Throughline

The Ojibwe Nation

Because of this persistent migration pattern over a long period of time, if someone got too bossy or even just got too much influence, someone else was usually moving down the river and saying, "They're not my chief." So, Ojibwe culture tended to be very tolerant of cultural variation, but very intolerant of being told what to do.

Fresh Air

The hidden history of blackface in America

Ironically, it's a huge success of the civil rights movement. Civil rights activists protested against blackface and tried really hard to strip it from the school curriculums and everyday performances where it was really common currency. And by doing so, they turned blackface into something that was culturally taboo. And so it became so taboo, in fact, that the history of it is no longer taught.