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1954 LEVI’S ROUND-UP OF WESTERN INDIAN LORE Most Racist Jeans Advertising EVERThis is easily the most racist advertisement for jeans ever made. How this ever made it to print is a testament to the tolerance for such attitudes at the time, and the reason for preservation of this article is to demonstrate how such things wind up being normalized in a society.Examples:”Wait! No want scalp . . . just want’um LEVI’S AMERICA’S FINEST OVERALL SINCE 1850″”With only their primative weapons and natural fighting skill, the Redmen held off the well-disciplined, well-armed soldiers of the paleface for half a century. In the end, the native warriors had to yield to the westward march of civilization, but not before both sides had written heroic chapters in the history of the West.””NO INDIAN GIVERS! Although today’s Indian has traded buckskin leggings and breech clout for a pair of Levi’s, he has left a lasting imprint on our everyday lives. Here are just a few things we owe to the American Indian: He gave us fod — corn, pumpkins, squash, avocados, red pepper, wild rice, maple sugar, sweet potatoes – and he gave us tobacco.””He enriched our language with such phrases as “Indian summer, Indian file, Indian club and the Indian sign. And he enriched our slang with such expressions as “Pass the pipe of peace” , Lets have a powwow” and “My wife is on the warpath.”This piece also equates Indians with renters who don’t pay their rent. In describing Adobe construction, they likened them to apartment houses, and had to finish the section with: “When an enemy attacked, the Pueblos climbed to the rooftops, drew up their ladders, and resisted with volleys of arrows and heavy rocks. Any invaders who managed to scale the walls were beaten off with warclubs and spears. A landlord would have a tough time indeed trying to collect rent from the tenants of these first apartment houses of America!”It goes on and on. It was written by James P. Milton, who hopefully realized years later what he had done, and tried to make amends.
