tânisi!
I see you are confused about what constitutes cultural appropriation. I would like to provide you with resources and information on the subject so that you can better understand what our concerns are. I would also like to provide you with this stellar guide from Simon Fraser University called “Think Before You Appropriate“.
However, I also want you to have a brief summary of some of the more salient points so that you do not assume you are merely being called a racist, and so that I do not become frustrated with your defensive refusal to discuss the topic on those grounds.
If at all possible, I’d like you to read the statements on this BINGO card. If any of those have started whirling through your head, please lock them in a box while you read this article. They tend to interfere with the ability to have a respectful conversation.
RESTRICTED SYMBOLS
- Some items are restricted items in specific cultures. Examples from Canada and the United States would be: military medals, Bachelor degrees (the actual parchment), and certain awards representing achievement in literary, musical or other fields.
- These items cannot be legitimately possessed or imitated by just anyone, as they represent achievements earned according to a specific criteria.
- Yes, some people will mock these symbols. However in order to do this, they have to understand what the symbols represent, and then purposefully desecrate or alter them in order to make a statement. They cannot then claim to be honouring the symbol.
- Some people will pretend to have earned these symbols, but there can be serious sanctions within a culture for doing this. For example, someone claiming to have earned a medical degree (using a fake parchment) can face criminal charges, because that ‘symbol’ gives them access to a specialised and restricted profession.
UNRESTRICTED SYMBOLS/ITEMS
- Other items are non-restricted. Flags, most clothing, food etc. Accessing these things does not signal that you have reached some special achievement, and you are generally free to use these.
- If you do not use these items to mock, denigrate or perpetuate stereotypes about other people, then you can legitimately claim to be honouring those items.
HEADDRESSES IN NATIVE CULTURES
For the most part, headdresses are restricted items. In particular, the headdress worn by most non-natives imitate those worn by various Plains nations. These headdresses are further restricted within the cultures to men who have done certain things to earn them. It is very rare for women in Plains cultures to wear these headdresses, and their ability to do so is again quite restricted.
So unless you are a native male from a Plains nation who has earned a headdress, or you have been given permission to wear one (sort of like being presented with an honorary degree), then you will have a very difficult time making a case for how wearing one is anything other than disrespectful, now that you know these things. If you choose to be disrespectful, please do not be surprised when people are offended… regardless of why you think you are entitled to do this.
Even if you have ‘native friends’ or are part native yourself, individual choices to “not be offended” do not trump our collective rights as peoples to define our symbols.
TRY REAL CELEBRATION INSTEAD OF APPROPRIATION
It is okay to find our stuff beautiful, because it is. It is okay to admire our cultures. However I think it is reasonable to ask that if you admire a culture, you learn more about it. Particularly when the details are so much more fascinating than say, out-dated stereotypes of Pan-Indian culture.
You do not have to be an expert on our cultures to access aspects of them. If you aren’t sure about whether something is restricted or not, please ask someone who is from that culture. If people from within that culture tell you that what you are doing is disrespectful, dismissing their concerns because you just don’t agree, is not indicative of admiration.
If you really, really want to wear beaded moccasins or mukluks or buy beautiful native art, then please do! There are legitimate and unrestricted items crafted and sold by aboriginal peoples that we would be more than happy to see you with. Then all the nasty disrespectful stereotyping and denigration of restricted symbols can be avoided, while still allowing you to be decked out in beautiful native-created fashion.
If you are an artist who just loves working with aboriginal images, then please try to ensure your work is authentic and does not incorporate restricted symbols (or perpetuate stereotypes). For example, painting a non-native woman in a Plains culture warbonnet is just as disrespectful as wearing one of these headdresses in real life. Painting a picture from an archival or modern photo of a real native person in a warbonnet, or in regalia, or in ‘street’ clothes is pretty much fine. Acknowledging from which specific nation the images you are using come from is even better. “Native American” or “Indian” is such a vague label.
MIYO-WÎCÊHTOWIN, LIVING TOGETHER IN HARMONY
It’s okay to make mistakes. Maybe you had no idea about any of this stuff. The classiest thing you can do is admit you didn’t know, and maybe even apologise if you find you were doing something disrespectful. A simple acknowledgement of the situation is pure gold, in my opinion. It diffuses tension and makes people feel that they have been heard, respected, and understood.
If you make this kind of acknowledgement conditional on people informing you of these things ‘nicely’ however, that is problematic. The fact is, this issue does get people very upset. It’s okay to get heated about it too on your end and maybe bad words fly back and forth. My hope is that once you cool down, you will accept that you are not being asked to do something unreasonable.
Remember that BINGO card above? It demonstrates how not to go about the issue. You and I both know this issue is not the end of the world. But it is an obstacle on the path to mutual respect and understanding.
Thanks for listening.
êkosi
Thanks, useful article. It can be inobvious even for natives. As a native male from a Plains nation, my father left me his headdress which he earned and told me I could wear it when he passed. Well he did and I wore it on one special occasion but have kept it put away because I grew up off reservation and wasn’t familiar with all the customs, but I instinctively knew it was something of a sacred object, or restricted as you term it. Eventually during a visit to the reservation I asked about it (among many other things) and of course it turns out the rule in our nation is the headdress is only to be worn by warriors, which generally means veteran status, or other notable service. Now as it happens I am among a very small number of modern persons who participated in a war party as a youth with my father and others when we were attacked by an enemy tribe, so according to traditional rules I am entitled to wear it, but I think it would be considered a grey area by some, so I don’t.
my name is tara and I come from an indian back ground as well my grand father was born a Seminole indian and so was his mom I did not grow up on the reservation but I do know indian customs and traditions very well I did get offended when I saw people wearing the head dress that were non indian to me I thought that was just plain disrerspectuf to the indian. the article I read explaining to that woman from Oklahoma I hope she got the message.
While I understand the headdress is important to traditional ceremonies, I feel there is a certain hypocrisy about the situation. Allow me to explain… there are many statuses across the world from every culture that are considered an honor. And yet no one blinks an eye when people that aren’t really entitled to wear attire for those statuses, do. In example, King, Queen, Knight, Priest, Pope, Pharaoh, Doctor, Soldiers, Emperor/ess,, these are a few of countless examples. So if it offends you that people trespass on your culture, and you want people to feel the same way about it as you do, perhaps you should also be offended for other cultures who are trespassed against.
I personally don’t believe there is any hypocrisy here. These people are native and they are defending their own culture and asking outsiders to avoid certain sacred articles of clothing etc. They cannot speak for all cultures except their own, and so they shouldn’t because an outsider’s voice should never be louder than those who possess the culture/ traditions in the first place. I’m sure that anyone who understands cultural appropriation would understand that, and I’m sure anyone who makes the claim to respect their culture would do the same and respect others.
Key word: sacred!
Very well said! And the article could not have been more eloquent and respectful for all concerned and for those who are offended by it, to each his own! You can’t please everyone, nor even try, it is enough to speak your own truth, not to cause debate but to overt it.An opportunity to see through the eyes of those who still even recognize the Word sacred and what that means and feels like.
I guess it would greatly depend on who’s LAND these trespasses were happening…SURE of course if I was in England,I would respect the Queen and if I was in Vatican City,I would respect The Pope and same with in Egypt,I would show respect wherever it was needed and I WOULD NOT argue with them about why,I would just do it,because isn’t that what RESPECT is about??
I sort of agree with Nikki above… And absolutely not meant to incite any heated feelings, but I think the best way to handle these situations is to use it as a positive. Rather than get upset, you can use these situations to teach others the meaning of your culture – take pride that most of these people are simply emulating a part of your culture that they find fascinating, on the flip side, people could take no notice of your culture at all…. Most people take everyday activities for granted, but the truth is that most of these activities have taken root from much more prominent cultural activities. Easter eggs for example, they come from the Ukrainian decoration of pysanka. I’m half Ukrainian, but I take joy in the fact that every year children and adults alike enjoy this activity. I’m also half Irish, but I’m not offended that you take part in my celebration of St. Patrick’s day- which actually stems from a real religious root in Ireland…. In my opinion, I would rather celebrate my culture with you, it makes me happy you have taken an interest in it – even if you have down graded it to a day you drink your face off on- I’d be the happiest red head Irish girl next to you cheersing you on. Drunk …. Maybe,….. Though that sounds like a bad Irish joke even to myself – yep- but I can roll with it.
Also, Neon feathers could rightfully represent any headress, not just native American either. There are numerous examples throughout history of feathers being used in decorative clothing because they are beautiful and reverred- roman helmets, Egyptian wear, paganism, Mexican artifacts, even Vegas dancers, so I think it’s safe to ask what’s condidered “traditional” and “exclusive” to ONLY Native American cultural items….? I saw a post yesterday ripping on Rhianna for wearing “Aztec” pattern tights as being Native Culture misappropriation …. As culturally concerned natives, how do plan on tackling that issue…?
The difference is how you choose to handle it. You have a monumental choice to make as a culture. Like many cultures before you.
Know in your heart that the headdress you’re ancestors made could never be eclipsed by some cheap store knock off- know that when you wear it with pride it holds and represents all the important cultural lessons of your people. the one the flouzy in the photo is wearing isn’t same and never will be. Just like crayons and dime store egg dye…
Thank you for this post ❤️
Show respect always.
👍
Why respect any murderer at all. Be it the pope, queen, king a soldier Etc
I think the author of this document is trying to make that very point in its general entirety. We need to be culturally sensitive to all cultures in order to maintain dignity, respect and appreciation. We have the same issues in my culture, I am Maori, Native to New Zealand, and whilst living in the USA we also had to educate our own people as well as others that misused the Haka (best known as a war dance/ e.g. before the All Blacks play Rugby) or knowing the appropriate time to do certain cultural rituals. Referring to an incident that happened a few years ago in Utah where a group of supporters attended a football game, their team lost and as the opposition exited the Football field, the supporters thought it a great time to perform the Maori Haka, (noting that this was not their native culture) not understanding that this was not the time nor blocking the entrance to the opposing teams lockers was the place to do it, coupled with the fact that the opposing teams was unfamiliar with this cultural ritual, lead the opposing team to think that this was an angry attack on their team and it did not end well. Police were involved with pepper spray and an outbreak occurred, This perhaps could’ve been avoided if the party who had performed this haka knew more about what they were doing, when it is appropriate and how and where it is done. This maybe a little far off from the original topic however I think it still comes to the same conclusion, knowledge, respect, appropriation and obtaining the right or permission is definitely a point that is being made, no matter what culture and what upbringing or background we have had or come from.
I don’t really prefer to get offended by things myself, because trying to control what other people do is pointless, however the Native American people IMO deserve more respect than all those others you mentioned. They were much more spiritually and emotionally intelligent. Kings, queens, popes, soldiers..etc… While Some of them may deserve respect for certain reasons, ultimately they have all contributed to greed and helped to establish a system that is completely illogical, but we have all been forced to participate. We do not live in harmony with the environment we depend on for our own survival. It is as if we believe evolution leads up to humans, and now it’s our job to perfect the universe, so we go around eliminating all of our competition, because the universe will be perfected once it revolves around human life. We withhold technologies and wisdom that could allow us to live in harmony because we are obsessed with power. So to mock these people who believe they deserve respect is almost necessary, while to demand respect for the natives and other with similar culture and beliefs, is also crucial.
You think Native Americans are different from the rest of humanity? you think they never did anything based on greed?
Wow, amazing point. Cuts to the heart of colonialism like a hot knife through butter. If only I had access to your scalpel-like logic before I ever wasted my time writing this.
Native Americans are not more spiritual or emotionally intelligent than other people, that’s actually a prejudice against people of other races.
You should buy a huge pillow so you can go cry into it for the rest of your life.
Native tribes fought and colonized each other for resources, were they not as greedy as the kings and queens of Europe? Not fully disagreeing with your point, just curious.
No.
Europeans = murderous genocide white men, stealing land and resources.
Cree tribe takes advantage of smallpox-weakened Blackfoot tribe to colonize land and steal resources in Battle of the Belly River (1870) = peaceful and spiritually superior.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Belly_River
Explain please.
No. Cherry pick all you’d like, you can’t overcome the fact that “white people” (Europeans) occupied, pillaged, and committed genocide on every continent on this planet. Trying to compare a trickle to a flood to assuage a reckoning? Na. Not interested in what you’re up to.
I’m not excusing the actions of the Europeans, but history didn’t start when Europeans arrived.
Indigenous tribes everywhere the Europeans arrived were already warring, killing and colonizing each other….it’s actually you that’s cherry picking by acting like what the Europeans did was exclusively horrible.
Literally the hell Europeans unleashed on the ENTIRE WORLD *is* unique. It’s incomparable to anything else, it is unlike any other history, its is larger and worse than anything that has ever happened. That you skip over that to try and claim Indigenous peoples were probably just as bad (I say probably because I do not for a second believe you know more than the tiniest little bit, if that, about pre-Contact happenings here), is mind-bogglingly obtuse. To then come from your seriously deficient perspective and lecture *ME* about understanding history, is really something else. Bye, Mike.
Resort to false equivalencies is always the last refuge of the scoundrel. It is a sad, old trick. How can you compare inter-tribal warfare among native populations (just as occurred in Europe) with mass genocide, rape, torture, starvation, and extermination of millions of innocent men, women, and children? Every square inch of land that we live, work, and breathe on today, was stolen from them. If you do not acknowledge this then you are complicit in the immorality and crimes against humanity.
Just try understand what is being said..have the respect to know nd listen with open ears…take in the information whole heartedly…we know who is who in this world..we don’t run around claiming who we aren’t….don’t go bashing other people’s culture..just made straight forward points. How can we stand up for others culture if we know nothing about…can only voice our own!
