Share
Commentary

Typo on Progressive New Barbie Box Mocks the Very People It's Supposed to Honor

Share

Mattel is taking a bit of heat after revealing its Barbie doll tribute to America’s first female Cherokee tribal chief, Wilma Mankiller — especially because of an embarrassing typo on the box.

If you are unaware, Mattel has been using its Barbie line to showcase a long series of woke topics and personalities, including transgender, lesbian and minority dolls.

The new entry in the brand’s Inspiring Women series honors Mankiller, who led the Cherokee Nation for a decade, ending in 1995, The Associated Press reported.

Mattel, which had a hit this year with a woke movie based on Barbie, announced a special ceremony Tuesday to unveil the Mankiller doll in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the Cherokee Phoenix reported in November.

Mankiller, who died in 2010, was a groundbreaking leader for Native Americans. Along with being the nation’s first female principal chief, she was an active advocate for health care, improving conditions for her people and restoring a sense of pride in Cherokee history, according to the Phoenix.

She was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, in 1998.

Mankiller often joked about her name and sometimes said it was “well-earned,” though it is a family name that is based on a military title, according to the AP.

Have you ever made an embarrassing typo?

The new Barbie doll features Mankiller in a turquoise dress festooned with Cherokee colors of black, red, yellow and blue, wearing black shoes and holding a woven basket.

The doll has won some praise, of course.

The tribe’s current leader, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., said in a statement that he was thrilled with the debut of the Mankiller Barbie.

“When Native girls see it, they can achieve it, and Wilma Mankiller has shown countless young women to be fearless and speak up for Indigenous and human rights,” Hoskin said. “Wilma Mankiller is a champion for the Cherokee Nation, for Indian Country, and even my own daughter.”

But a typo on the doll’s box has cast a pall on the celebration.

Related:
Delaware Judge Foiled: Stopped $56B Payout, But Couldn't Stop Potential $140B Jump at SpaceX

According to the AP, a Cherokee symbol on the packaging that Mattel seems to assume meant “Cherokee” actually says “chicken” in the Cherokee language.

“Regrettably, the Mattel company did not work directly with the tribal government’s design and communications team to secure the official Seal or verify it,” the Cherokee Nation told the AP. “The printing mistake itself does not diminish what it means for the Cherokee people to see this tribute to Wilma and who she was and what she stood for.”

Mattel spokesman Devin Tucker said the company is “discussing options” to fix the problem.

There have been other complaints about the Barbie.

Regina Thompson, a Cherokee basket weaver who grew up near Tahlequah, said the doll doesn’t even look like Mankiller.

Thompson also said it should have had traditional moccasins instead of black shoes.

“Wilma’s name is the only thing Cherokee on that box,” she said. “Nothing about that doll is Wilma, nothing.”

Mattel is also taking heat for not contacting Mankiller’s daughter, Felicia Olaya, to ask for guidance on the production and design of the doll.

“I have no issues with the doll. I have no issues with honoring my mom in different ways,” Olaya said, though she noted she was not pleased she was not told in advance of the release of the doll. “The issue is that no one informed me, no one told me. I didn’t know it was coming.”

“I’m not sure how she would feel about this,” Olaya added, noting that she remembers her mother saying, “I’m not Princess Diana, nor am I Barbie.”

“I think she probably would have been a little conflicted on that, because my mom was very humble. She wasn’t the type of person who had her honorary degrees or awards plastered all over the wall. They were in tubs in her pole barn,” the former chief’s daughter said.

Still, Olaya said the overall effect is a positive one.

“I have a warm feeling about the thought of my granddaughters playing with a Wilma Mankiller Barbie,” she said.

It seems to be a mixed bag for Mattel with this Barbie effort. They might have a Mankiller, but it does not appear that they killed it in the making.


A Note from Our Deputy Managing Editor:

What if you woke up one morning and half of the people you count on had just vanished overnight?

That happened to me recently. I got up, came to work here at The Western Journal, and when I got to my office, literally half of our readers had vanished. They were just gone. We had been nuked by Facebook, and it had happened almost instantly.

But it was even worse. Facebook hit us at the same time 90 percent of advertisers had essentially boycotted us. "Brutal" is a word I’ve used a lot lately.

The fight for the truth is brutal. The fight for America’s soul is brutal. What the government is doing to Jan. 6 detainees is brutal. What surgeons are doing to confused children is brutal.

It’s a fight we must win. But we can’t win without you.

A membership to The Western Journal will go much farther than you think. It costs less than a cup of Starbucks coffee, and for that small price you get access to ALL of our content news, commentary, and premium articles you’ll experience a radically reduced number of ads, and most importantly you will be vitally supporting the fight against leftism.

Can I count on you to join today? We need your help. Benjamin Franklin summed up the situation we're all facing when he said, “We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”

We plan to hang in and fight. Please help us. Please become a member today.

Sincerely,

Josh Manning

Deputy Managing Editor

The Western Journal

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , , , ,
Share
Warner Todd Huston has been writing editorials and news since 2001 but started his writing career penning articles about U.S. history back in the early 1990s. Huston has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business Network, CNN and several local Chicago news programs to discuss the issues of the day. Additionally, he is a regular guest on radio programs from coast to coast. Huston has also been a Breitbart News contributor since 2009. Warner works out of the Chicago area, a place he calls a "target-rich environment" for political news. Follow him on Truth Social at @WarnerToddHuston.
Warner Todd Huston has been writing editorials and news since 2001 but started his writing career penning articles about U.S. history back in the early 1990s. Huston has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business Network, CNN and several local Chicago news programs to discuss the issues of the day. Additionally, he is a regular guest on radio programs from coast to coast. Huston has also been a Breitbart News contributor since 2009. Warner works out of the Chicago area, a place he calls a "target-rich environment" for political news.




Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.

Conversation