Preview
Date
1950
Description
A photographic print of four people wearing costumes meant to mimic traditional Indigenous clothing in a clearing. Three dance while another sits on the ground playing a drum (likely a djembe) held between their knees. The dancers wear skirts made of paper or fabric cut to look like fringe. Camp Pinoaka was the location where Black Girl Scouts attended camp when troops were still segregated until the 1960s. The photograph is blurry. Handwritten on back: "Camp Pinoaka Unit 2. - 1950 "Dancing" - The Indian Way."
Though this dance could be an imitation Pacific Islander or some African (such as the Mandinka and Sotho peoples) dance based on the skirts, the handwriting on the back reads "Dancing - The Indian Way". This caption points to a common practice in 19th and 20th century scouting, "Playing Indian." Read more about this practice via the Jim Crow Museum here. Though more common in groups like Camp Fire Girls and Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts still incorporated some appropriations and stereotypes related to Indigenous culture and peoples in their practices. More information about the Girl Scouts and Indigenous practices and members is available via the Girl Scout History Project.
Corporate Name Subject
Girl Scouts of the United States of America
City/Location
Chesterfield County (Va.)
Genre
black-and-white photographs
Local Genre
photograph
Type
Still Image
Digital Format
image/jpg
Language
eng
Rights Statement URL
https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/
Rights
This material is protected by copyright, and the copyright is held by the Commonwealth Council of the Girl Scouts of Virginia. You are permitted to use this material in any way that is permitted by copyright. Acknowledgment of Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries as a source is required.
Collection
Commonwealth Council of the Girl Scouts of Virginia
Source
Girl Scout Camp Pinoaka Scene, 1950, Commonwealth Council of the Girl Scouts of Virginia records, M 400, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University.
File Name
M400_b025_f035_i003.jpg