I would just like to point out that the reason why people ‘know nothing about’ Indigenous Culture is because for over 151 years there has been a highly active system to prevent the retention of the culture and to extinguish every trace in North America. This is why when it is brought up in such a manner as the open letter you can find confusion, defensiveness and (I would go so far as to call them) excuses to continue doing as you wish. That is the biggest highlight – EVERYTHING – literally everything even the kitchen sink and the cloths off their backs, has been taken.
Nikki – I honestly don’t know what you do and do not know so I am being clear by possibly stating some redundancies – a status symbol is something that is reserved for a select few, it being a symbol of a person’s status and all. By this act of assigning a significance creates a value for the the status and thus a value in it’s symbol. It is a custom of the Nehiyawak (The People – Cree) and in Metis (The First Peoples) to welcome and share. I think that under the right humility and respect, more people can learn about their Indigenous Culture, status symbols, and meanings of them too. Even with that in mind there are somethings that are revered and there are somethings that are sacred.
So to understand the importance of a headdress and to equate it to a king, queen, knight, priest, pope and soldiers is an indication of the gap in historical knowledge. I don’t blame you, these are facts that have been actively written out of school history curriculums and out of encyclopedias. I personally belong to both nationalities as the fore mentioned and I am still fighting everyday to reclaim the culture that has been denied of me and my family for over 5 generations. But, our people are remarkably resilient in wisdom and spirituality.
Lastly to you Nikki, I do feel offended for every other culture that is trespassed against. It genuinely hurts me because I empathize with them because I can relate to the experience for them. I saw first hand the effects and the continual torture that is recycled through the families. Having your children, your babies literally ripped out of your arms when a foundation of your culture is focused on nurturing your babies and children, to only meet them as an adult and expected to live around them as strangers. The torment of seeing them but not being able to understand them or connect with them would devastate everyone to their very core. I also feel really sad for the vast amount of white people who don’t have a culture that is theirs either. I also know what that empathy and that emptiness feels like wandering through life without a purpose. Because now knowing more about my culture and truly understanding how everyone in Indigenous Culture has a purpose and it is to provide for our seven generation in the future while honoring the seven generations in the past.
Cass – You get it. Thank you.
Aoi – I’m sorry but it isn’t in the culture to be greedy. Quite the opposite really as it was a custom for people to have something become legitimate and recognized for the family to host a potlach where they would be respected by the amount they gave to others as gifts. This was also a means of wealth redistribution ensuring sustainability, equity and respect. There are literally pillars of foundation around teachings of balance and harmony by giving before receiving and caring for the elders first as a custom of respect and honor. Therefore the massing of possessions or taking more than you *need* literally 100% goes against that foundation as a people and nation.
Alex – You speak the sad disturbingly realistic recant of the history here in North America.
âpihtawikosisân – is my hero and source of vicarious living. Thanks for the one laugh..”Bye, Mike.”
Now Mike… ohhh dear Mike… all I can say that you may or may not have heard before in regards to the exclusivity of the European hell on Earth is that:
– IT WASN’T INDIGENOUS PEOPLE HANDING OUT SMALL POX BLANKETS. (Hudsons Bay Company still sells such blankets if you wanted to purchase a washed one for a loved one this christmas.)
Oh wait I do have one more thing to add before I leave here… IT WASN’T INDIGENOUS PEOPLE USING AN ELECTRIC CHAIR IN THE BASEMENT OF THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL AS A “TOOL” FOR “DISCIPLINE”. (St. Anne’s in Ontario… for decades.)
Bye, Mike.
She probably is. She is defending her own and other like cultures. Simple as that. It is up to the Empresses of the world to defend their own cultures. Not that I have a CLUE what you mean.
Are you suggesting that if I dress up as a Medieval Nun for Halloween when my people come from Europe that it is OK, but that an aboriginal person can’t even though they were oppressed and brutalized by the same culture? I respectfully ask you to rethink.
Kings, Queens, Knights, Priests, Popes, etc… have not been colonized, oppressed, and had everything ripped away from them over and over by the people making a mockery of their tradition and culture either. Big difference
Exactly! there is a cultural context of oppression that Nikki is missing. You cant oppress a pope or a king by wearing their regalia, however if a group of people have been systematically oppressed and marked for death by another, is it okay for the oppressor to then wear the regalia of the oppressed? Its never done in context, respect or with any knowledge.
Actually Kings Queens etc. have been colonized. This was very common practice in Europe, actually everywhere in the world. Kingdoms would send their peasants to conquered lands to replace the native (not our first nations) inhabitants. This was very common practice. Further, there was a handful of kings and queens, your implications are that the “peasants” were all the same. If you are frustrated that you are losing your culture, know that you are not ‘special’ all cultures evolve, die, or change much like human genetics. Isolation is the surest way to cultural death.
I really don’t give a shit about your history (which, despite your claims, is not universally applicable, or useful), or your ideas about how we need to be more like you to avoid what is not cultural death, but deliberate erasure on the part of settler colonialism. We are not to blame for the violence your people are enacting.
Maybe we would not be so mad if you know the near genocide of natives did not happen. It would be like if someone killed you in your home and then wore your clothes as a costume, I am sure your remaining family would find that disrespectful.
I think historical context matters. I have no problem with Japanese people dressing up as Vikings or knights, and don’t think a Canadian kid playing samurai is an issue.
Given genocide and ongoing suppression of indigenous peoples, I can appreciate that an American or Canadian kid dressing up as an “Indian” is a different matter.
Nikki, do you run into a court with a fake law degree and bask in the judicial system while having only finished your third month at burger king? No. Recognize.
It is not NDN’s or indiginious people to stand up or to speak of other people traditions, again That too would be wrong & distectful! And this is Not some thing that just ” our Ancestors” wore as u mentioned, it is still a real thing a real tradition and a real chief or leader that wears this know the honor he has & values that! By these people doing this not only u disrespect the whole navive nation, but the elder that wears it!!
Sure they learned about respecting there Elders?
There are even taboos about people wearing camo’s some people find that if u haven’t fraught in a war or were in the military u shouldn’t wear that, as it is part of a uniform! But these are different arguments. And Some Undian nation are very modest, even @ events, gathering pow-wows we cover our shoulders , legs we Woman for most part wear skirts even if we are not performing, like in cerimonies or dancing!
Just like when people leave the Rez & come out to the world there are certain respects they do to honor themselves, I hold doors open for elders because I respect & honor them, I say please & thank- you too it’s not old fashion it’s respect!!’
By saying this headress ancestors wore, again it is still done, we are not the NDN’s I see in old western shows, & those are wrong images of Indians too, we actually live in houses, drive cars & order Chinese food, the difference is respect or @ least try to once we learn to respect All people & rhere customes, rhe Fact tha when this was posted to their webpage or Facebook, they now know, they choose to block that person with the very polite way of sharing this important information about our people, what do we think about them blocking, I guess we will all find out? I’m sure they will not change a thing I mean all the $$ put into producing, design ect, I’m sure it will continue & we will continue to fight these racist injustice not that we want to fight!! But after all we are Warriors, Sad take 1srwp forward & 1 back, look @ how the World Woke up to the oil drilling & water issues in Indian land, how people everywhere came to help & support! Wrong is wrong no matter what, once u have learn right from wrong, u cannot scream Ignorance, People continue to do this is simply saying we don’t care, screw your religion, well that’s what it is & that really is why this could be concidered ” A Holy War”
Who says they aren’t?
The difference here is that Native populations are among the MOST oppressed group in the world, whereas the examples you reference are almost exculisively from the oppressor. The other examples like doctor, soldier etc are professional titles not unique to any one specific culture, but span continents and cultures.
You seem to be a conflicted person. You claim to understand the importance of our traditional ceremonies but we’re wrong to be offended? First, this is about more than ceremonies – never mock the sacred! The headdress is sacred and only worn by men – chiefs or warriors. We use actual feathers instead of those corny cheap red and yellow costume feathers. The peace pipe is sacred esp among the elders. The circle for ceremonies is sacred as is how you enter, the direction you follow and how you exit. The talking stick is sacred and all must adhere to the one who holds it. There’s more but I hope you get the point. What people fail to grasp is the N8V world is still suffering. We still have land taken from the government. Treaties still broken. The abuse of my people has not stopped and the mockery continues.
Natives survived genocide-these Kings and Queens did not! I’d compare it more to dressing up as a holocaust survivor,100million natives were killed on US soil. The US Indian removal policy inspired Hilter…so you have to realize we survived a brutal genocide. Those other people you mentioned are actually in positions of power. Also Native American women are assaulted by non natives at alarming rates,and these sexualized outfits,put native women in danger. 1in 2.5native women raped (70%) by non natives! We are also going missing #mmiw and not kept on any official database. So you absolutely cannot compare native people to who you did..it makes zero sense. Also maybe listen to us,not deflect. Yakoke(TY)
I would bet a thousand dollars that your white
So, your argument is that it’s ok to trespass against Native Americans because other people trespass against other cultures? Really?
Only a white person would try to tell Native Americans what to be offended about and, if they aren’t, they aren’t allowed to be offended at all. Grow up.
You are missing the point of this article. Seriously.
That would dictate that the cultures were in the same place. If you are to make that comparison then you have to acknowledge that one culture had genocide carried out against it and the other did not. Is sensitivity to cultural practices really that difficult to carry out or understand.
Your rebuttal is trash. If it’s not YOUR culture to defend then why defend it? Furthermore that’s not the topic at hand here. It’s funny how the ones who disrespectful are always the ones who don’t like when they are disrespected. In this case the so-called white man and the $5 Indians are the most disrespectful trash in the planet. Yet you have the nerve to come here and talk about a people who have been utterly and blatantly disrespected, which indeed is an understatement, by your people and are continuing to do something and say “perhaps you should feel the same way when other cultures are disrespected”, well PERHAPS you and whatever European country you haul from should’ve left my people to live in peace? Where was the respect when your ancestors MURDERED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of peaceful peoples? Where was the respect when we welcomed you and fed you ungrateful bastards and taught you how to survive the harsh winters and gave you provisions when you had none? Leave it to the ungrateful, land stealing, women raping, child killing, treaty breaking, lying war loving and blood lusting red man to have an opinion on something that 1 has nothing to do with you and 2 be something you and your people still do to this day! At what point have we disrespected your worthless “culture”? The “contributions” to the world you and your people have given is death, theft, and destruction. And don’t think for a moment any of us have forgotten about the atrocities of your kind. Past or present! There will be a day of reckoning. And I for one pray it’s in my lifetime.
I agree completely. I feel wearing a native hat should not be n insult. It is a complement to the culture it came from. If one is wearing a hat and disrespecting it or using it to mock a culture that’s different. I would not want to disrespect anyone’s culture but my personal opinion is this an example of cultural diffusion
This isn’t a “Native hat”, and why comment on something you didn’t bother to read?
Try going to Japan & wearing an Emperor/ess honorable robes. Even in the US, it is illegal to wear the uniform of a soldiers donning stripes, bars, ribbons, or metals; even though loosely enforced.
Remember you are disrespecting Indigenous Peoples on their own land. Euro-peoples did not come in honor, they came to steal; & they did, & still do.
If we would have any respect for the people of this land, we would not be allowing them to be blasted with water cannons in subzero weather, so a pipeline can go through the land designated as theirs & sacred.
Nikki,
Kings Queens, Knights, Priests, Popes, Pharaohs, Doctors, Soldiers and Emperors were not stripped of their titles, lands, language and customs on a sweeping all encompassing fashion. Native peoples were and continue to be. Please do not tell me that you are unaware of this historical fact. If you are, then the hypocrisy is you “splaining” to everyone “how it is” when you are clueless about history. Native people lost entire nations when whites colonized them and so a small ask that non-natives now not trespass any further is not only understandable, it is beyond rude of you to demand that they respect in the same way many of the same entities that destroyed their entire way of life. It is OK to respect someone just the way they asked to be respected and it is more than OK to not need to possess their need for this respect. I cannot think of another culture that needs to be more compassionately listened to than our First Nations people and I for one will be listening and then following through with that ask.
White people make me absolutely sick to my stomach and I am as white as snow. The “tone it down there little lady” stop saying “naughty words” you don’t have a right to hurt our precious little feelings attitude of the mega white, therefore, must be mega right leaves me literally ill. White people, KNOCK YOUR ASS OFF THE SOAPBOX and for the LOVE OF ALL, LISTEN!!!! Whites are the single most destructive race on the planet and to think that non-whites have the NERVE to say “what about us” and then get their tiny little egos crushed is unreal. For those “policing” her comments you do realize that you are smarting from this because it is TRUE. We are in dire need of taking a seat and not telling the world how it is going to be, but then again, if we stop, we might lose our grip on power, so nah, we are going to keep crushing everyone with our politics, our racism our greed and our desire to snuff out anyone and anything that strays from the white agenda. From one whitey to another, seriously.just.stop.wearing.the.headdress. It is like Green Eggs and Ham which is simple enough for those of you too dumb to get it: Not with a feather, not with another, not with a bead, not with your greed, not in pink and not in green, not at Coachella shall you be seen. Not with your friends, despite the trends. Not with your splain, not for your gain. No you can’t wear what you want, now stop being so fucking entitled you over indulged dolt.
That’s their culture, all of which you named are a majority and historically colonize First Nations/aboriginal all over the world. You did not make a counterpoint you told someone to not get offended after being politically accurate and asking nicely. You don’t get to dictate or interpret someone else culture, especially if the group you are using have forced other group to assimilate to them. I am not Native and it is not my place to say either way but I will check you for being rude and wrong on a very respectful ask.
