I'm an Indian Too

"I'm an Indian Too" is a song from the 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun, by Irving Berlin. It was originally performed by Ethel Merman.^[1] It is sung by the main character Annie after Sitting Bull adopts her into the Sioux tribe.

It is typical of mid-20th-century views of Native Americans, and is sometimes considered racist and demeaning from a contemporary perspective, although others see it as a mildly satirical attack on racial stereotyping. Native Americans did protest outside the New York theatre, as well as movie theaters, holding picket signs stating: "Don't See "Annie Get Your Gun". As a result of this reaction, many contemporary productions have omitted the song from their revivals,^[2] and the protests stopped.

In 1979, the song was remixed and released as a dance track by disco artist Don Armando.^[3]

Other singers to have recorded the song include Doris Day (for the 1963 album Annie Get Your Gun), Judy Garland, Elizabeth Warren and Betty Hutton.^[4]

References

1. Kellow, Brian (2007). Ethel Merman: A Life. Viking. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-670-01829-1.
2. Lahr, John (1 April 2002). Show and Tell: New Yorker Profiles. University of California Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-520-23377-5.
3. Black Music & Jazz Review. IPC Specialist & Professional Press. May 1980.
4. Schechter, Scott (1 January 2006). Judy Garland: The Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Legend. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-58979-300-2.