Kevin Hart & His Wife Hosted a 'Cowboys & Indians' Party for Their Son & the Pics Are Sparking Outrage
It's safe to say we should file this birthday party idea as something not to do in 2018. Kevin Hart and his wife are catching heat for hosting a "cowboys and Indians" birthday for their now 1-year-old son, Kenzo. Although it's safe to assume the celeb dad and his wife, Eniko, likely did not mean to offend anyone, that doesn't take away from the backlash and why such a theme is still problematic.
And what looks to be inspired Native American garb to complete the "cowboys and Indians" theme.
"Zos cowboys & indians party was nothing but amazing! Thanks to everyone for coming ... we love you guys!" Eniko Hart wrote in her Instagram post.
Critics are quick to point out that a "cowboys and Indians" theme is pretty problematic AF.
Seriously, please don't throw your kid a "cowboys and Indians" party.
Native Americans continue to have their image commercialized, belittled, and depicted in a negative light.
They're often seen as "savages" and "the enemy" throughout history -- even in cartoons and classic movies (looking at you, Peter Pan) many of us grew up watching and soaked in.
We need to do better for our kids.
Rather than give this the "Oh, it's just a kid's party. Calm down" kind of brush-off, let's look at the bigger issue here and the poor message it sends to our kids. (Heck, many of us still push that kumbaya Pilgrims and First Nation people breaking bread and eating turkey nonsense -- as if Europeans didn't rob them of their land and pillage them.)
Native Americans are still fighting for rights and ownership to things that have been stolen. So rather than promote a party theme that characterizes a group as "the bad guy" in such a stereotypical way, let's do more than repeat history and problematic imagery that doesn't need to have a place in 2018.