The difference is there wasn’t a time period where doctors, priests, kings, queens, etc were systematically killed or put into schools to strip them of those titles. If any of those groups faced violence due to their status they could resign, quit, step-down. You cannot remove or step-down from your lineage. The difference between what you are talking about and reality is oppression, violence, hate across continents and for the greed of the oppressor. Their request to respect their culture comes after generations have been regarded as less than human. That is the difference. The other difference is that there are laws in place to prevent people from impersonating many of the groups you mentioned. There is no law against cultural appropriation but it is in bad taste. You are free to appropriate and we are free to think you are doing so in bad taste.
Wow. You may want to educate yourself again. Almost an entire race slaughtered, the remaining forced to relocate from their homelands, forced to assimilate to the English who invaded this land, live in squalor, forced to never speak in their native tongue. The genocide of Native Americans can not be compared to any of the malarkey you are spewing….NO comparison whatsoever, the headdresses are only for male Natives that EARNED the privilege of wearing it; feather by feather. How dare you, silly thing.
People haven’t been told the truth, the schools have tough all lies about what really happen to the Native Americans. Never been tough the meaning of the head dress we need the Native people to start coming forth and educate the youth and the adults.
Hello everyone, I am looking for the opinion of any of you guys. I recently posted a picture wearing a headdress but it isn’t what you might picture as a Native American headdress. It has pink and purple feathers as well as beads (it’s not even mine). I was wondering what you thought about this commercialized version of the headdress, does it offend you? Do you mean that non-Indians should never wear anything resembling this? Additionally, I might add, I had no idea that it was a restricted item, and I am truly sorry if this offended you. I really need your opinion.
The headdress you are pertaining to still resemble the Native American headdress. if someone wear it with pride its ok but when you put it on and then start doing the tomahawk and putting on war paint and jumping around. Yes that offend me. WE ARE NOT YOUR MASCOT WE ARE A PEOPLE LIKE YOU YOU BLEED SO DO WE. That being said most people do thing like that and don’t even take the time the meaning of what they are doing. Lack of education. Don’t mean to sound rude.
ok lets get educated , how many are still practicing that tradition or religion ? i educated my self , 9000, as much as i dispice what happened to natives in north americas , what does it mater at this point that a few 1000 people from 7.5 billion people feelings are hurt , its over , the bad guys won , at this point practicing natives are the last ones of they kind , let people have fun
Go fuck yourself, genocidal apologist settler.
9000..? Where are you getting your numbers from, bud? Also, it’s not just offensive to indigenous people. A whole bunch of us non-indigenous also see injustice in entitled behaviour, because it points back to a long, gross violent history.
Wtf smart guy. A quick Google search reveals there are at least 6.5 million indigenous in the US and Canada. I’ll take bets on who’ll outlast who, and my money isn’t on whitey.
9000 its wikipedia , and its not natives or first nations but those who still follow that religion or tradition , i know many noth american natives (US and Canada), many of them im close friends, and it seems to me correct, most natives dont give a shit about tradition they either christian or atheist by now, none of my friends care like at all, of course every one cares about colonization , that is horrible, im just saying the amount of natives caring about this specific issue is rather small , burn down the white house i support that , i found if horrible what happened in standing rock , but feathers REALLY o.O
“It’s wikipedia hur hur”, yeah no, you don’t get to pretend you know what you’re talking about, sorry.
I remember my grandparents talking about their grandparents. So much has changed even for them. I was told as we’re they, etc down thru verbal stories in our clan that there were great warrior clans who raised and enslaved but most people’s were not like that. They considered dispite the fact that some were warring people’s that they had never seen the likes of the White Man in his attempt to rid the land of others not like him. But there was always hope in the hearts of my family that the White Man would one day see the light and change.
Glad you are sorry for your ignorance. But! It’s unacceptable in the this day and age of information to be ignorant when all written and oral knowledge is at the fingertips of humanity.
I am non-First Nations and see both sides of the coin here. Without using overt bias I will be so called devils advocate. Bright Side: though still politically incorrect this does ignite the flame to learn the history of First People of North America…. Flip Side: quite frankly political correctness is out of hand, it has created victims out of everyone. Wrap-up: These opportunities are being looked over as teaching tools as to what a headdress truly is and what it represents. As well as stop being so offended over everything (everyone)… these moments of being able to learn and grow get thrown away or marred by demands; it does nothing but fuel racial tensions that should not exist cause we all from same creator and same planet… we are all humans from earth, we are all brothers and sisters…. time to start acting like it. The only thing we can control is our reaction and that’s it. I personally would not wear a headdress without finding its proper context, but just because I am willing to doesn’t mean every one else has to as well, and how many non-first people traditions are used now by first people. Though not all traditions were willing, but that was a different generation of idiot not me… not everyone here now either. but attitudes toward that generation apply to us somehow, but we must be silent. Equality for humanity not if races, sexes, preferences… EVERYONE. Too many people that were not directly involved in injustices are trying to make others feel that injustice. That’s why we have a problem still. Don’t wipe history clean but start equality today instead of injustice for equality. I love ALL my Earth family…. but y’all a little short-sighted sometimes… bigger picture people!
*insert huge eye roll*
“Playing the devil’s advocate” is usually, as you have demonstrated here, really just about reinforcing the overculture’s sense of entitlement. You are doing nothing brave, nothing new. Your response here is literally just a repetition of the same old tired arguments you can already find in this comment section…but you felt compelled to speak anyway. Interesting.
I have been discussing the cultural appropriation argument issue elsewhere on the web with some pretty irrational people, but I thought I could come read some other sources for better context and education. I took the time to read your well thought out and effectively written argument. It is a shame that you cant find the patience and desire to educate in your responses. We get it. You’re pissed and happy to tell anyone that disagrees to go fuck themselves.
Lol, “go fuck yourself”.
I spent a lot of time putting together an explanation and an argument. Then, over quite a few years, I have had a bunch of people come and “disagree” in the laziest sense of the word…almost none of the people commenting bothered to engage the material I provided. It has been kneejerk “omg free speech” here and whiny “omg *argument I already dealt with* there”. In total between the two articles, we’re talking more than a thousand comments, 99% of which were by people basically whining about me being mean. You want me to be patient with that? For years? The same, tired, repetitious, intellectually dishonest arguments? Over and over? Get a grip. I highly doubt you would hold yourself to such a pointless and ridiculous standard.
So if you want to dismiss the pieces I wrote on this because you don’t like my tone, then yes. Please do fuck off in the most imaginative way you can think of, because you were never here to engage in the first place. You want an education? Pay me.
You know in your heart what your father would say, so follow that, and stand in your truth.
Scouting Honor Societies like OA and Mic-O-Say need to stop wearing the headdresses. I am a member of both, and I wear my Scout Uniform to all ceremonies and functions of both. I am hoping more will follow.
As the title says “An Open Letter to Non-Native’s in Headdresses”, I would like to expand on the above post…I’ve seen trendy photoshoots of NATIVE women in short dresses or tube tops wearing them and I shake my head at the lack of respect and understanding, just the same as when I see a non-native person wearing one. I often hear “but I’m native…!!” when approaching the topic of appropriation. I wish some of my peers would understand you don’t have to be non-native to appropriate. Lack of respect for sacred items within the native circle is a sad reminder that there has been some success in the assimilation efforts of colonialists, the church, the government, and society.
Miigwetch, anishnaabek anii!
Well put! 🙂
~ Jessica Tipisk Kahkakiw Northern & Plains Cree
Trackback http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/18/native-americans-cultural-misappropriation
Thank you for this informative and well explained article. Since I am from Europe it is understandably nearly impossible to achieve this kind of cultural awareness unless you intend to inform yourself. It is for example absolutely traditional for children here to imitate the looks of foreign cultures such as american natives on certain occasions like carnival.
Although I’m certain that no German would be offended if you wore a “Bundesverdienstkreuz”, which is kind of the highest national decoration for remarkable achievements or actions or any other military stuff, because it would be known that you probably had no idea of it’s meaning anyway, I am aware that it is again emotionally different when the act of imitation is related to somebody who is directly involved in your cultural issues.
Or in other words, it is harder to smile over the ignoramus when they nearly extinct your culture.
I encourage you to keep up your work on grooming your culture. I hope it will grow strong and healthy again, because cultural diversity is unutterably important for our planet, as the modern civilization is far away from being progressive and collected many design defects on the way.
Thank you for this post. I whole-heartedly agree.
It bothers me to see cultural appropriation that happens without any regard for the original purpose or culture. What comes to mind is a Tim Horton’s coffee shop in Nipigon Ontario that has a totem pole in its parking lot. As far as I know this location is not owned by a First Nations person from the Pacific Northwest. And while I am aware that a totem pole is not a spiritual object, it does have cultural significance that should not be taken out of context.
I feel likewise about inuksuit … part of Inuit and Dene heritage that have turned into airport giftshop earrings or tourist rock-piles at the side of the road. Dreamcatchers are similarily produced for retail sales by a wide range of tourist sites that assume it echoes a sense of native “Canadiana”.
I respect the craftwork of First Nations peoples, as I do that of any culture. I do not support trinket-buying or misappropriation of cultural identity, instead opting to enjoy other cultures as shared with me by those who have the right to do so.
Go to Mexico, the Aztec headress is for sale.
The local government had some factory produce them under contract for the dancers.
Flashback 30 years in the US, same thing.
Look at toys from the 50’s, to play the “good guy” was to be a cowboy, indians were the bad guy.
In Mexico, it was the government that pushed the headress and other things.
I have all sorts of Mexican government provided articles.
I Breath fire.
This is something that kids in Mexico learn.
It has nothing to do with race or tribe.
Kids just learn it.
And not just a skin color, kids.
Why?
That is what kids do.
Pretty sure you’ve left a similarly ridiculous comment before. The Mexican government is a colonial institution, and is heavily involved in oppressing Indigenous communities…but you want to hold up this as an example of what exactly?
“This is what kids do”…you forgot “when colonial governments exploit Indigenous communities and are founded on violence against them.”
Concerns of these symbols remind me of indigenizing trends in pop culture particularly churned out of Hollywood (e.g. Ke$ha). Other than that are slowly-growing Amerindian cultural-fashion memes (e.g. patterns, feathers and beads, “Indian chief in headdress” Warholesque designs) among new generations of non-Aboriginal/mixed girls.
“Don’t say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story. You’ve heard it now.” Thomas King
<3
I am going to try to build my own feathered head bonnet. I really like the concept and it is one I have always wanted to bring to life without relying on anybody but myself. It is often said that great artists borrow from one another – the bonnets are inspiring, but I cannot borrow the spiritual and cultural meaning that they bring to and develop, and highlight within the native communities.
If I build my own, using materials sourced from planet Earth without harming planet earth, I will wear it and it will be joyful and meaningful to me.
But if someone says to me “Hey, that’s cultural appropriation” I will say “No, I built this myself, it has my own personal meaning”. It’s ok that they made a mistake, and I’m glad that they are aware of cultural appropriation. They didn’t know that I crafted it myself – and sure – it will look similar to other bonnets they have seen from TV, documentaries, or real life experiences, but I will have purposely used my inspiration to make it suitably different by using dark green colour palette.
This is all hypothetical by the way – but, as you are very intelligent and knowledgeable about these matters, I think I would benefit greatly from your insight here – and I’d really appreciate it 😀
All the best,
Rex from Australia.
Apparently anything I’ve said or would say to you would be met with “No, I built this myself, it has my own personal meaning.”
So enjoy your privilege, and enjoy the fact that you get to speak over and ignore indigenous peoples. You certainly won’t be getting a pat on the back for it from us.
I am interested in this aspect of the conversation because it appeals to me as an artist, and what it means to draw inspiration from something without abusing your sources, if that makes sense. I draw, sculpt and work in film and in textiles. I am currently working on a series of artworks that mix images from movies and “fashions” that are deemed commemorative, or designed to honour something, as a commentary on how we misdirect our concepts of what is “honourable”, and we commemorate relatively meaningless things. My intentions are not actually that important as far as this conversation goes, but I wonder (and forgive me if this gets a little long winded): I remember reading about the auction of Hopi artifacts in France last year (and again, more recently), and being so disappointed that it turned out that despite the involvement of the Hopi, and the Smithsonian, and a lot of voices internationally that the value of these objects as commodities was considered by the buyers/sellers/auction houses to be greater than their value as both current and historical cultural objects to living people from whom they were taken unjustly. The objects were beautiful and the story was powerful. I did some drawings from the photos, and aspects of some of these images have found their way into many different aspects of my work, because they were so resonant. I have been influenced by lots of other things though, and so one detail from a piece of woven fabric from Northern Canada might smash up against some beaded headgear from Nigeria, or a pair of ski boots in the same image/drawing/textile piece (all of which i make myself – I don’t use “cultural objects” in my work unless I am collaborating with someone from that culture who makes them), and I wonder if what I am doing is disrespectful? I have always sort of assumed (and please, correct me if I am approaching this from an ignorant place) that to see something, and to be inspired by it, and to allow it to echo in your work was ok. If I were to take/buy/steal an actual object of value to someone, and cut it up or wear it, or make it into something else, or even just keep it, I could see that that would be devastatingly insensitive at best, and at worst kind of violent. I can understand based on what you said in your (very clear and insightful – thank you so much for that) article that a headdress is a merit of high achievement, and to see someone wearing it is disrespectful to the value of the achievement of the legitimate wearer – but if it is clearly a counterfeit, does it carry the same weight? If I draw a facsimile of a Harvard degree, it doesn’t come with the honour or the recognition the real one does, and anyone looking at it would see that (I have used fake and real travel papers in my work as well – which is not quite the same thing, but similar I think). Again, please excuse my ignorance, this is an honest question – where does it stop being an affront, and begin to be acceptable to be wearing/working with things that echo the aesthetics of the sacred object (in this case the headdress)? Like, if I were to wear a hat that had a ring of feathers around the band, or if I were to make something that resembled a headdress using torn denim and metal as a part of my work, is that still treading on sensitive ground in an insensitive way? It would never be confused with the real thing (like your suggestion about the medical degree), but is obviously inspired by it on some level. I’m sorry about the long winded reply, and I hope you’re still checking in here, I would love to hear your thoughts. Emily
Well said, Emily!
