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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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CdA Tribe Books Controversial Nugent

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe of American Indians — itself a target of a recent racism — has booked racist rocker Ted Nugent for a public concert next month at the tribe’s landmark North Idaho casino. The decision is stirring controversy for a tribe that has proudly involved itself in human rights causes and contributed thousands to fight racism. Nugent sometimes wears an Indian headdress on stage, coming close to ridiculing American Indian culture, and mocks those campaigning to change names of sports teams that use words like Redskins and Savages. The legendary rocker, who also is on the board of the National Rifle Association, has a “long history of racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, animus towards immigrants, and propensity to use violence-tinged language,” Media Matters reported earlier this year. That came after Nugent called President Obama a “subhuman mongrel” and referred to him as a “chimpanzee”/Bill Morlin, SPLC HateWatch. More here. (AP file photo: Musician and gun rights activist Ted Nugent addresses a seminar at the National Rifle Association's 2011 convention in Pittsburgh)

Question: Did the Coeur d'Alene Tribe make a mistake in booking controversial musician Ted Nugent?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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