in United Way campaigns in those areas in which its employees live and work. In addition, during the winter holiday season, American Girl volunteers repair returned and damaged dolls for distribution to families in need through the local United Way chapters.

Charitable Donations: American Girl donates its award-winning dolls and books to schools, libraries, and other children’s organizations seeking product contributions for raffle and auction fundraisers. To date, the company has donated hundreds of thousands of dolls and books to nonprofits throughout the country. American Girl also has liquidated several million dollars worth of children’s clothing through Kids in Distressed Situations (KIDS), an organization that partners with many of the leading toy and apparel manufacturers to assist children in need throughout the world.

Madison Children’s Museum: American Girl donates seconds and returned merchandise to the Madison Children’s Museum, whose volunteers refurbish the products for an annual benefit sale. Since American Girl initiated this unique partnership in 1988, the annual benefit sale has raised over $11 million and attracted more than 100,000 shoppers from around the country.

American Girl’s Fund for Children: A percentage of the proceeds generated by the Madison Children's Museum sale are returned to American Girl and redistributed through the company’s Fund for Children (FFC). The FFC provides grants for philanthropic programs throughout Dane County that enhance children’s education in the arts and environment. To date, American Girl’s Fund for Children has awarded over $6 million to numerous nonprofits. Within Dane County, the Fund for Children grants have built The Aldo Leopold Nature Center and Nature Net, a collaborative consortium of natural sites in southern Wisconsin dedicated to environmental education of elementary school children; established A Performing Arts Series for Children at the Madison Civic Center; and supported hundreds of local performance groups and artist-in-residence programs through the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission.

http://www.americangirl.com/

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"The Cleveland Indians are going to change their name. They don't want to be known as a team that perpetuates racial stereotypes. From now on they're just going to be called the Indians." - Native Comedian Vaughn Eaglebear, Colville/Lakota

chazziff

this is true ... some ppl don't understand the importance of having something else that looks like you when you are young. how it makes YOU feel important .. if that makes any sense. seeing only white barbie dolls does do something to the self - image and self - esteem of all young girls.

if they made this doll blonde and white and i aint blonde and white - what does that make me? sure barbie/mattel does make dolls that are dark skinned with dark hair NOW - but there is no real big huge sign there that says just what nationality they are. i always buy my daughters these darker dolls - no blonde barbies in my house ... lol. and the same with darker skinned baby dolls ...

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Anishinaabe_Kwezanz

I don't think the Kaya doll is bad. I have her, and most of her outfits. (I'm seventeen. I don't play with her, I just like the American Girl dolls).

As for making money from it, well, don't powwow vendors, and craftsworkers make money on similar items? The doll is not degrading, the stories, accessories and toys are presented in a respectful fashion. I don't see anything wrong.

This isn't the only native thing American Girl does either. Besides Kaya they have a book called Trouble at Fort La Pointe about an Ojibwe girl. They have some minor native characters in two other series (Josefina and Kirsten). And they did have some other things but they might not carry those lines anymore.

Yes, the stuff is expensive and the company is probably making a ton on it, but its a good story, and a good doll. If you want to go after somebody there are better places to go than American Girl.

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"If dancing were any easier it would be called football."


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