The style of the headress is pretty universally recognized. You can also research it through Google and your public library. I have many native friends and spoken to many in regards to this issue. Feathers are fine people. You can make a headband of some sort with your own symbols and colors but there are so many designs and options that do not need to look ANYTHING like a traditional headress!! Why do white people need to stir this pot? No one is shitting on your hippie crown or if you made a headband that has feathers. Its how you make it, its the design, and also how you wear it. Gawd I looked at the hall of horror and shame and cringed… How would any of you religious whites feel if I tore up a bible made a sexy dress out of the torn pages and created a headband with jesus crucified on the cross with rosary beads for decoration? I almost feel like doing it to make a point.. Yeesh….. 🙁
I’m not ever interested in taking or using sacred items from people or nations or cultures that aren’t mine. The only time I work cross culturally, I work collaboratively. I’m not a religious white, and I’m not trying to steal or accessorize anything. The reason I was asking about specifics (ages ago now), is because I was trying to work out how to understand what the visual language was, and how one use is discerned from another. Obviously the Coachella chicken feather headdresses are gross, but lots of Indigenous nations used feathers in headdresses and masks, in lots of different ways. Sometimes subtle ways. Lots of people where I tend to work pretty often use eagle feathers in headdresses and masks, but in totally different ways, because their culture has a different relationship with the animals and spirits, and their feathers, and they use the masks for similar but also very different things. Their history wasn’t colonialized by Europeans, but it was suppressed by the Soviets. I’m interested in the visual language, because some is shared, and I don’t want any of the work we’re doing to be misunderstood across cultures. Fwiw, I’ve found this now yearslong thread to be amazingly useful, even though it does kind of bring a lot of ugly stuff out of people who don’t want to listen. I hope I’m not one of those.
I’m sorry if what I was talking about was blunt or rude or ignorant, or all of those things. I’m still learning about this stuff, and I’m grateful for this blog in that it’s been totally revealing, as well as educational. I know that the boundaries we’re talking about seem really clear when looked at carefully. For people (like me) who are still learning about cultural histories and boundaries, sometimes respectful curiosity takes the form of too many questions/ nuisance questions etc. I’m still grateful for the replies.
You’re very welcome to be upset, but we don’t have to care. 🙂
Very true, Cisgender White Male, Shitlord Level 9000 😀
I think what needs to be made clear here is what exactly is specifically traditional to ONLY Native American head dresses. The problem that artist Rex above is citing is that feathers are an abundant resource, they are a naturally occurring item on earth – and the native Americans are not the only culture to use them in decoration OR in head wear. So if this argument MUST be made that no one else can copy feathers in a head band, then you MUST explicitly lay out what separates a Native American head dress from everyone else’s so that everyone else knows… This is important and should be addressed.
Is it colours? The style in which they are braided and assembled? The designs and symbols that go with them? What is specific th JUST your culture?
Let’s not be disingenuous here. There are plenty of visual examples provided in the Hall of Shame, and it has been made abundantly clear that Plains style warbonnets are the subject. If you are making or using a bonnet that looks like one of these restricted items, then don’t. I do not need to explain to you the minutiae. Frankly, it’s none of your business. You are not entitled to full details (including how the headdresses are made and the significance of every part) so that you can sit down with that information and decide whether you are going to choose to respect the restrictions that have been explained…or whether you are going to choose to exercise your privilege and not give a single shit in order to access something you want, regardless of how the originating culture feels about it.
So are you saying kids should only dress up as themselves? Or they are being disrespectful if they do not. Ban Halloween and every other holiday because it is offensive to someone.
Yes, that is exactly what I said, verbatim. Thank you for spending the time to figure that out, you are literally a genius.
hello rex.did any thing you read on the internet about the indian head dress register in your head. my grand father was a Seminole indian and so was his mom how could you be so dam stupid
That is very interesting. Considering headdresses simply as a restricted item like academic degrees as mentioned in the letter does not account for the possibility of parody.
For example, if a person of any race were to make an obviously fake “Hahvahd Colejj of Remediall Litaracy” diploma and put it on their wall, obviously very few white people, even those with intimate connections with Harvard, would see that as anything other than funny. Certainly the number of people who would be fooled into thinking the diploma was genuine is very small. Why would, then, an obviously parody headdress (e.g. with neon green feathers) be wrong even when it is so obviously “fake” that no Plains native (or, for that matter, non-native) would be deceived into thinking it was a real bonnet that was awarded for real war deeds? In other words, a neon-green headdress isn’t fooling anyone – everyone knows it’s fake.
Is the answer in the nature of parody? Is parody not a concept recognized in Plains cultures?
“Parodying” another culture, particularly one that has suffered genocide and all kinds of systemic cultural suppression and oppression is.. not classy at all. It’s just another way to flex a privilege muscle. If you wanted to learn enough about whichever culture whose objects you want to “use” or “parody” that you could use satire in any kind of meaningful way, why would you choose to direct the satire at, or make it operate through, an object where the people from that culture have said “just, don’t. We don’t use these things that way”? What makes your parody worth that exactly?
Hello there, I had some questions for you related to this… do you think that recreating a piece of art for educational purposes would be cultural appropriation, if it isn’t feasible to get an aboriginal piece? Or do you think it would be better to just avoid recreation altogether if you can’t have one made by a native craftsman/craftswoman?
Also, I am going to be going on a mission trip to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to help with some of the people there. If you were in my position, where would you start on learning about the culture of the Oglala Lakota people(this is coming from a person who has little knowledge of the culture) ?
This is really helpful, I’m wondering if the same thing applies for feather earrings ? A friend from Somalia gave me feather earrings as a gift from her home so at least I know they have not been mass manufactured from Forever 21 or something but I don’t want to wear something that might even be perceived as cultural appropriation. What do you think?
Probably fine.
In your hall of shame, you have a lot of traditional tattoo art. It all depicts women in headdresses, but if it’s labeled “traditional”, it doesn’t mean that the culture being reflected in the art is traditional. “Traditional” or “neotraditional” is a style of tattoo art. I also find that wearing things that are sacred and creating art that only depicts sacred things are two separate issues. Art is expression, anyone is entitled to make it. A lot of things offends a lot of people; it’s impossible to make everyone happy. It’s very narrow minded to call art “ugly as christian sin”, as I’m sure you’re finding my comment very narrow-minded. But you’re entitled to your opinion. Don’t try to reinforce your opinion as fact because I do know a lot of people who don’t get offended by art depicting sacred cultural objects who personally DO reserve the right to be offended.
Blah blah blah.
I didn’t bother reading past the first few sentences, since you clearly haven’t put any effort into reading what I wrote about the issue.
Interesting assumption on your part. You seem to assume that someone who disagrees with you didn’t bother to read what you said. Perhaps that should go on your bingo card.
I have trouble with the assumption of cultural appropriation – Many different cultures have had similar ‘icons’; stacking rocks have been done by lots of different peoples at different times. Different peoples have made ‘totem’ poles.
Question – Which on this list do you object to – kids dressing up at Halloween as soldiers with medals, doctors, priests, cowboys, indians, native Americans/Canadians/Mexican/other indigenous people, national costumes from other countries?
Here’s why I assume certain people haven’t actually read what they respond to… They completely ignore the substantive points I’ve made and ramble on about freedom and ‘others do it too’, etc.
That’s very nice that you ‘have trouble’ with something, but I’m not wasting time engaging your ‘points’ when you don’t bother to engage mine. Read the article. Identify which argument you don’t agree with. Lay out where you think it goes wrong and why. Then we’ll talk.
This is honestly Discussion 101 and if you can’t operate at even that level, I’m not interested in what you have to say. Period.
IT’s not simply a matter of disagreeing with what you’ve said. They’ve read this article and the original commentor had also read your wall of shame, and rather than disagreeing with what you’d said, they were simply confused as to how it applied in some other cases.
If you’re seeking the end of ignorance, it might help to actually answer the questions of those trying to inform themselves, instead of insulting them and perpetuating the problem.
Have you seen how many comments there are on this?
I have addressed the same comments, over and over again. At some point, the onus is on you folks to think for yourselves, and not expect to have your hand held while you are gently led through the information yet again.
Honestly, stop whining about my tone. The article is pretty comprehensive, and a link is there to an even MORE comprehensive and detailed examination of the issue. That was me being clear and nice, with a lovely helpful tone. Crying in my comments because some folks are too lazy and intellectually dishonest to address the points I raised, gets you nowhere.
If your ‘support’ is predicated on me talking to you like a kindergarten teacher, judging every possible scenario for you so you don’t have to think, kindly fuck off.
Edit: this post was originally a bunch of racist invective. How sad that the person posting from the IP address of 67.159.191.98 in Los Angeles, California, doesn’t get a platform to be a disgusting, racist, piece of crap.
Thank you for this article! I found it fascinating – not only because this subject is current, but also because it offered me some new facts, interesting “inside information” ( well, sort of, here in nordic countries we really don’t hear or know anything about native americans ) and some thoughts from a person who actually knows these things.
I’ve always found your culture very intriguing – so again, thank you!
This is an old post but I had to wrote something. I found this text when I was looking for some headresses for the custom- party, because i find them beautiful. Immediatly after reading I stop looking and decided to wear something else. I want to apologize because i did not know this but now I do so obviesly I will not wear anything like that, ever. I from Finland ( Europe) so these things are not familiar to me but now they are and I will find out even more, because I want to know. My granma is from Karelia and I would not be happy if someone would wear their national dresses. i am really, really sorry.
I listened to an interview on CBC’s ‘Q’ with ‘A Tribe Called Red’ discussing how they feel when they see headresses showing up at their shows. It was an informative segment for me. Now I read your blog and I understand even more. Thanks!
As a very white, uncultured canadian female (even in my own Danish culture I find I’m in the dark), i greatly appreciate this bit of information. I am very inferested and have great appreciation for other cultures. I have always been particularly captivated by the Native culture and have a great respect for your people. Given the chance i would have loved to try on a headdress but now that i know i will simply respectfuly admire it. However i do wear my handmade mukluks with love and pride.
I thank your people for your beautiful culture.
I read your blog and I respect your opinion but it seems to me you’re the one who’s not open-minded. Referring to your comment to Courtney.
Being open minded does not require me to suffer fools.
Perhaps they wouldn’t need to be “fools” if you’d actually answer nicely. Respect is a two-way street.
Lol. I love how racist Settlers assume that their default approach is ‘respectful’ when it is anything but.
Racist settlers?.. Wow.
Oh wow, you lost all the points for me here. And you asked for respectful conversation…
Now I see this “cultural protectiveness” only as xenophobic jackassery.
“I was totally going to respect your wishes as someone from the culture that this symbol originates in, but I didn’t like your tone, so fuck you, I’m going do whatever I want!”
Ah. Privilege.
Your article was so well-written and filled with great points. I had much respect for you after reading. However, in the comments you act like a whiny and arrogant child who has no sense of how to have healthy discourse. I suppose it is easy to hide an ugly personality with a well put together article and fancy words.
If you only listen to the opinions of marginalised peoples when they speak sweetly to you, don’t pretend you will ever be an ally worth working with.
You need to understand our anger, and where it comes from. You also need to understand how many of the comments I am responding to ‘rudely’ literally perpetuate colonialism and violence against Indigenous people.
You are missing a big piece of the puzzle, and if all you do is label it “rudeness” then you haven’t learned a thing.
I don’t think that’s what cassidyrex meant at all. Like I, cassidyrex seems to have thought your article was full of great points, but your attitude *to others* in the comments is awfully rude. It’s a judgement based on what you’ve said to these other people, even if their points are as reasonable as yours. There is a difference between understanding, accepting and acknowledging your anger as a people and then there’s accepting being spoken to by a rude individual. If you wouldn’t put up with it, why should anyone else?
I honestly don’t give a shit about you, or anyone else, comparing flat out refusal to actually address the issues *politely* laid out in the actual article, to my complete (and apparently rude) refusal to coddle folks. I’m not your spirit guide, I’m not your pacifist squaw, I’m not your sweet little soft-spoken Tiger Lily. Address the points in the article, or to be extremely clear: FUCK. OFF.
I found your blog in a quest to find out more about the metis nation. Initially I found it interesting and stimulating. However,your responses to individuals with opinions differing from yours have destroyed your credibility and worse yet, revealed your self-centred intolerance and lack of humanity.
Cry more.
Jesus!!! Apigtawikosisan! Reading the article and the comments, I understand your frustration, even as someone from central Asia who has no idea about the indigenous American culture and for me to see someone outside of my culture wear traditional attributes sparks nothing more than pride, but I also see your point and yes, you do have a full right to be rude here in the comments. Even I felt your frustration.
I, Like the others, believed that your article was well written, until I read the nasty things you have said since. Why would anyone choose to seriously consider your points when you treat them like shit for asking questions or having a different opinion. As the writer of the article, you have committed to giving people information on something you believe in, and in your article you very respectfully did so. This is something that you should be carrying to the comment section. even if you have to “answer the same questions repeatedly”. If you want us to understand your anger, then maybe you should address us in a way that won’t make us think you are a bitter scumbag that can only speak through anger. The points in the article were addressed, but all respect was lost for you and your points once you started angrily pounding away at your keyboard because because anyone dared open a discussion with you in the comments. So heres what I have to say to you: you can kindly FUCK OFF, your article is has become worthess since you can’t seem to provide any support in the comments. You don’t like that I wear a headdress? FUCK OFF, because I won’t listen to a damn thing someone as rude as you has to say about it. Maybe someone else will come along and can explain to me why wearing a headdress is wrong. until then, YOU are an unreliable source. haha, so funny you put so much energy into something you are passionate about and then destroy the chance you have to make people understand your anger and hurt by treating them like shit.
