‘Playing Indian’: Embracing or Appropriating Native Cultural Practices?

It is Sunday, October 24th 1999. The Dallas Cowboys are squaring off against the Washington Redskins. The television camera focuses in on two individuals staring each other down on the football field — both African American, one outfitted as a cowboy, the other dressed like a stereotypical Plains Indian. What could be more American than this? The fans all know the script — they are playing cowboys and Indians.