WWE: 10 Shockingly Racist Gimmicks That Made Fans' Jaws Drop

10. Tatanka

Descended from the Lumbee tribe, Chris Chavis is a bonafide Native American wrestler who has so far been best known in the WWE as his wrestling persona Tatanka. First introduced in 1991, the WWE showed great respect for Tatanka's heritage by having him do a war dance whilst sporting the biggest Indian headdress I've ever seen. And he had a red streak in his hair. He feuded with Rick Martel and the pair had a match at Wrestlemania VIII. The feud continued when Martel stole some of his precious eagle feathers (give me a break!, and Tatanka happily regained his beloved feathers at Survivor Series. In 1994, Tatanka was honoured by fellow Native American wrestlers Chief Jay Strongbow and Chief Wahoo McDaniels. They gave him an honorary headdress which was even bigger than his old headdress and of course, the WWE had to have Irwin R. Shyster badger him for gift tax on the headdress. This started a feud between the two men, with Jay Strongbow briefly acting as Tatanka's manager. He feuded with DiBiase and Lex Luger for a while before leaving the WWE due to personal and spiritual matters. After a long absence, he returned to the WWE as Tatanka in 2005. Stereotypical story arcs followed. The WWE screened a vignette in which Tatanka was initiated into the Oglala Sioux Tribe (for real). He turned heel in Smackdown! and appeared on TV with altered face paint. He likened his losing streak to the way his people have been treated over the years and called upon his ancestors to give him strength. This ethnic tomfoolery is not as egregious as some of the outrageous acts of outright racism on this list, but it is an example of the WWE's careless and thoughtless attitude towards ethnicity. I understand that wrestlers have to have a gimmick, but aren't the WWE writers paid enough to do more than rely on lazy ethnic stereotypes? Thankfully most wrestling fans are smart and see through this, but it does nothing to help race relations among stupid people.