Cry some more please.
YOU WANT A FUCKING COOKIE OR WHAT? STOP WHINING! Why is everyone such a DRAMA QUEEN AND DRANA KING IN HERE?! HOLY FUCK!!!!
You Americans are sooooo INTOLERABLE TO EVERYTHING! Unless something is sugar-coated and put in your mouth, you won’t take it. How are you going to survive? Poor, poor you. This must be a really tough work for you.
I meant to say “world”, not “work”. You are just an ugly troll who didn’t even bother reading the article. About you comment: “maybe you should address us in a way that won’t make us think you are a bitter scumbag”. The author doesn’t HAVE TO address you in any way and frankly, doesn’t give a shit about what you think about her. This is NOT your Starbucks customer service. But hey, it seems your consumer brain doesn’t realize that. You want your ass licked thoroughly, go somewhere else. Seems these days over-sensitive fools like yourselves here can’t even distinguish “rudeness” from frustration. Frustration that ALL OF YOU CAUSED by monotonously repeating same stupid questions. Here. Well, guess what! A person can take only as much. The author is NOT a robot. If you’re looking for a kindergarten teacher to “guide” you through every ridiculous question, you’ve come to the wrong place. Grow the … Up.
It’s wrong because you haven’t earned it. People work their whole lives to get a headdress and it’s not a show piece. I’ve done extensive research,even though I don’t live in USA, and I understand why it’s important to them.
Now while I do believe that protecting their land and people is more important then crying Cultural Appropriation every time someone wears a headdress, we have to understand that because it holds significance to them,we can’t wear it.
Thank god for allies like you, who understand that we simply do not have our priorities straight, but that we must be forgiven for this for some reason.
Ugh.
Don’t make a article trying to be the “voice” if you flip shit that easily. Calling people names and telling them to fuck off…Lol disrespectful! Yet your article is practically all about respecting your people… Good luck with that…Lol
Looks like you need to read up on tone policing: http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Tone_argument
“These headdresses are further restricted within the cultures to men who have done certain things to earn them. It is very rare for women in Plains cultures to wear these headdresses, and their ability to do so is again quite restricted.”
So if a woman does what a man would do to earn a headdress, how is she honored? Is there a female equivalent that men aren’t usually allowed to wear or are women just held to a higher standard?
It is rare, but it does happen. Often female soldiers will wear what is traditionally thought of as male regalia for example.
In that case, isn’t it not ‘male regalia’ but ‘soldier regalia’? It doesn’t sound like women are actually banned from wearing it at all.
It’s a bit more complicated than that, but either works.
that still doesn’t entitle you to wear it.
I am so grateful to have stumbled on your blog. This is so enlightening. But more so, I can comprehend the tone and emotions in your writings. I have great respect for indigeneous people all over. I am from India (from a local indigenous community called ‘East Indians’ in India) and our local people are fading away in the huge mass of diverse religions and cultures among the Indian ethnic peoples there – You may have never heard of the ‘East Indians’ of the nation of India. We have very little national presence, let alone global presence. I have also lived for 10 years in NewZealand and admired their indingenous people called the ‘Maori’ and their customs and their ongoing struggle for equal recognition and not just reservations. Sending you my warm heartfelt greetings to you all.
This letter completely disregards the fact that most people wear things simply because they like how certain articles/items look. It usually has nothing do to with honor or respect. The headdress itself may be a symbol of an achievement, but it is itself not the achievement. Frankly, it only holds as much value and authority as one decidedly places on it, just as words have only as much value and meaning as you place on them. One person can hold a rock and feel it is the most important thing in the world to them, while another will look at it as just a rock. It’s a matter of perspective. To chastise someone for their own perspective isn’t a trait of open-mindedness, but rather one of intolerance. To call a contradicting perspective “disrespectful” is itself disrespectful. That kind of thinking is something that creates boundaries, not something that promotes unity or individual freedom.
The Golden Rule is “treat others as you would like to be treated” – that goes both ways. If I wear something that you like, I feel you should be allowed to wear it, too, regardless of what it is. Likewise, I feel I should be able to wear something that you do if I like how it looks. If you feel I follow traditions that are silly and you want to mock me, I encourage you to do so. That is your right as a free, living being. It’s 100% my choice if I want to be offended by your actions or not. Nobody controls my emotions but myself, and if I disagree with what you think, say, or do, why should I become upset? It would be selfish of me to expect you to think like I do. Instead, I choose to respect you and your views, no matter how much I disagree with them. You are fully capable of doing the same.
And by the way, I have Native American heritage.
You have hit enough points on the cultural appropriation BINGO card to win a prize, no doubt.
You claim some vague “Native American heritage” (we don’t actually identify that way, btw) in order to excuse yourself and others. You call upon an extreme form of cultural relativism wherein nothing has any meaning but what the individual engaging in the behaviour gives it. Of course, this extreme form of cultural relativism completely ignores the reality of social structures and norms, and the way in which societies give things importance because we do not exist as individual units.
Ugh, no. Your entire post reeks of idiocy, to be frank. This is not an issue of individual perspective. Someone, give this person what he won for playing Cultural Appropriation BINGO.
Wow. I have to say a lot of your points are valid but they are lost in your bad attitude. You cannot speak for possibly every tribe so please don’t act like you do. You’re marginalizing other native peoples while at the same time dismissing the issue of cultural misappropriation of other cultures. You act like a child anytime anyone disagrees.
You made absolutely no attempt to engage any of the points in the piece, you simply invoked some vague notion of complete and total individual freedom. You do not have complete and total individual freedom in the real world, and despite your adherence to the notion of individual cultural relativity, we do indeed restrict certain things in human societies. You may not like this fact, but your argument against it is not at all compelling, as you essentially attempt to ‘think restrictions away’ without ever engaging with why they exist in the first place.
And with your last petulant rant, you have indeed achieved BINGO!
I’m getting a headdress tattoo because I think they are beautiful. I read your original artical as well as researched the meaning behind them so I know what they are about… and I couldn’t care less who it offends! So put that in your pipe and smoke it! Ha! 😛
Hey, at least you’re embracing your racism instead of dressing it up in faux-honour! I prefer an honest racist to one who hides it.
I like how not adhering to your cultural norms is “racist”. It may be insensitive, you may not like it, and you are free to be offended, but how is not following Your social structures and norms racist? Structures and norms that in many aspects are exclusionary in nature, of which good example would be rewarding women soldiers with “male regalia”. I have been thought to treat everyone the same, no matter gender, age, race, social background. But respect has to be earned and the attitude you have displayed in comments here does not make me feel any regarding your person.
In my humble opinion it would be more reasonable to simply point out that people who wear such imitation headdresses have nothing to do with Native Americans. Using terms such as racist to describe everything you don’t agree with simply devaluate the term, a term that should not be taken lightly.
The racism comes from a long history of outlawing Indigenous cultural practices such as the potlatch and sun dance. The racism comes from the Prairie pass system which made it illegal for natives to leave the reserve without permission and was deliberately set up to prevent social gatherings and political organization. The racism is in the attitude that our culture is yours to commodity, take from or deny us via colonial structures of power. Engaging in the appropriation and tokenization of our cultures is a proud colonial legacy, and only the wilfully ignorant can ignore that. In an earlier comment I addressed your ridiculous claim about ‘sexism’ re: the headdress, and you also obviously missed the part where it was explained that female warriors also earn the headdress.
Fuck off with you denial of colonial history and present and fuck off with your tone policing as though refusing to engage ignorant ass racist pricks is somehow equivalent to structural racism itself rather than merely the appropriate response.
Most of all, fuck off for not actually engaging the argument.
The only racist I see on this page is the you. Did you ever have to get a prairie pass, or deal with 99% of the things that NAs did in the past? No, you didn’t. You’re just an angry, entitled twit who’d be pissed about something else if you didn’t have this. The only thing you’re accomplishing, is being enough of an obnoxious ass as to make people acquire a headdress just to piss you off. Pretty counterproductive. You’re not going to foster respect for a culture by being a jackass.
I’m not about to share any of my experiences of the experiences of my family with you. Thanks for coming, see yourself out!
Edit: This person likes to spew racist, homophobic bile. What a shame they don’t get to share their opinions freely with this blog as a platform! Posting from 58.164.130.57 in Australia? Huh. Interesting.
Jacob, the Golden Rule “treat others as you would like to be treated” can also be interpreted in a less individualistic way that responsibly considers the impact that one’s acts have on another person. The argument that ‘nobody controls my emotions by myself’ propagates the destructive dualisms in our society, usually promoted in neoliberal societies in order to continue unjust power imbalances and a Darwinian-like view toward ‘the other’. How about considering a more humane outlook that is based on our interdependence? How much harm would it truly do to us to not wear a headdress? Not much, I believe. Especially in comparison with the harm it may cause to another person, considering the perpetual colonial relations, cultural genocides and oppression Indigenous peoples have faced for centuries. It’s about balance, harmony and reason, rather than merely stating one’s rights to unlimited freedom of expression for everything.I have no religion, though I do believe in one God-Goddess (i.e. The Creator) and ‘the Golden Rule’. In this case, the Golden rule would be that I wouldn’t want wear something that may hurt another person, especially considering the above circumstances. The other’s well-being also means our well-being, because we’re all ONE.
Jacob. What you wrote sounds like a BIG, BIG excuse to further misappropriating and misusing sacred things. I do see your point. And some things in the article are a bit exaggerated. And I feel that some things, like a white person wearing a t-shirt with cartoon Indians is offensive, while an Indian person wearing a t-shirt with cartoon cowboys isn’t. I understand that. But why would you and others in the comments here keep pushing and pushing the agenda? If the Natives don’t like you wearing the headdress, why would you argue? You may not believe in god and deities, but to them Nature is god and the headdress is something sacred. It’s not a matter of pride and stubbornness from THEIR side, it’s just the headdress has sacred values to THEM. And when you put it in for Halloween without even knowing the meaning of it, you disintegrate its sacredness, without even knowing its meaning and purpose. These days people don’t even know how Halloween originated and they still celebrate it. Without being aware that it is the same as celebrating Holocaust. But that I a different topic. So have some respect. This is a sensitive topic you wont understand.
Jacob, I agree with your opinion. A model wearing a headdress is not implying that she fought in battle (or similarly earned her headgear). It can just be a fashion statement.
I would like to make beaded headbands for my Cree children as part of our study of aboriginal culture. We will not be including a birds worth of ceremonial feathers, but I will add one feather of a colour I deem appropriate to their spirit and nature.
At what point is ‘cultural appropriateness’ crossed? When someone one gets offended?
An individual cannot give permission to access something that is communal. The ôkimaw-astotin is a communal symbol; it belongs to the individual Nations that use it. As for your final question, this article and the longer article linked to at the beginning both explore the boundaries in great detail. At no point is “when someone gets offended” offered as the criterion.
But you got offended in your replies to several people with differing opinions.
I agree that “an individual cannot give permision to access something that is communal”. Then an individual cannot get offended either,
One does not lead to the other.
People can have differing opinions. This does not make all opinions equally valid. The opinion of someone outside the culture to which a restricted symbol belongs, for example, is of no consequence when it comes to determining whether or not accessing said restricted symbol is offensive or not. Nor can the individual opinion of a person from within the culture to which a restricted symbol belongs render a communal symbol unrestricted.
How can a ‘culture’ , not even a specific band, have the right to restrict a symbol. Someone is speaking for the Indigenou people of the Ameticas in saying that only certain ‘authorized’ people get to wear that symbol.
…
There are a handful of First Nations who use the ôkimaw-astotin, the war-bonnet. Literally a handful. THESE are the specific people saying “this is our restricted symbol and you don’t get to use it in any way that is not offensive, without our permission.” This restriction includes other First Nations who do not have the right to wear the war-bonnet without permission.
What are your thoughts on Iron Eyes Cody?
I recall when imitation used to be the biggest form of flattery, when did that change? Are we truly suggesting that we can only have heroes from our own race? If so, then I believe we have become the racist we wished didnt exist. Lets celebrate and embrace our culture as well as that of others. As soon as our culture becomes ours alone then we have nothing.
This is not imitation, it is ignorance. Please do not claim to be paying homage to cultural symbols you are too lazy to understand, or pay any actual respect to. If you just want to rip something off, and you don’t care if it bothers people, own that. Do not hide behind false claims to be ‘celebrating’ what we are telling you is not yours to do anything you wish with. You can’t pretend to be respecting us, while you actively disrespect us.
does it make you feel better to sit on your computer and bitch about things because you have no life ?
People are allowed to do what they want and if someone wants a head dress tattoo they can get one and shouldn’t have to explain the meaning behind it to everyone , your pretty much saying anything anyone non native does that has anything to do with native culture is racist , it’s 2014 so get with it your not in charge anymore nor will your culture ever will be again so take what we do as a compliment , and if a non native person has a native friend they obviously respect them and don’t use them as excuses for the things they do , your delusion 🙂
Thank you for sharing your unapologetically racist, colonialist opinion. Though it is a breath of stale air, never let it be said I don’t let some of you folks rant and rave away…always good for a laugh at least!
As enlightened as I am after reading your article, and with the risk of being called racist and winning Bingo, your attitude is atrocious. Your article was very well written, and was more fact and less opinion, which is definitely debate 101. however each reply you make to each comment only makes me, as well as others, lose respect for you and your opinions. If you want respect, you should learn how to give it.
Poor you, how horribly you’ve been treated.
Please, you have no more right to be here than I do. Colonial. How is that not racist?
Lol, yeah ok there.
Hello, Paul. I have no links to this culture, and I really have no business replying to this. I am no expert on the subject. But I would like to point out several statements in the above article that answer these questions already. You seem like someone who wants to create an intelligent discussion, so I’ll try to give you one.
