The T-shirt design features an image of a dream catcher with beer bottles hanging from it and bears the words “Indian Lot,” the Lincoln Journal Star reported. The words refer to the once-popular football tailgating lot behind the Lincoln Indian Center in Lincoln.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – An online Nebraska T-shirt company known for its witty designs with local flair is drawing criticism for a design accused of promoting stereotypes about Native Americans.
The T-shirt design features an image of a dream catcher with beer bottles hanging from it and bears the words “Indian Lot,” the Lincoln Journal Star reported. The words refer to the once-popular football tailgating lot behind the Lincoln Indian Center in Lincoln. The community center banned alcohol in the lot last year in the wake of a raucous Sept. 20 tailgate party at which several people were arrested.
In a statement to the newspaper, Corner 3 Tees denied that the design intends to link Native Americans to alcohol. The company said it’s only meant to pay homage to the lot.
“The lot in question netted the owners a great amount of profit over the years as its popularity stemmed almost entirely from the tailgating festivities, which involved a vast amount of alcohol around various Native American structures,” the company said. “We elected to profit from the lot’s reputation in a similar manner.”
Indian Center Director Clyde Tyndall called the design an example of racism.
Tyndall said the center will continue its ban on alcohol at tailgating parties this season, but continues to struggle to find ways to replace the revenue it earned from the old tailgate parties.
At their peak, the parties averaged $10,000 per game and generated as much as $29,000 on a single day, he said.
Earlier this week, the T-shirt design was unveiled in an article on a sports and entertainment website before the shirt was available for sale.
The T-shirt did not appear on Corner 3 Tees’ website on Friday.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com