Playing Indian | Episode 2

First America - Pushkin Industries

This episode explores how early American identity was built on performative Native American imagery, tracing back to the Boston Tea Party. It examines why colonists dressed as 'Indians' not for disguise but as symbolic r

Key takeaways

• Colonists wore 'Indian' costumes at the Boston Tea Party to symbolize freedom, not hide identity

Transcript preview

What started the Civil War? What ended the conflict in Vietnam? Who was Paul Revere? And did the Vikings ever reach America? I'm Don Wildman, and on American History Hit, my expert guests and I are journeying across the nation and through the years to uncover the stories that have made America. American History Hit, a podcast from History Hit. Do you remember where you were on the afternoon of January 6, 2021? I remember where I was climbing through the window of my thin boyfriend's house. It was pouring down rain, he was at work, and I had two things that really sucked to have at the same time. COVID and bedbugs. I needed to isolate somewhere while my house was treated, but my boyfriend forgot to leave out a key. So in I went through the window. I remember sitting down on his couch, exhausted and wet, and pulling up Twitter. And there I saw a stream of images of an angry mob storming the US capital. Lawmakers were barricading themselves into their offices. It wasn't clear if all of them were safe. It was scary. It felt like maybe there wouldn't be a peaceful transition of power. democracy was going off the rails. And then I saw this image that made me stop and go, wait, what the? It was this one rider. He was bare-chested. His face was covered in paint. He carried a spear. And on his head sat a fur and feather headdress with horns. He was among the first to break into the building. He was headed for the US Senate chamber where he sat in the presiding office. It was the Qenunya chair that was vacated by Vice President Mike Pence and scribbled this note. It's only a matter of time. Justice is coming. It was the Qenon shaman. I remember how much people talked about him the days after January 6th. People found him funny and strange but also confusing. Why would a white guy storming the Capitol in an attempt to overthrow the 2020 election dress up like a Native American? The answer to that question actually explains how the whole thing happened in the first place. You're listening to First America, the true story of how the United States came to be. And how our current political moment is 250 years in the making. From Pushkin Industries and Critical Frequency, I'm your host, Rebecca Nagel. Gohein, Gohein Dauw-Din, Jelekayla, and I'm here, Yelle, citizen of Cherokee, A lot of people felt confused by the QAnan shaman's outfit. You know how I felt? Tired. Whether it's sports mascots or Coachella or Halloween, I see white people dress up like natives all the time. It's exhausting to see this racist character of your culture constantly reflected back to you. But it's also defeating that despite all the time. It's exhausting to see this racist character of your culture constantly reflected back to you. But it's also defeating that despite all the Native people have done, it keeps happening. And I wanted to know why. Why do Americans keep doing this? And so I went back in history to try and find where it all started. In the beginning was a lot earlier than I would have guessed. Last episode, we talked about how the American Revolution started in Pennsylvania over Native land, not in Boston over taxes. For this episode, we are going to Boston. And we are covering the most famous event leading up to the revolution, the Boston Tea Party. You've probably heard of the Boston Tea Party, but there's a part of the story I bet you haven't heard. And that's the native part. Earlier this year, I visited the Boston Tea Party ships and museum with my producer Kim. Through the magic of historical tourism and reenactments. I was able to travel back to the year of the Boston Tea Party, 1773, and I met someone who's going to help us tell this story. Well, someone pretending to be someone. So, my name is Archibald McNeil. I'm a rope maker here in Boston. His real name is Jeff. He works at the museum as a tour guy. Now I've been living in Boston my whole life. my trusty boots and then I'm wearing my linen shirt and then I have my short jacket here which is made of wool it is quite cold and then I have right now on a linen cap. In his little outfit he kind of reminded me of a newsboy but I know the time period is off. As a tour guide Jeff seemed really earnest. I might not look like I have much money but my family does own land here in Boston. At the museum he tells the story of the Boston Tea Party. See if you can catch the native part. in 1773, when Boston is boiling with anger. Bostonians have been at the forefront of fighting back against termanical taxes and oppression. They're mad at George the third, King of England. George had started imposing taxes on the colonies to pay for that huge world war we talked