Imitation is flattery when you are respecting the one you are imitating – for example, looking up to a role model, or taking on the fashion style of your friend. But the imitation mentioned in this article comes with disrespect, and is actively promoting harmful stereotypes. Many of the photographs found online of others wearing headdresses are of people being drunk, smoking, nude, etc.
Sharing culture is great! But only when you know the significance of what you are inspired by. And there are things that are off limits. As the author mentions, it is like the difference between wearing a hoodie and producing a fake war medal. Pretty much, compare and contrast picking up a few traditional recipes from my mum and this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQR01qltgo8
Yeah. I’m Chinese-Canadian, and I love sharing my culture with my friends – cooking I’ve picked up from my parents, the many old legends I’ve read, trying to figure out calligraphy together – but there are things that are off limits. Sometimes, with our melting pot/tossed salad sentimentality, our thoughts of being multicultural, we cross the line from celebrating and sharing to mocking and appropriating.
The only thing I can come up with to compare this to is wearing the pope’s clothing and going binge drinking with your buddies. All the while taking selfies and with the captions “So ironic lol” and defacing a church. You may not be Christian, but I hope you understand the sentiment.
It’s even worse when you do this with minority cultures, because it’s drastically less likely for someone to call you out on it.
I’ll admit that the tone of the author’s reply is harsh – but she’s been dealing with this for a long while, putting up with bullshit responses that only mean to further degrade her culture. Yours is just another in the list (the few comments I’ve read throughout this website often have similar sentiments to yours). There is a long history of this crap in Canada, and even today, the government is refusing to do anything. I don’t have any links on hand (although you could just go through this blog), but even our history textbooks (forced down to a PG version) record this.
The difference between celebrating culture and destroying is a hard line to walk, and yes, it’s very possible to offend others. It’s a byproduct of our society. Apologize if you do. Strive to be better.
TL;DR – Being ignorant isn’t the same thing as sharing culture.
I would equate it more with Catholic Communion and using the Eucharist as crackers… and the blood of god to get your drunk on. Oh I’m agnostic btw but went to Catholic school.
Or wearing a purple heart that isn’t from a family member to a 4th of July celebration or memorial day celebration. Or just claiming you are a veteran when you are not even ex-military.
Thanks Azymic. I think your comments add a lot to the discussion and will be very helpful to those looking for help understanding. Peace.
Note the significant difference in our approach. I ask questions with the hopes of engaging an opportunity to learn from each other. You reply with accusations and attempt to denounce who I am as a person! You wish respect by being disrespectful? I believe you have a lot of anger and unfortunately that can blind a person to truth and understanding. Perhaps it would have been prudent of you to ask of me if I am an Iriquois Chief or European Pauper first? Have you tripped over you anger and made assumptions of who I am?
Yes yes yes, you are special, and your arguments and tone policing are special no matter how many thousands of times they have been rehashed by others. You deserve time and consideration and engagement despite the fact that you did not address a single point made in the article. You merit celebration of your radical ideas of harmony, while you blithely wave aside the specific reasons given as to why certain things are disrespectful. I deeply apologise for not getting a sample of your DNA or giving due reverence to your individuality before I lumped you in with every other shithead who says the tired crap over and over again without a shred of intellectual integrity or consideration of the material presented.
We aren’t a “race” we are individual nations, and having someone claiming to be native going, “I personally don’t mind, go ahead!” isn’t all that compelling. You don’t get a pass on ignoring the specifics here, or creating straw-arguments (omg we’re not going to let anyone access our cultures ever!) any more than some hipster does.
Edit: I celebrate my racism, and add smiley faces to show how little I care about the ignorant, vile, racist things I say, aren’t I cute?
Thank you I believe that I understand and I am grateful. I need to research and study, understand more then copy and duplicate. My culture is vastly different from yours and I will try to learn more
my friend is going to a fancy dress party as the lone ranger and asked me to go as tonto or kimosabe. Am I ok as long as I don’t wear the headdress ?
No. Not it’s not.
I think the problem here has nothing to do with the headdress, and more to do with the reality or idea that the show itself was pretty racist and disrespectful to the native people themselves in how the characters were depicted and not as much the culture of the people. Maybe try to convince your friend not to go at all as the Lone Ranger. If he insists maybe he should go it alone.
to Nigel…. Don’t do it….. go as Silver instead…..
so if it is culturally rude to wear a headdress, what are some alternatives if any? I really enjoy the beauty of the headdress, and my original plan was to wear one for senior crowns ( most/all wear crowns from burger king) but I wanted to do something different- a headdress ( before I knew the symbolism and meaning). I still want to do something different, and its very hard trying to let go of the headdress, is there a way to meet in the middle without offending anybody. would it be ok if I wore it once or no?
No.
ok how about this: http://folksy.com/items/4392499-Frida-Vibrant-feather-headdress ??
If you want to find something different to wear, consider looking into you own cultural heritage, rather than borrowing from someone else’s. If you have a european heritage, there’s literally hundreds of years of styles and ideas that are well-documented and unrestricted. No one has to steal stuff to look good.
No no no. The last thing America needs is more celebration of European heritage. That’s part of the problem.
I think the point of that comment was that people of European descent don’t need to be using other people’s cultural styles and symbols. A lot of people claim they are just trying to fill a cultural void, when really, they could be looking to their own cultural backgrounds for inspiration. It’s not more celebration of European heritage, it is an alternative to constant cultural appropriation.
This^^^
My apologies for not putting it this clearly.
Normally I would ignore this but it’s not fair. Who are you tell me that I should only wear clothes or take inspiration from my own culture?Why, pray tell me, can’t I take inspiration or wear clothes from another culture? And I’m not talking about just Native American culture.And no I don’t want to wear a feathered headdress, there’s no reason to.
I just told you who I am, and centered my discussion in my own culture.
I didn’t think that I was being confusing, though you have apparently misunderstood my argument. Perhaps reading it again would help?
I have a few questions and I am not trying to antagonize I am simply curious. You said that “for the most part headdresses are restricted items” could you provide some examples of situations where that is not the case? Also you stated that there are on occasion people awarded with a headdress in a matter similar to an honorary degree, is this honor exclusive to First Nations? If it can be awarded to non First Nations peoples how would that individual go about wearing it without being offensive? Or to be more clear, without people making the assumption that they are being offensive when they have the special permission you discussed above. You also stated that it would be appropriate to depict a “real native person in a war bonnet” but you said in the previous sentence it would be offensive to “depict a non native woman” so I’m asking if it is in fact ok to depict a native woman in such fashion? Lastly you stated that it would be offensive for a native person who has not been awarded a headdress to wear one. But it is okay to depict a native person who has not been awarded a headdress as someone who has? So if I am a native male model who a artist has made a painting of wearing a headdress, would that not be offensive to my fellow natives to see a painting of me wearing one when they know I have not been awarded one? Thank you for taking the time to satisfy my curiosity and Thank you for your informative letter. I apologize if my questions offend in any way, I am simply trying to understand this issue as much as possible.
I have a follow-up to this that I am curious about as well. Going through the hall of shame, it seems as if all headdresses are off-limits where some don’t even look “native” (what is the correct word) at all. They are just feathers in a band done up in some way. But the original labels are missing so it is hard to tell if the image itself is offensive or if calling it Native is what makes it offensive.
Edit: “Waa waa waaa I have special opinions, please pay attention to me.”
Thank you for writing this. I see these idiots at North Country Fair every year but I don’t have the energy to explain to them how stupid they are. If its alright with you, I want to print a few of these off and hand them out when I see them, and hopefully make them think twice.
Feel free! I’m sure plenty of them aren’t going to care, but it can’t hurt!
Thank you for writing this post! I’ve just moved to Canada from Scotland, and want to learn as much as possible about cultural respect in relation to First Nations while I’m here. Step number in not being a doosh: don’t appropriate First Nations headdress. Got it. I’ve subscribed to your site for more insights!
I appreciate that there is legitimate feelings of offence here, but your argument is completely flawed. This idea of “restricted symbols” only applies to people trying to pass themselves off as something they are not. True, you cannot wear military decoration and claim you are a hero, and well beyond that, it’s not acceptable to pass yourself as something you aren’t in general. You can’t put on a collar, lie and say you’re a priest. But no one who wears a headdress at a tailgate party is claiming they are a respected Native chief. It’s a costume. And when it comes to fun and costumes, there is are absolutely no symbols in Western culture that are so sacred they can’t be worn. You are free to have fun with all of our sacred icons… you can dress as a rabbi, a priest, a military hero, the president, Mother Theresa, a free mason… go nuts. The only one that might get you into hot water is dressing as a Hells Angel, in full colours. Like you, they also don’t like people having fun with their sacred adornments.
We aren’t talking about Western culture, where everything is up for grabs and nothing is so sacred it can’t be worn and made light of. We’re talking about why Indigenous people say it is unacceptable for non-native people to appropriate these symbols. The analogies to important symbols in Western cultures are just that…analogies, to give people a sense of what these symbols mean in our cultures. They are not mere adornments or fashion statements to us. They have deeper meaning. If people wish to make light of that deeper meaning and engage in disrespectful behaviour while participating in colonial stereotypes, no one is preventing them from doing so. What we are doing, however, is making it clear that we feel disrespected, and that this is not okay by our standards. Feel free to ignore this, but don’t bother trying to convince us you mean no harm now that you know this is how we feel.
Not sure that I agree with you when you say that for Western culture ‘ . . .everything is up for grabs and nothing is so sacred it can’t be worn and made light of”. Not while we continue to struggle with a load of symbols and regalia left over from the Second World War that are still highly toxic (and therefore very sacred) at any rate.
Agree with the general direction of your argument, though.
A lot of it comes down to building trust between communities which means showing some respect for things that others deem significant, even if you don’t.
I don’t entirely agree with that argument either. Having grown up in a military family, I am well versed in what insignia is appropriate for a non-military member to wear and it is extremely limited. It would never be appropriate for a family member of a Purple Heart recipient to wear the award.
What I suppose I don’t understand is the artistic interpretation of war bonnets… in our culture, you could make up any kind of certification parchment or honorary medal and flaunt it proudly. By drawing a direct comparison, I would think it would not be an issue to create and wear a fantastical version of a feathered headdress that only mildly resembles the original. But perhaps my mistake would be in attempting to draw a parallel between two very different cultures any symbols. Thoughts?
I think this seems to get to the heart of the issue…for Native people feathers are not a “costume” for dress up play time. Rather they are an important symbol earned by military veterans and even college graduates. They demonstrate commitment to the community, hard work and personal sacrifice. They are used in religious ceremonies and have been imbued with a powerful feeling or respect and appreciation. In recognition of this special relationship, eagle and other migratory bird feathers may not be owned or possessed by non-natives here in the US by federal law.
This is quite different from a perspective that sees feathers as party toys…and you are right that many in the west generally don’t regard symbols are something particularly important (although the US flag, Constitution, places of worship and many monuments are respected). Its a cultural difference….but the reality is that Native Americans do regard feathers as special and note that feathers are worn by people who have earned the right to wear them.
I really wanted to learn from reading this.. but after reading through the comments and replies I just can’t respect anything you say because you are so negative and rude.It is truly terrible.
It is clear that lot of people feel the same way and are truly let down after seeing your attitude outside of the informative article that you took the time to write.
Please borrow from another culture and do some meditation or crystal healing.. I promise nobody will be offended.
“I really wanted to learn and grow but I couldn’t because you were meaaaaaan!”
Tone police elsewhere. It is not even remotely true that if we only spoke in the sweetest of tones we would convince people like yourself to change your ways. This is just another excuse to continue doing whatever you want.
I have a question. My father is a hunter he got a Turkey. I cleaned the bird. While doing so I de-boned the wings and are in the process of drying the skin. I planned on making a headdress of sorts. Not resembling a Native American headdress, but a large feather head piece. Is that inappropriate?
I would love to see an answer to this. I would like to know where the boundaries lie.
I enjoyed both the article and the tone of your replies.
Interesting discussion. We’ve just had one of these things flare up here: http://www.3news.co.nz/RV-removes-racist-poster/tabid/423/articleID/343126/Default.aspx?fb_action_ids=792255277452420&fb_action_types=og.likes
As for appropriation of Maori culture, there was a bit of a line drawn under that 30 or so years ago. Racism never goes away, but always needs to be challenged.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10569951
I have a hard time with this argument, as I see both sides. You make some valid points. I understand we live in a society where cultural and religious symbols are revered and respected and many times expected to be kept sacred. I, however, think that religion is a sham and that telling people they can’t use a symbol simply because 1. it isn’t theirs or 2. they didn’t “earn” it is egotistical and ridiculous. I am in no was racist. I genuinely love ALL people and skin color, culture, stereotypes and generalizations mean NOTHING to me.
I also think that restricting the use of something in one’s culture to ONLY those in the culture (or those deemed “honorable”) only creates more boundaries and extends the polarization of human society.
Yes, if someone is using a cultural/religious symbol to make fun of said culture/religion or perpetuate stereotypes, it makes them an asshole. For sure.
On the other hand, being offended is a CHOICE. Just like being an asshole. And if I’m going to put time/money into creating a beautiful piece that was inspired by a beautiful culture because I like it, and someone is going to tell me that is wrong and offensive, I am going to say I disagree that it is wrong and am sorry you are offended. Symbols really DO only have as much meaning as we give them, and if you/your culture decided a certain symbol is especially sacred/restricted, that’s all good for you. However, I refuse to give any symbol more value than it intrinsically has. That is my choice as an intelligent, considerate and independent human being. And I can honestly say that I hope one day our human race evolves to the point that it does not give stuff and symbols more value than they actually have and will stop making them restricted and stop taking offense to people using them how they want.
