*NEW* Bella Blvd - Oct release ^UPDATE: "My Tribe" canceled

Using "Tribe" in the title for the collection should have raised big red flags. That it didn't, is telling. I've purchased their stuff on occasion but will no longer do so. 

Thank you Matt at ACOT for responding and then choosing to remove the products. I appreciate you and the team standing up for your values. 

Facebook and Instagram are down and I don't see they debuted the new lines on the website yet. Even ACOT's website is down at this time.

Count me to the list of surprised and appalled peas for the new Bella Blvd "My Tribe" line. This is such an egregious misstep and really sets back the scrapbooking industry in terms of social accountability. Other companies, such as Carta Bella and Paper House had been doing pretty well with representation and DEI, but this is just horrendous. Even if they scrubbed it from their social media, they need to pull the line completely and release an apology.

I wrote to S'book.com and happily stole all the words from this post to say:

On our scrapbook board (2 peas refugees) we have been discussing this coming line. "My Tribe" contains insensitive language and stereotypical images of things that have spiritual importance to indigenous people. It is cultural appropriation *at best*, and blatent racism at it's core. This collection really sets back the scrapbooking industry in terms of social accountability, at a time when there is an outcry for responsible representation of diversity and inclusion. A Cherry on Top has pulled this line after they took a closer look at the collection, and I hope your team will likewise consider removing it from your site.

I emailed scrapbook.com yesterday. They’ve pulled the line as well.

There are probably a lot of scrapbook companies breathing a sigh of relief that they didn't get called out when they did it. American Crafts/Bo Bunny had a boy and girl line with the same type of animals, Kiwi Lane had a 'My Tribe' kit, how many different companies have used dreamcatchers on paper, stickers, etc? If I went searching I could find a lot of it which kind of makes me feel bad for Bella Blvd, I hope they can use those cute animals in a different sort of collection.

They are doing the right thing by offering an apology and not releasing the line. I appreciate that.

I never saw this line, as everything was pulled.

I will say the name "my tribe" has a special spot in my heart, as that is my college's nickname.

It is unfortunate that no one during the design process thought about how the collection could be deemed inappropriate.

same

 That paper is not only hideous (I hate those gnomes) it is perpetuating the myth of the first Thanksgiving. The Wampanoag People were greatly harmed by the so called Pilgrims arrival and to pretend anything in other then that is completely disrespectful.

I love Thanksgiving and I celebrate Thanksgiving, but not to honor they false story we were all raised on.

I am heartened that Bella Blvd listened and reflected upon the feedback they received and I appreciate that A Cherry on Top and Scrapbook.com responded quickly. When I first opened this topic and saw the name of the line, I cringed a bit, wondering what I was about to see. When I saw the images, I too wondered how many eyes had reviewed them and passed them along. Because I'm not a good extemporaneous writer/speaker, I backed out of the thread and thought about what words I would use to describe my impression. Ignorant? Inappropriate? Oblivious? Racist? When I came back, people had already responded more eloquently.

I do hope that companies start giving more consideration to user feedback before they develop their lines. This board in particular has been commenting for years that the "pink is for girls, blue is for boys, dogs are boys, cats are girls, all people are white, all students are #1, all families have a mom, dad, one boy and one girl, etc.) is alienating potential buyers at a time when these companies could use more business. That doesn't mean they still can't have pink unicorn-y lines or blue sporty lines--just leave out the "little man" and "princess" wording and the blonde kids along with it. (And one of my personal pet peeves: stop putting the phrase "wild and free" on zoo lines. It makes no sense, no sense at all, and I used to work at a zoo!)

I'm all caught up on the story. Sounds like Bella Blvd at first pretended everything was fine and they "felt" it was ok to sell Native American imagery for funsies and profits, not even considering the legitimate concerns raised by Skellinton in their IG comments and eventually taking down the questioning comment(s). They only pulled the line afterwards when big vendors like ACOT (thanks Matt at ACOT for listening to our concerns) took it down, it seems. 
As a non-American, the word 'tribe' is not the red flag it is for others in here since Europeans historically have and refer to tribes as well. But obviously, I'm missing the visuals with the Native American elements. 

And the only other line Bella Blvd had coming out concomitantly was about praising the Christian god? Erm ok...  It would be the funny kind of irony if it wasn't for such a sad and tragic past. Biiiig yikes. 

For sure! I'm not disputing people pointing out the word 'tribe' in the collection title. I was just remarking anecdotally that as a non-North American person, that wouldn't even raise a red flag in my brain. Obviously, I'm too late to this discussion and don't have the pictures of the collection to see how bad it was. I'm kind of stuck with the line name and the written descriptions of the imagery you ladies compiled in here. I'm extra intrigued because Bella Blvd at first denied the problematic character of their collection and even deleted IG comments, that's all.

I saved a few images HERE.