Lance Tsosie
| Lance Tsosie | |
|---|---|
| Born | Navajo Nation, Arizona |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Diné |
| 🎓 Alma mater | University of Denver (BA) |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Twitter= | |
Lance Jay Tsosie is Diné, a content creator, and social media personality, born and raised in the Navajo Nation. He has gained a wide following on TikTok under the username Modern Warrior, where he posts content about Native American culture.[1]
Early life[edit]
Tsosie grew up on the Navajo nation reservation in Arizona. At the age of 11, his mother moved their family to Glenwood Springs in search of better opportunities, particularly in education.[2] In 2008, when Tsosie was a high schooler at Glenwood Springs High School, he was selected by actor John Lithgow to participate in the Theater Masters' National MFA Playwright's Festival along with nine writers from UCLA, NYU and other high-ranked universities.[3]
Career[edit]
Activism[edit]
Tsosie received a B.A. from the University of Denver in Political Science.[4] While at the University of Denver, he served as the president of the university's Native Student Alliance. In a 2012 scandal on campus, the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and Delta Delta Delta sorority hosted a party where students were seen wearing Native American garb. In response to the scandal, Tsosie stated to The Denver Post, "We are not costumes. I ask that we all stand together to learn from this incident."[5]
In an interview about the photojournalist Aaron Huey's TEDxDU presentation "America's Native Prisoners of War", Tsosie stated,
"America's native prisoners of war" made me stop and think. It addresses the issue in a different way — [that] we are prisoners of a camp that was abandoned and forgotten. Although we may be from different tribes, we are still connected; they are my brothers and sisters. To this day, the pain is still here and I see it all across Native America. The cry for help has been shushed for too long. This is an issue that must be addressed, and soon. We as a nation, a people, cannot allow such a vibrant, rich and beautiful culture to be lost, devalued and overlooked.[6]
In 2019, Tsosie was an active supporter of Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential bid.[7] Today, he is active in the Denver Native American community and is attending the Morgridge College of Education.[8] Tsosie is on track to graduate with a master’s degree in June 2022.[2]
TikTok[edit]
At its height Tsosie's TikTok viewership reached over 3.2 million. His content primarily showcased the mistreatment and lack of information about Native Americans. Tsosie is known for his catchphrase at the beginning of his response videos, "Hey, colonizer..."[9][10]
Controversies[edit]
In March 2022, the content creator Chelsea Hart accused Tsosie of denying them informed consent after meeting Tsosie and having sex with him.[11][12] Shortly after Hart returned home, Tsosie posted a video of himself being intimate with another woman and Hart had learned that Tsosie was having sex with multiple people. Hart posted a video in which they accused Tsosie of taking advantage of their poor mental state. In the video, Hart said "I have an ache deep inside my womb, Lance." The words "womb Lance" was often misinterpreted as "womblands", which then developed into an internet meme.[12] After Hart's video became viral a 2nd content creator Amanda Marie contacted Hart and informed them that she and Tsosie had also had sex. Hart encouraged Marie to create a video which also accused Tsosie of denying her informed consent. Hart and Marie would state that they believed Tsosie to be in a monogamous relationship, however they would later find out about Tsosie seeing other people. As a result of these videos, Tsosie, his accusers, and Indigenous TikTokers received a flood of harassment.[13][14] The fallout between Hart and Tsosie was highly sensationalized within the TikTok community due to the popularity of both creators and the personal nature of their relationship.[15]
On March 21, 2022, Tsosie announced that he would no longer be active on TikTok effective March 22, and stated, "Every negative experience that I've had over the last year or so stemmed from this app. From being doxxed, harassed, stalked, threatened. I'm just so tired. My goal was to be an educator, and that is still my goal, but this app is not getting me anywhere closer to my goal."[16][dead link]
As of April 23, 2022, with a following of 2.6 million, Tsosie returned to posting on TikTok.
In July 2022, Tsosie and his girlfriend, known on TikTok as Miss Jones, posted a video that stated, “If you identify as white presenting or white-passing...you’re white”.[17] This caused a backlash from other indigenous influencers and POC content creators, with many pointing out that he was promoting racial purity, invalidating individuals of mixed race, and dismissing the importance of culture.[17]
References[edit]
- ↑ Angie Jaime (13 October 2021). "6 Native TikTok Creators to Follow Right Now". Teen Vogue. ISSN 1540-2215. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fiona Murphy (November 2, 2021). "Meet Denver's Navajo TikTok Creator Confronting Racists Online". 5280. Denver: 5280 Publishing, Inc. ISSN 1082-6815.
- ↑ Roberts, Michael (24 January 2008). "The Playwright Stuff". Westword. Denver. ISSN 0194-7710. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ↑ "Event: Summit For Action, Equity in Conservation and Outdoor Recreation (Virtual)". Evergreen State College. MES Weekly. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ↑ Simpson, Kevin (28 March 2012). "Greek Life groups apologize to Native Americans at University of Denver". The Denver Post. ISSN 1930-2193. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "TEDxDU talk about Native American reparations goes global". University of Denver Magazine - Archive. November 11, 2010.
- ↑ "Lance Tsosie - Denver, CO" – via www.youtube.com.
- ↑ Davis, Heather A.; Serrano-Bann, Pattricia (21 November 2020). "We're still here and we matter". mymetmedia.com.
- ↑ Rachel Kiley (6 June 2021). "Indigenous Tiktoker shuts down user claiming his merch profits from 'blatant hate for white people'". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- ↑ Li Cohen (23 October 2021). "Teacher placed on leave after video shows her wearing makeshift headdress and mimicking Native American dance during class". New York: CBS News. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
Popular Indigenous TikToker Lance Tsosie, who is known for their "Hey, Colonizer" videos, posted the footage, saying the video is "racist, ignorant and disgusting."
- ↑ "The internet has turned on 3 TikTokers who aired the details of their romantic relationships online". Insider.com.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "The Latest TikTok Saga So Dark and Upsetting We Can't Look Away". Rolling Stone. 21 March 2022.
- ↑ "Her TikTok was reposted by Modern Warrior. Then came a flood of harassment". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ↑ Cheong, Lindsay Dodgson, Charissa. "The internet has turned on 3 TikTokers who aired the details of their romantic relationships online". Insider. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ↑ Alan Bernal (8 March 2022). "Lance Tosie loses half a million TikTok followers after Chelsea Hart drama". dexerto.media. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ↑ Lance Tsosie, March 21, 2022. I'm out[dead link]
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Hernandez, Gisselle (2022-07-19). "Indigenous creators criticize Modern Warrior for comments about 'white passing' people". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
External links[edit]
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