about last episode. And when the colonist protested in Boston, Georges and troops. I've witnessed the protests and some of us even considered an by British forces in our own town. When a crowd of colonists threw snowballs and ice at British soldiers, the soldiers fired into the crowd. Five men were gunned down outside the statehouse. I was there, watched some of my dear friends get killed. This was the Boston Massacre. March 5th of 1770. Three years later, the British Parliament passes the law called the Tea Act. It gives us one British company a monopoly over all tea tea. ship to the Americas. To add insult to injury, the tea it wants to send is bad. It's old, it's moldy. And then there's the tax. For every pound of moldy tea, the colonists have to pay a three pence import tax. Three ships of moldy monopoly tea are docked in the Boston Harbor. We cannot send the tea back. The moment that tea is offloaded, the taxes have to be paid and we know what happens. has to be done. They decide to throw the tea into the harbor. And so December 16th in the middle of a snowstorm, it's quite cold. About 150 of us stormed down to Griffin's Wharf. We board the ships. There are thousands on the shoreline watching us. Now, some more. And here's where I want you to pay attention to what Archibald and his fellow colonists were wearing. We cover ourselves in cloaks, coats, blankets, anything to disguise our figures, our figures, some folks might smear some lamp light soot on their faces. This is going to be treason after all when we throw this tea into the harbor. We want to make sure that none of us are recognizable. There's an important detail missing, but we'll come back to that. lot of tea to get all the way up above board. It's packed in so tightly and so we're having to hit it and scrape it with our axes, boots, anything that we can to get it loose and it takes us about three and a half hours to destroy 92,16 pounds of tea. It's about 10,000 pounds of British sterling worth of tea, which I believe in your day is approximately 1.5 million dollars worth of property damage. We had to cut our interview with Jeff, the actor, short, because it was time for him to start another tour. Unfortunately, I do have to give my office back. Here, I should get a photo of you, too. He's actually about to ring the bell. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. As a tour guide, Archibald takes visitors through the museum. And it is an experience. I went on a replica ship, drank actual tea, paintings came to life, and yelled at me. is the Supreme constitutional authority of the empire. That part was a little Harry Potter ask. On the tour I was watching out for how the museum tells the native part of the Boston Tea Party. And it was there, sure. In the museum there's a cartoon on the wall and a book and a glass case. Near the entrance there's actually a big sign about it. Museum staff pointed it out to us. We wanted to make sure that this message was communicated to all of our guests. I could also imagine though. past it. You can. Yep. People aren't oblivious sometimes, you know. My sense was that unless you were really looking, the native part was easy to mess. Would you mind saying your name and where you're from? My name is Jenny. I'm from Dublin, Ireland. I wanted to test my hypothesis. And so as people left the museum, I stopped them outside. This is gonna sound like the weirdest question you've ever been asked, but from going through the museum, did you pick up on like what the riders were wearing when they were wearing when they were wearing when they stormed the ships, I think I have a picture in my head. What's the picture in your head? I don't know like leather boots and sort of like loose pants like brishes and maybe loose shirts. Maybe I'm confusing it with Shakespeare but you know like waistcoats and hats. Mel Gibson and the Patriot is kind of my reference here. So at the actual Boston Tea Party they dressed up like native people. Oh, I didn't know that at all. It's really interesting. I talked to you about a dozen people as they left the museum. So at the homeschooled kids, tourists from Germany and Florida, and none of them picked up on the fact that the riders were wearing Indian costumes. But I find it fascinating. Why in the world would 18th century colonial rioters dress up like Indians? What ended the conflict in Vietnam? Who was Paul Revere? And did the Vikings ever reach America? I'm Don Wildman and on American History Hit, my expert guests and I are journeying across the nation and through the years to uncover the stories that have made America. American History Hit, a podcast from History Hit. 50th anniversary of America. The soul of this country is found in the stories of those who defended it. I'm J.R. Martinez, a US Army veteran. I know that true valor isn't just a word. It's a choice. Made in a split second. That's why I'm honored to bring you a brand new season of Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage from Pushkin Industries and I-Heart Podcast. You'll fly into the heart of