Feel free to choose to be, as you say, an asshole.
People will call you out for it, and it is becoming much more probable that your career will suffer as a result.
To call yourself an intelligent and considerate human being while stating flat out that you do not care what value we put on OUR symbols, symbols you feel you have the right to devalue any way you see fit, is laughable. But it is your right to make such claims.
Have fun with that attitude. Just don’t expect anyone to take what you are saying at face value, instead of judging your actions on their own merits.
Sadly, being a racist asshole usually doesn’t cause one’s career to suffer.
It is starting to.
The less being a racist asshole is considered socially acceptable, the more serious consequences people will face for engaging in such behaviour (i.e. losing their job, being denied entry to their preferred post-secondary institution etc), and the less likely they will be to do it openly.
– Why would someone purporting to be intelligent, CONSIDERATE, etc.and human feel it is their right and their privilege to set the tone – to determine the standards and intrinsic meaning for other people’s cultures and cultural representations? We hold sacred items (as determined by us) in respect. We define the origin, content and boundaries of that respect. WE have that right…not you…
I honestly agree with you. I don’t see why one culture can say that the symbol is “theirs,” no if’s or but’s and if anyone wears it they are racist and ignorant. I am a Christian and I choose to not be offended by people who wear an upside-down cross as a fashion trend lately because it really just isn’t my problem. That cross represents everything I believe in spiritually, but it really is not my issue if that is what they want to do because it is the United States and people can do whatever they please. I don’t take it personally at all. If someone wants to go to the bars dressed up as the Pope, okay, then do it. It doesn’t change my beliefs and I don’t think they are ignorant. I don’t judge them as being disrespectful. My relatives are from Poland and if people want to make fun of what they wore, okay. If they respected the idea and wore it, I would be happy. If you want to wear American military medals, go ahead. I don’t know, I just don’t really care what other people do. Plus, the mixing of cultures isn’t exactly a new idea. Every culture is a mixture of other cultures.
There is no “Christian Act” which specifically sets out the minute details of how Christians can live. Your dead are not paved over or disintered to be ‘studied’. There is no centuries long history of oppression of Christians peoples in North America. You have not had your lands stolen, only to be moved onto tiny pieces of arid land. You do not continue to have your land whittled through expropriation, and your children were not taken from you in order to erase your language from their tongues.
It is not important what you personally ‘choose’ not to be offended by, because you cannot compare your situation to that of Indigenous peoples. Not with a single ounce of intellectual honesty or historical accuracy.
Wow. You can’t relate to anybody at all, can you? How do you expect others to embody your views? She said her family is from Poland. Everything you mentioned has happened to Polish people. But it’s ok for you to be ignorant.. Their land WAS claimed by others for centuries and they were wiped off the map, denied an education or their language, etc. etc… etc.. considered inferior humans, etc.. Then during WWII If you were a Polish Jew you had a death sentence, and if you were non-jew, you better lick the boots of that Nazi next door who killed your neighbors and moved in, or you’re dead too. Your teenage daughter may be snatched off the street to do slave labor in Germany, if they didn’t deem you fit for the job. In perspective, maybe YOU are the priveleged one, compared to your ancestors, and other peoples in nations in this world currently at war. “Someone wore a cheap imitation of my grandfather’s headdress and I’m a victim, so I’m entitled to call anyone who engages in discourse a racist idiot or an asshole”. although your article was intelligent, you really held back. turns out you are a whiney close-minded brat. You demonstrate privilege and entitlement in full force.
Lol. “My family was oppressed somewhere else that means I can speak authoritatively on what your people should be okay with.”
Nope, sorry. My favourite part of your ridiculous spiel was telling me that Indigenous peoples of the Americas are privileged, demonstrating the stunning depth of your ignorance.
You must think the polish are put on reservations to this day, told that they need to assimilate and forget their culture, heritage and tradition and “get over it” on a daily basis. We still are experiencing this. There are things that we as indigenous people hold sacred. I am not from a plains tribe, hence I would never think of disrespecting them by taking what they hold sacred and using it. But I am proud to be Dine\ Washeshu.
about 100% agreement. Its funny how a person can claim something to be “ours” in one post then claim “we” are not a “race” in the next post but anyone that uses “our” crafts in ways that “we” say is incorrect is appropriating it..how about that person that is Irish but has gotten a tartan from their elders but does not live anything like the way they did? How is that not also appropriation? Then yet they might claim they are the only ones given the right to wear or use the cultural tradition solely because they are ethnic or racially connected to the symbolism how is that NOT racist in and of itself? My points: The argument that its wrong to impersonate an false identity via authentic tribal regalia:valid, Argument that its wrong to wear generic 1st American culturally INFLUENCED regalia simply because of being of other ethnic identities:invalid/racist. Argument that it will piss off some people either way and one is racist/colonialist if they don’t concede to their wishes in any case?: inane.
I have no idea what you mean when you say 1st American etc. Plains headdresses are not American, they are nêhiyaw, or Nakota/Dakota/Lakota or Niitsítapi etc. Only about a dozen nations in the Plains use the particular headdress being aped by so many. There is nothing ‘influenced’ about it, they are straight up rip offs.
We have every right to determine how our symbols are used within our culture. People have every right to go and steal those symbols…and we have every right to point out how disrespectful, and often racist that is. Basically no amount of attempts on your part to logic yourself out of that is going to be effective. Do as you wish, but we will not stop telling people “that is not yours to use, and what you are doing disgusts us.”
fair enough and your voices deserve to be heard.
I honestly think the wrong word is being used here though. Someone wearing a headdress might be ignorant and misuse of the piece but that does not automatically make them a racist. Unfortunately they have succumbed to encouraging stereotypes which is denigrating as well but again not racist. Racist is a very strong word with a very specific definition denoting superiority of one’s race or culture over another. An ignorant misuse of headdresses, additional clothing and other aspects of the culture may be disrespectful but again not racist.
Racism = prejudice + institutional power. These stereotypes are a part of systemic racism.
Its really funny because My first thouights about the Pharell incident was about viking helms and here I see on two totally separate discussions more than one reference to Vikings. I agree with you Vikingmetalgirl..In fact I think a vangaurd of human consciousness has already evolved beyond alot of petty virtues and dogmatic symbolism and rituals, but that does not mean that the ritual motions and language forms are not potent and in many ways necessary to further our ways of life..the important thing now is to re-understand the meanings and reasons why we do what we do or did and not to abandon them altogether and throw ourselves and our childrens destinies out to the canyons. You should try to find the hidden layer of truth in religious and spiritual ideas and start again to consider their value to the future growth of human/planetary conditions. Consider this in silent darkness of “outer space” we’ll need “God” more than ever before..but we probably need god in a way that we have never used it before..something far less co-dependent and more quantifiable…but we have moved away from the topic at hand a bit. Just wanted to support your perspective because it insipres me to see people with a like minded sense of sober optimism.
When you give a face to a culture or belief system isn’t your own that is being offensive in the extreme. Mainstream society has the ability to completely take out of the hands of the people who these items/practices have meaning and make it something else usually as commodity.
If I were to appropriate your identity and went around as you collecting your pay, pissing everyone off at you and tried to seduce your significant other I imagine it offend you, rightfully so. It belongs to you and is sacred to you. Transfer that feeling to other peoples sacred.
Actually how offended you choose to be is entirely up to you. It’s purely subjective. Not that I’m telling you how to feel, it’s just that as a former psychology student I know. And an object only has as much as importance as you choose to give it. And when I was a child, I used to collect all sorts of feathers, which included an eagle feather. And I’m pretty sure that tribes in my country India, also use feathers as part of their dresses and perhaps their sacred practices. Am I supposed to go and tell them that you’re culturally appropriating and that you can’t use a specific object simply because some of you use it? I’m not trying to be disrespectful , I’m simply pointing out a fact.
I would say the disrespect you are showing here, is towards the argument I have laid out. You haven’t even bothered to engage it.
Unless you do, I am uninterested in what you have to say.
Thanks!
This is the best analysis of why wearing warbonnets is offensive that I’ve read so far. If I understand correctly, your position is that wearing “non-restricted” head decorations or native clothing is OK so long as it isn’t done in mockery or in a way that promotes stereotypes. However the final condition is ambiguous; do you mean “negative stereotypes”, or stereotypes in general? For example, a fashion photo shoot with the models wearing native clothing (but without war bonnets) would seem to be OK according to your analysis since it involves non-restricted items and isn’t mocking or denigrating (assuming the models aren’t half naked). But does it promote (negative?) stereotypes? I’m asking since there seems to be a continuum of opinion that ranges from your measured analysis to a blanket “any cultural appropriation is wrong/racist” and it isn’t clear where the line should be drawn.
If the clothing is ‘native style’, here are some lines in the sand: it should not be named after random First Nations (Navajo t-shirts, Apache headbands etc). If those nations have nothing to do with the clothing, don’t affiliate yourself with them without their consent. People should not wear these ‘native style’ clothes with war paint, feathers in their hair, etc and the photoshoots should not in any way be named after Pocahontas, or given insulting psuedo “Indian” names. In fact, it would be nice if people promoting ‘native style’ fashion simply admitted that the aesthetic itself comes from Settler fantasies of Indigenous people, rather than promoting the idea that it is of us. 90% of the times the styles in question are not even remotely authentically Indigenous, so why pretend they are at all? I’m not sure what the purpose of that is, to be honest.
loved this response and the article.
Very good outlines here and some boundary setting. Leave it as inspired without specific names and it seems good.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery.Fashion,music,language,everything is a copy of previous work.I notice you are using the alphabet.Is that politically correct?
BINGO! http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6FWnwBmTUfQ/ThnjO7-GFyI/AAAAAAAAA1o/CsMnKSL4n0c/s1600/3223223918_8c26b9105d_o.jpg
Kia ora
I really like the way you have addressed the disrespect to culture that is so prevalent in many societies.
I am from (Aotearoa) New Zealand and recently we had an American TV disrespect our cultural ways and costumes. Seriously, it was almost to be expected from others outside of our country. What surprised me the most, was the disrespect from those whom I had called friends. I was told to lighten up because it was a joke. Actually, they might was well have been telling me to whiten up. Joke or not, it was disrespectful and I felt it was right that the TV presenter was asked to apologise.
I feel, that until cultures that are not predominantly European are treated as Taonga (treasures) by the majority, there will never be quality.
You may find it interesting that in Australia, it is ILLEGAL to create and sell ‘aboriginal art’ if you are not aboriginal. Pretty great way to ensure that the profits go to the indiginous people and not souvanir companies.
I am white, from a rural Alaskan, alcohol driven, abject poverty culture, don’t know what else to call it except perhaps living on the fringe of the reservation…
I liked the bingo card idea, I also unfortunately honestly appreciate the fact that my art appropriates the native culture that I grew up with. (WHICH I CONSIDER TO BE A PART OF ME.) While my whiteness is a burden, the native american in me moves me toward the center.
I made objects which are sacred to me using modern materials & ancient native methods. They symbolize their sacredness to others using unrestricted totemic shape u forms.
By your criteria I am behaving badly. (Its a family tradition) I drew the the story of the Most Great Name….years and years ago……..mankind needs to recognize this object…….
The iron in your back bone is unavoidable, I am wrong. I still love my pieces of art and relate to their message with each atom of my being.
Respect for the culture I choose to imitate should have been enough to stop me when I painted them…I did not feel disrespectful, I made every effort to maintain tradition…….and was empowered by my effort………
Devaluing my art because of my race seems racist,… unity is more important than what ever I think I might feel.
So now I must destroy the paintings that convey the message human survival depends upon,as an act of purposeful racism to promote the unity that the paintings speak of…..? Damn, another circle.
I think that I will allow them to quietly melt back into the forest…like tradition requires.
Find another way….making “a statement” with a headdress (indigenous cultural art form) may make a statement,… but you can be using the words incorrectly and are not saying what you think you are saying. The spirit of what you communicate can and will be affected by the spirit and power of the idea that you emulate.
Communication is the most difficult human endeavor, keep it simple, choose carefully.
Better I think to figure out who you really are, and speak with that voice……when we are young we speak with many voices until we find our own….
Humanity is learning how to live on this planet.
Have you ever considered asking the people whose symbols you are appropriating as to whether they think your art is disrespectful?
That would be a lot more straightforward than whirling around the edges of the question to little purpose.
What appears to you as “whirling around the edge” might actually be a warrior fighting a battle for others before he bleeds out.
I did ask, most people agreed that there was no harm done, some thought that it was good to have ANYONE using this art form. That was 30 years ago, opinions have undoubtedly changed. My behavior has changed. I was comfortable with it before, now I am not.
A different kind of respect for the cultural heritage of the people is necessary today,
I also believe that culture is learned human behavior, at some point it becomes a choice.
Many native cultures have been destroyed by the cultural clashes of the past, in some sense the revival of that “lost” culture appears to some degree to me, to be an appropriation.
No matter, appropriation or not; It is theirs,
I am just a dilution, an impurity, a part of the whole, not a part of the part.
I refuse to make an effort that can have the appearance of removal to them, truly out of respect for their “culture” and also because I detest the dis-respectfulness of the past.
while a necessary part, I do not see that as the battle, UNITY is our challenge,
Well it seems that you’re approaching it in the right way though, asking all those years ago and in the present recognizing that past acceptance might not mean acceptance for all time. It’s a relationship, and relationships are ongoing, not static.
preposterous. You should ply your trade. By your logic you should not even be preparing food while using traditional recipes. If you were not among the first men to utilize the techniques to survive or convey a message to their children’s, children’s children, then your saying you shouldn’t be using their techniques at all..bullshit. Ask yourself: is that the message your ancestors sent to you through your art form? I think the message the ancestors are sending is survive long enough to breed and remember us and the source..thats mostly it..any of them that are making the effort to crossover to whisper to you: “hey don’t use my weaving or hunting technique to make money and better our family situation!” should be ignored and is probably not having a great spiritual life anyway.
okay last post I meant to add that Obviously there is a balance to be struck between expressing your heritage,plying your skill for practical means and whoring out your products and services to be abused and mocked. Individuals and communities must strike these balances..the ancestors can only do so much to deal with new and living situations..respect them seek their guidance but respect your authority and responsibility as their heirs in the living earthly life and you might have a chance of not pissing them,your own descendents and yourself off.
