‘Racist’ Western Outfits at Basketball Game Against Native Team Spark Furor
Allegations of racism have roiled a school district in Alaska after a group of students dressed up in Western gear—including cowboy hats—during a basketball game against the state’s only Native American reservation.
The insensitive outfits were part of a “country” theme night Ketchikan High School’s pep rally had planned for the basketball game against Metlakatla High School on Feb. 5, KTUU reported. Photos showed students at Ketchikan—which also has students of Native ancestry—dressed in flannel shirts, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats, as they played against the Metlakatla Chiefs.
“It was just really, really bad, and racism was definitely present,” Latonya Galles, who has a son on the Chiefs, told KTUU.