One person was arrested and another slightly
injured during a protest of a Minneapolis CBS affiliate, as protesters sought
an apology for the airing of Outkast’s performance during the Grammys.
About 50 protesters gathered in front of the
WCCO-TV, Channel 4 studios on Thursday afternoon seeking to meet with station
representatives and present General Manager, Ed Piette with a petition that
has over 12,800 signatures from around the world chastising Andre 3000’s performance.
"We want to educate them on why this was
so disrespectful to us," member Jake Al Reum told the Star-Tribune. "I
think they had an opportunity not to show it. They knew this was going to anger
Indian people. They had to have known it. They can’t be that dense."
Al Reum said he was seeking an apology from the
affiliate as well as the parent network.
Station representatives said this is the second
time the group has protested in front of its offices. A
press release by the Honor Nation called for a protest of the station on March
16.
A security guard suffered a minor neck injury
as a result of the scuffle police said.
The February Grammy performance of "Hey Ya,"
which used a traditional Navajo song in the opening, also featured Andre 3000
and backup dancers wearing green buckskin dresses and green buckskin leggins
as well as a billowing tipi in the background.
The rendition drew heavy criticism
from several Native American organizations as well as Native American rapper
Litefoot.
"If I would have dressed up like a Zulu
and stuck a bone in my nose and held a watermelon and sang one of my songs that
had nothing to do with Zulu’s… Do you think that I would have even made it
out of that auditorium? We all know the answer," Litefoot told AllHipHop.com
shortly after the performance. "But what we have here with Outkast is unintentional
ignorance. I don’t believe that Andre 3000 did this out of spite. I do believe
that ignorance is ignorance and regardless of what caused it-the end result
is the same. "
Representatives for the television station said
that had no problem meeting with the protesters as long as the meeting was "safe
and peaceful."
