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Intimidating cultural appropriation

The high school football team in Euless, TX (population 52,900) starts their games by performing the haka, a chanting dance used to intimidating effect by New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team. What's odd/interesting about this is that the Maori chant was appropriated by the team's contingent of Tongan players -- whose parents moved to the town to work at DFW airport -- and has led to a greater sense of acceptance of the Tongans into the larger community. How's that for multiculturalism?

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This entry was published on October 07, 2008 at 01:31 pm.

Tags for this entry:  video  football  sports  haka  dance 

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You're visiting kottke.org. All content by Jason Kottke (contact me) unless otherwise noted, with some restrictions on its use. Good luck will come to those who dig around in the archives. If you've reached this point by accident, I suggest panic. In memory of DFW, rest in peace. Thanks for everything.