The Toy Store &
the Toy Store Indian

The Toy Store & The Toy Store Indian

In the lived experiences of Native Peoples, there is a recurring phenomena known as the Toy Store & The Toy Store Indian. The way this dynamic frequently unfolds is that the toy store (a colonial entity) places an order for an American Indian. The toy store might be seeking to incorporate in their Sunday Service (or event) some Indigenous thoughts on a pre-determined topic and they’d love to have those thoughts spoken by a Native person. The problems come with the specifications for the “right” Indian that is sought; specification such as: 

• Predetermined topics

•  Content & expression expectations or policing – such as requests to “make it highly interactive” as well as “keep it light and fun.”

• Indian appearance expectations – such as expecting Indigenous folks to show up in “Indian clothing” or regalia. (These are expectations often grounded in racist stereotypes perpetuated by society in the media, in sports mascots and in the distorted, false narratives of US history education).

• Expectations or requests that Indigenous folks “share a Native American ceremony” or a Tribal song.

• Expectations or requests that a Native person teach their hosts words from their Tribal language that the non-Native hosts intend to speak publicly to a multicultural crowd.

• Transactional interaction expectations – for example, making information requests from Indigenous folks with an unwillingness to listen to any background info, context and foundational knowledge that must accompany the information. As well as an unwillingness to implement Indigenous feedback given.

The above is a non-exhaustive list, to give us some starting points of awareness. Once the Toy Store receives a response, that’s when the expectations and specifications are made more visible because if the First Nation person intends to retain their autonomy, agency and Tribal Identity Sovereignty, the Toy Store often responds along the lines of, “This Indian doesn’t meet our order; we ordered an Indian with precise specifications…Send this Indian back. We want the Indian we ordered.” And the Toy Store repeats this toxic process with other Natives.  

We must learn to recognize that, for centuries, the programming of colonial entitlement has falsely instructed the masses that it is acceptable for non-Indigenous people to define things to Natives, for Natives and about Natives (even though they are not from any Tribal Community and lack the lived experiences, cultural knowledge and cultural competency of those who actually hold this marginalized identity). When we understand how the invisible rules of colonial entitlement perpetuates erasure, subjugation, tokenization and anti-Indigenous racism, then we understand that the first step in breaking from this conditioning is to listen to Native voices. Be willing to take direction from Indigenous Peoples regarding anything about Natives.

To break with centuries of programming, colonial settler folks must prepare themselves to forego the entitlement of defining things to Native Peoples and practice making invitations instead such as, “We would love to hear any topic you’d be willing to share.”  To decolonize the brain into ways of interacting that are aligned with anti-racism, anti-colonialism and counter-oppressive, colonial settler folks must practice foregoing the pleasure of defining things for (and about) Original Peoples, by honoring that the appropriate parties to share and voice Indigenous thoughts, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and Native lived experiences  are those who hold Tribal identities.

The other part of this centuries-old play that is overdue for retirement, is the Toy Store Indian. Unfortunately, there are Native People who willingly accommodate all the Toy Store’s specifications and will do so without any objections or feedback. However, doing so is a great disservice to us all. In doing so, they are perpetuating the very systems of inequality that relentlessly attack our children, women, two-spirited, Sacred Sites, Ancestral Lands, food sovereignty, identity sovereignty and our very existence. We are committed to assisting those we work with to shift The Toy Store & The Toy Store Indian dynamic through individual actions, and collective actions, of awareness (be it one-to-one or group interactions) and through ongoing education. This work is not a “one and done” nor the kind of work with an end date; it’s a life-long journey of learning.