TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – A Northeast Oklahoma business’s cutout board used by guests for taking photos has been criticized by community members who say the feature is an example of cultural appropriation, and resort owners have decided to remove it.

For years, the front of Arrowhead Resort, on the banks of the Illinois River, has displayed a board depicting two Native Americans in regalia, with holes where guests can insert their own faces for photo opportunities. Some Tahlequah residents, as well as those from around Oklahoma and surrounding states, called for its removal. Others, though, assert it’s a harmless and amusing tourist attraction.

Katie Easter, president of the Northeastern State University chapter of American Indians in Science and Engineering, noticed the cutouts several months ago. She said they perpetuate the use of Native stereotypes.

“For example, Natives don’t have red skin, big noses, or carry tomahawks around for fun, but that’s what’s portrayed at Arrowhead Resort and in mainstream media,” said Easter. “There are entire groups of Native people and organizations who have dedicated their lives fighting back against this exact type of systemic racism, and there’s no place for it in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation.”

Arrowhead Resort is one of a few float operations on the Illinois River with a Native American theme. The owners identify themselves as Native and don’t believe the cutouts to be offensive.

However, David Spears, co-owner of Arrowhead Resort, said on Aug. 3 that he has “bigger fish to fry,” and that his staff is taking them down.

“We don’t think we’ve been negative toward anybody, but if they’ve got the time to protest something as simple as that, I’m not going to mess with it,” said Spears. “If it’s really that offensive, we’re just going to take them down.”

The cutouts were part of the float operation when it was purchased in 1997. Spears said he did not install them, but his staff maintained them for 23 years – and nobody has objected, until now.

Easter said the fact that the cutouts were in place for so long is unacceptable. Although she believes an apology is in order, she is just happy to see them removed, which she did not expect to happen to so quickly. To those who deemed the images harmless, Easter disagrees, saying they perpetuate a racial stereotype, and constitute an attack on tribal sovereignty.

“There are over 500 federally recognized tribes in the United States with different languages, cultures, and ways to honor,” she said. “None of them include letting tourists pose in behind a cutout that resembles a Native person. Decades of peer-reviewed research demonstrates that Native imagery, like the cutouts in front of this business, causes long-lasting harmful effects on Native communities, such as low self-esteem in American Indian youth.”

Spears said while he might not agree with everyone’s values, he can respect them.

“They’re not that sentimental to me,” he said Monday afternoon. “I’ve got some guests who probably enjoy having their pictures taken in them, but we’re removing them as we speak.”