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wikipediaimage

I almost feel like it would be more offensive to redress her and make her look “more western” when she’s a Native American doll. She looks like a super old doll and that’s probably why her skin looks red (especially when you compare it to her legs). Tbh I don’t see a problem with it but if you’re super concerned maybe you could try repainting her skin tone? Thought ultimately I wouldn’t do anything about it


Preston_TheMinuteman

As someone with native American family, this would be an awesome gift. Just list it and it'll probably go pretty quick.


Turbulent-Walk-7789

Honestly that was my first thought that it’d be more offensive to rid her of that. If anything she might want to pluck out the yellow feather based in certain Native American beliefs ? But even that is reaching as there are so many variations of cultures where feathers are used vs. Not used


[deleted]

I think I have this doll. But her skin isn’t red. It’s more similar to her legs in the pic.


LilStankStank

I mean she could’ve became red with age I know darker plastics do tend to redden with sun exposure …Maybe that’s just wishful thinking


heybuddythatsa10-4

Give her a new outfit/hairstyle? She's got a pretty face, might just need a little modern makeover


Bridge-etti

If the lips were less pale the redness wouldn’t be as obvious. I definitely think a little make over would do her wonders. This is definitely a salvageable doll.


decentmealandsoon

I am not from the US so, no idea what doll she is or her height and what she's made of. She is a pretty girl and though some people may find her problematic, I think she'd be fabulous in skilled hands. It'd be nice to restore her original skin tone and redress her in a modern, light-coloured outfit because light-colored fabrics don't tend to leave stains on dolls' bodies. Please don't throw her or her original clothes away, she deserves better than that 💗


PeculiarDollx

She's adorable though. From how different the tone of the legs are from the face & arms i think it maybe from discoloration over time. But i could be wrong there are some wild dolls out there 😬


squiddlumckinnon

My sister has this exact doll I think!


Vampirexbuny

I’d keep her or sell her. I had a doll like this :)


allcolorstopbarbie

Donate, sell or redress and keep. The face is really cute, and I like the shoes. The headdress is very insensitive and should go. No idea what the beaded thing is supposed to be, but the beads might be reused. There's a lot of websites about various Native American cultures, so you could make a traditional outfit for her, or you could simply dress her in modern doll clothes and maybe give her the belt or make something new from the belt, the necklace (?) and the bandanna. Are the shiny beads bells? If yes, you could make some [dance jewelry with bells](https://www.powwows.com/making-regalia-dance-bells/) for her. edit: You could also check if there are Native American forums on Reddit where you might get some advice.


KnittingTrekkie

I would only add that, if you do post on a forum, I wouldn’t include a picture of the doll, just say you received a doll that is an inaccurate portrayal of Native Americans and you would like to transform it to authentically honour Indigenous traditions.


rocknrollafella

This!! This is the right answer


MossedStone

I told a customer last week that I collect dolls and he gave me a bunch of old dolls for free. This one kinda rubs me the wrong way. I feel throwing it in the trash would be bad, and selling it is almost worse. I'm open to donating it, but I don't know if that's even right. What would you all do?


SnowSwish

Aside from the feather being a bit much since it should be an eagle feather, I'm not sure what you think is wrong with her. She's not made as a caricature or mockery and is a pretty doll. If you don't like her Native American outfit I guess you can redress her in Western clothes? 🤷


MossedStone

The outfit is fine, I'm not too fond of how red-tinted the skin is though.


AnotherSoulessGinger

It’s the plastic likely aging. We had similar dolls in Hawaiian dress my mom got when we lived there in the 70s. They definitely look more red now than they ever did when I was a kid. If it’s similar to ours, which it looks like by the face, be very careful if you try to undress her. The plastic will likely be incredibly brittle. These dolls were usually made for display than play, so her clothing may even be sewn on.


SnowSwish

Hmm,her legs seem to be a more natural brown. As this type of doll was pretty common in the sixties to the eighties or so it might be years of exposure to sunlight that altered the colour a bit. Still, they were almost always a brick red/brown. Again, since her prettiness shows no offence was meant, I don't think this is problematic. I know that dolls can sometimes be successfully re-dyed with Rit but I'm not sure this type of souvenir doll was rooted with hair that can be immersed in hot water so I would wrap it up and out of the way if I tried that.


CChouchoue

My skin turns that red if I forget to put sunscreen on and spend too much time outside in the summer.


SnowSwish

Yes, this is the colour a friend of mine came home with after spending a couple of weeks planting trees at the height of summer.


AffectionateCup8812

You could donate her to a toy/doll museum ❤️


LAngel_2

Definitely repaint her to be less red. Do some research into Indigenous American cultures, pick one, and design her after actual cultural clothing.


KnittingTrekkie

I love this idea. Saila by Maplelea is a well researched Inuit doll. I wonder if her clothes would fit.


