When Crystal Echo Hawk was in the third grade, she recalls watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon that featured a Native American stereotype. "He has a bright red, huge nose, not wearing a shirt and he's wearing a banner that said, 'Vanishing American,'" she recalls. "It made me feel really bad. It really stuck with me." Get push notifications with news, features and more. + Follow Following You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. Echo Hawk, now 49, grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and attended a mostly white school where she was teased about her name and asked to perform the rain dance. As she endured and navigated through society's perceptions of her heritage, she grew more determined to change them.