Overview

• The T-shirt worn during Beyoncé’s Juneteenth performance in Paris labeled Native Americans and Mexican revolutionaries as “enemies of peace, order and settlement,” prompting criticism of its imperialist framing
• Indigenous influencers and social media users have called on the singer to acknowledge or apologize for the shirt’s portrayal of marginalized communities
• Beyoncé’s publicist has not responded to media requests for comment on the growing controversy
• Historians say the Cowboy Carter tour’s Buffalo Soldiers imagery underscores Black reclamation of Western iconography but also risks overlooking the soldiers’ role in frontier violence
• The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum and other institutions have expanded exhibits to highlight the unit’s campaigns against Indigenous and Mexican communities and advocate for more nuanced histories