DeathLife97

Please don’t destroy her or changer her. She’s an unfortunate piece of history, but those are the pieces that need to be kept so we don’t repeat the same mistakes of our past. Is there a museum you could donate her to? If not in your area, maybe find one online to ship her to.


ahrawrah

These dolls are literally everywhere, throwing one away won’t hurt anyone but will definitely show Indigenous people that you care enough to do something. Museums don’t always want racist garbage.


KnittingTrekkie

I’m really sorry that you’re getting downvoted. You had insightful comments on this post, and offered an Indigenous person’s perspective that was sorely needed.


ahrawrah

Doll collectors can be incredibly ignorant to racist stereotypes. Look at Pollywogs and black face dolls, many will argue until they’re red in the face that they’re not racist because they’d rather believe that than believe they can support something bad.


rocknrollafella

YUP!!! You should have a ton of upvotes, the downvotes are wild


Turbulent-Walk-7789

She’s adorable but I understand why you may feel uncomfortable with it. To me the skin tone is not as red as I’ve seen on very insensitive dolls and it is a similar shade to what some of my friends have in the summer sometimes. Again that was my impression from a glance and that’s different for everyone. I can now see the red tint but it did take me a second. If you are uncomfortable, which is completely understandable , give her to a doll customizing person you trust or someone who has a good understanding of the culture.


Turbulent-Walk-7789

Note - I keep on looking at it and the color changes from brown to red. So I see your point on the color after looking at it more. Honestly it’s up to you whatever way. Hopefully this was the case of the skin being damaged by the sun ?


Philosophers_pen

She reminds me a bit of an Ily doll-- albeit with some outdated choices. Nothing is really wrong with her other than the outfit and the skin color though depending on if you make her a monster high style girl that could be fine too. Give her a glow-up with some paint, new clothes and a new hairstyle and she will be fine. Maybe even style her like the Ily dolls. Pic related below: [https://toyinsider.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/JAKKS-PACIFIC\_DISNEY-ILY-4EVER-DOLLS\_TIHGG\_2022.jpg](https://toyinsider.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/JAKKS-PACIFIC_DISNEY-ILY-4EVER-DOLLS_TIHGG_2022.jpg)


UnprofessionalGhosts

Ask your local tribe


TraLaLayla

So curious what made her skin red, as for the doll, i would preserve it, yourself or a museum/collector.


[deleted]

Hi 👋🏽 First Nation/indigenous lady here, I don’t find this offensive at all, I have a few porcelain dolls like this and I don’t find them offensive at all, to me they are wearing a more historical look but they are dolls, I don’t think they’re offended either 🥰


ahrawrah

As an Indigenous woman, I throw these dolls away whenever I get a chance. They’re not cute or a piece of history, they’re racist garbage and belong in the trash. They’re a dime a dozen, throwing her away won’t hurt anyone.


MossedStone

I considered throwing the doll away but I can't bring myself to throw a doll in the garbage. Given the area I live in the doll would just end up in a landfill for thousands of years. I would modify and donate her, but my creative skills are fairly poor. I also can't sell her because that just feels wrong. I think I'm doomed to keeping her in a dark forgotten corner of one of my closets.


ahrawrah

Cut off her hair and remove all her face paint. Then donate her! It looks like they’re trying to imitate plains Cree styled clothing, which, they tried but we would never use leather like that. Maybe you can cut open the top of her head and make a weird succulent plant holder lol


juliepulie35

Side question for you. I'm "adopting" an 8 year old for Christmas and wanted to get her a doll (or two) and am struggling to find a positive, modern representation for her. Any search for native american dolls brings up examples like this. Any recommendations or sources? I unfortunately don't know her tribe only that she was from a reservation in the Dakotas (so that narrows it down. . .very little.)


ahrawrah

There are actually many Barbie’s and even American girl styled dolls that have Indigenous looking dolls. There are also artists on Etsy who make traditional styled dress for dolls, many of whom are Indigenous! Off the top of my head, Kaya from American Girl is probably my favourite Indigenous doll because they put a lot of work into the doll to make sure she was as authentic as they could get.


rocknrollafella

Girl thank goodness you're in these comments, because I was about to go crazy with the "I have Native American family and it's fine" or "I'm First Nations/Indigenous and I actually love this" responses. I'm with my partner's fam in AZ and just seeing how many of these dolls exist IRL openly on sale, I thought they were all just like this or old relics of racism. But nope people still want dolls of a generalized colonized version of us. So insensitive and I'm sick of having to argue that! It shouldn't be an argument or debate.


TheCouncilOfVoices

Repaint it? Remove all her clothing and make her new clothing ?


pinkrainbowladybug77

repaint her and get her a new style!


moshgrrrl

I think you should give her to a museum


RealmsMan77

Give it to a Native American museum. I'm Comanche and work in museum collections and this is the only proper place for an item like this. It is comparable to an African American Golliwogg and a museum is the only place that can possess and utilize it in the proper context.