Be happy with who you are and what you have become through learning our culture.
I find this an interesting discussion. As someone with a very mixed racial background, including Yaqui, Mayo and German,I have long battled with the idea of what is okay and what isn’t. My white mother was truly enamored of all things native, and would quite often create clothing and other items with a definite native “flare” to show off her jewelry. At first, my father was concerned it would be seen as appropriation. After several years, they came to the conclusion that as she was simply working with clothes that would be considered “street clothes” by the rest of our relatives it was probably okay.
I think if people took that approach with things it would be better. The traditional velvet skirts the Navajo’s wear are something that I think anyone can wear without offending or appropriating anything. However, wearing something that is sacred or ritual is different. I like how you attempt to find a way to relate this to something western people would more likely grasp. I think it’s very hard to find something that relates well to them as they don’t tend to delineate sacred wear and the profane as clearly as native peoples do.
Of course many are going to throw out comments about how they are free to do whatever they want which is true in the United States. Freedom doesn’t mean that it isn’t offensive or wrong. I have the right to say that all people in Dallas, Texas are short, ugly and full of horse manure for brains. It doesn’t make it true and it doesn’t make it okay and some people might get very offended by that and hate me for it. Those people would have the freedom to say they didn’t like it and that I shouldn’t say things like that. It’s easy to forget that freedom is a two way street and sometimes different sides will disagree.
I don’t think this article or a hundred others will stop some people from continuing to do whatever they want but hopefully it will make others more aware of why this is an issue for native peoples.
If you moderated your reply’s you wouldn’t come across as quite so angry and would be taken more seriously. It’s hard to take someone who appears so petty seriously. Well thought out piece. I don’t agree with it but well written. cheers
I couldn’t care less about your attempt to tone police. Address the topic on its merits, rather than complaining you WOULD listen if only I were more polite.
While I’m moved by your distaste for the appropriation of headdresses, there is a flaw in your logic. By wearing a military medal that you did not earn, printing a bachelor’s degree you did not earn, or declaring yourself a winner of an award you did not earn, you are misrepresenting an achievement or skill which, if conferred, grants you a special and codified status and/or opportunity in society. For instance, you cite an example of someone affecting the knowledge of a medical doctor (through posting a medical degree/license). Misrepresentation here breaks a fundamental trust in society, perhaps even imperiling human life, as membership in that group requires a certain level of knowledge and skill that that person does not have.
Cultural symbols, used quite clearly as aesthetic devices, do not signal to society that same sort of achievement. This is the key distinction. Very few look at Pharrell Williams on the cover of Elle and conclude, “He must have earned a special status to be able to wear that headdress…and we should treat him differently as a result of this achievement”. If Pharrell (or anyone else who didn’t deserve to wear one) wore a headdress when they, say, testified before Congress, then I would agree that is misrepresenting an achievement/skill that reasonable people would believe that he or she attained. There is surely no art in that.
Again, I’m wholly sympathetic to your belief here that wearing a headdress as Pharrell did is more than gauche, and should be avoided, but isn’t there a better reasoning behind it? Instruct others that the use of appropriated and important cultural symbols by non-community members ultimately dilute their meaning to the people who those symbols matter to most. Through great educational sites like this, I wager that people will respond.
Here is the flaw in your logic.
The okimâwastotin (headdress) absolutely signals to Indigenous societies of the Plains some sort of achievement. I thought I made that clear actually. Just because non-Natives do not understand what achievements are signaled by the wearing of the headdress in the cultures from whence the headdress originated, does not mean those signals are lacking.
Taking other people’s cultural symbols and stripping them of meaning to use them completely out of context does not actually render the symbol meaningless for all time. It continues to have meaning in our cultures, and that is what we are trying to explain to the people using them.
Good point but it loses what small significance it carries in situations concerning those who have no direct dealings with people who could be affected by this scenario and thus brings you back to square one..probably the reason why this icon was appropriated in the first place without the proper etiquette: the persons most likely to be offended are not getting the signal because they are not in the communities where it is happening most often. Anyway I think you are tossing the racist card around all too easily. You maybe confuse respect or more likely admiration for aspects of your cultural affiliation with respect for you/your people and YOUR individual ideas (or collective if you indeed speak for a segment or the ENTIRETY? of your population). I’m sure you know all too well that “the west” makes that distinction and justifiably so. YOU are NOT the Headdress even if the headdress is a part of you! Concession point: because of how pompous so many people really are..getting outsider’s to respect your culture can be a big part of getting them to respect you..but its not the main reason they should respect you..they should respect you for your humanity first. If we limit our measure of respect to cultural identity then those people who are separated intellectually from any culture we expect from them, then a whole lot of people would be considered worth less than animals..and thats just not acceptable.
The fact that Pharrel Williams tok off his Mountie hat and wore a headdress instead is consistent with your example and probably could be better served to raise awareness of the actual meaning of headdress as a brave symbol in 1st American plains cultures, but since he’s a nice guy he chose to apologize once he realized it was not having a friendly impact on the community I might not have done so because I’m argumentative,stubborn,fairly BRAVE and self righteous about liberty. Once you realize that feather headdresses are pretty similar(though meanings vary) the world over you’ll see it more as a human thing than a plains thing. I think across the board people realize the more feathers in the dress the more respect the person commanded, Its pretty obvious. Thats because its a human thing…actually its kind’ve an “as seen throughout nature” thing. Even Peacocks use this formula. If I were Pharrell I’d have been like “send me a REAL one from your tribe and I WON’T wear it bro. otherwise..lvl up like me!”
Ugh.
The Plains style okimâwastotin is very distinctive, and looks significantly different than other headdresses. Your comment on that would be akin to claiming a beret looks pretty much the same as a tiara. Nope.
Thankyou for this.I never knew that wearing the war bonnet carried such significance and the degree of ritual around when and to who it could be awarded to.
Same thing with NZ Maori moko and tribal tattoo.
Headdresses were given to elderly and respected men. Correct? What did the elderly respected women get? Just curious.
Allow me to add this single wonderful thread to the tapestry of thought here: In Winnipeg, the 7 Oaks School Division holds a Graduation Pow Wow honouring every child who graduates that year…Aboriginal, Métis, and non-Aboriginal alike. It is heartwarming to see kids of all cultures participating in a Pow Wow like this. For many of us here in Winnipeg, the incorporation of ceremonies at the institutional level has been long, long overdue. In fact, we have past the point where there is anything curious about Aboriginal culture…it is simply the way it is here now, and it’s fabulous…16.5% of Manitoba’s population is Aboriginal or Métis, and the Aboriginal and Métis population grew 20% between 2006 and 2011 compared with 5.2% for the non-Aboriginal populations. The driving force behind Manitoba becoming a province was Louis Riel, the great Métis leader…..his was a dream of a province that embraces all cultures, and by and large that is still shared by Manitobans today. I wish Ontario and Quebec would take a page from Louis Riel’s book.
Here’s a neat article from the Winnipeg Free Press about that:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/City-has-highest-aboriginal-population-206745721.html
It’s true, sacred cows do make the best hamburgers.
Your analogy comparing wearing an unearned medal of honor to casually wearing a headdress is excellent! It’s the best way I’ve ever seen to illustrate why it’s inappropriate and offensive for a non-native to wear one. While I haven’t come across a lot of non-native people wearing them (save for an unfortunate Halloween costume), I’ll be sure to use that analogy the next time I see it. Thank you for writing an informative article!
I can’t help but notice that your avatar is itself a cultural appropriation. It is clearly mocking Rosie the Riveter. How could you be so insensitive?
I’m sorry, is this image a restricted one that only some people can use? No, it isn’t.
The okimâwastotin (headdress) is, however.
Enjoy that false equivalency, it’s calorie free!
apparently its not as restricted as you’d like. Not so much outside of your jurisdiction. The general design is certainly not patentable or copyrightable. Perhaps if you contact Washington you can get some laws drafted making it a criminal offense for impersonating an officer of your war party. You might even be able to get a rival tribe criminalized if their rituals are different than yours and don’t fit with the wording of the new laws..more criminals and authorizing a federal fashion police force in the process. Good luck with that…not so much.
Anglo commonlaw is not at all what is being appealed to here, nor is it any sort of authority to be invoked, making the entirety of this post a complete red herring.
I absolutely love this article, and I think your comparison of restricted symbols to military medals was a brilliant example and spot on. My grandfather was both half-cherokee and a purple heart awarded veteran, and spent his whole life answering questions and getting annoyed with people who disrespected him for his race and for his accomplishments. So many people just want to toss any symbol on themselves in an effort to impress, without observing the significance and context. If they really wanted to “appreciate and respect” as some of the ignorant commenters have tried to use to excuse themselves, then they’d respect the wishes of the cultures those items are representing.
It always bugs me when people throw out the “Well my great great great grandmother was native” as a trump card to excuse misrepresenting during their arguments. Part of this is because I know I did it too growing up, throwing around my grandfather’s race as a means of making myself seem more “cultured” and “exotic” when really I was just being desperate and flashing a part of my family history to seem interesting without accepting any of the cultural and social stigma indigenous people face in a white-centric society. It was maturing up and realizing that I was raised whiter than miracle whip that I opened my eyes and started noticing all the problematic stuff I did (and still have to catch myself on as I see it).
And I think that’s what a lot of other white people also need to realize. Even if we have a tiny dilution of blood ties to an indigenous culture, unless we’ve been raised and devoted ourselves to the community/culture we’re related to, we probably shouldn’t wear those sorts of regalia because we’re still a symbol ourselves of colonialism and the fact that we’d get a free pass from white society while non-white passing indigenous people could not wear the clothes of their culture without being heckled and gawked at by passerby.
Again, great article and writing. I’ll definitely refer this to my peers as I think a lot of people could also use reading it. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on the matter! It was well worth the read.
I’m in general agreement with this article, but I have a question. What if you create a fantasy version of a headdress that is wildly colored, oversized, shaped very differently, etc? Is this racist? If it very obviously is very different from traditional headdresses to the point of simply becoming a wacky feathered headpiece is this offensive to wear? If it couldn’t possible be mistaken for a sacred object and it is just vaguely based off of the idea of feathered head wear is that offensive? I’m just trying to see where the line is drawn more clearly. Should we never wear feathers in our hair or on our heads in any configuration?
P.S. I know you’re not required to educate me, but I sense that you desire to educate people in general. So, I guess there is no harm in asking questions.
I see little problem with creating a style that is not appropriating an actual restricted symbol like the okimâwastotin. Just please do not call it “Native American” or “Native American inspired”, or tag it as such. Don’t pass it off as being from any of our cultures, and it’s probably not going to be a problem. Unfortunately, many of the people who do create fantasy pieces (don’t do versions, do something original) end up claiming it is linked somehow to Indigenous cultures. There is no need for that.
Makes sense. I ask because I attend art festivals where everyone makes surreal costumes. Thanks
I have to agree with you completely here.
Where is the offense in saying it is inspired? First Nations are mostly the ones who use these styles. Art can be inspired and noted as such without specifically labeling it as being from a particular nation when it is not.
It would seem odd to me, to create a fantasy piece that is clearly inspired by a native headdress and then not say that it was inspired by that.
People speak of their inspirations out of a desire to be honest and communicate what is it they are moved by and are passionate about. I think it’s great for artists to do that as opposed to saying the idea materialized out of thin air, because it obviously did not.
Your not going to stop people from wearing their own or inherited headdress.Its just not gonna happen.Its better for you to realize that most people are not doing it out of disrespect (Of course we each define disrespect in our own terms). Also you don’t own the culture.If it belongs to anyone at all, it belongs to humanity and posterity. You appropriate the cultural ideas from your ancestors the values they passed on to you are upheld by whoever they entrusted with the knowledge. The material used to make the emblem is almost nothing. The feathers(as such) where more useful to the bird that grew them than to any person wearing them as such. The ideas the feathers represent are the culture. Such legacies are passed down from generation to generation and each previous one decides who is the guardian from the next generation of cultural symbolism..It is “sanctioned” appropriation, but still appropriation. In your own words you state that different tribal groups honored members with feathers for different reasons. Obviously they are their own authority on who gets to wear them and to what significance. I’m not sure I’d like to see what happens when a person of another tribal tradition wears their headdress in your neighborhood(its probably an act of war). Just because someone doesn’t react to yours or someone you know’s outrage doesn’t mean they are disrespectful to the culture or what they understand of it. African and Latin Americans culture is appropriated everyday be each other and by members of “white” ethnic/class groups and sure some people take issue with this but usually more so when the appropriation is done in an obviously offensive way meant to disrespect the people who adhere to the traditions. Eventually they simply move on and create something new that has not yet been appropriated by the “posers”/outsiders..meanwhile much of what they themselves have going on in their everyday life is also “appropriated” from the “popular” culture. Generally nobody complains about this and even fewer know the original origins of such things.My point there is that if we humans didn’t share cultural habits with each other life would not be possible, and we’d keep having to re-invent the wheel. In the case of plains native headdress at least most people have some vague idea of where it comes from if not who first started doing it.. Its up to people themselves to do what they can(including rage) to educate about the significance and origins and limit the appropriation(that’s why I’m not saying you should shut up about it or anything.) I just think it’d be better to celebrate and share maybe even somewhat “brand” finer points and the popularity of your particular culture. It belongs to humanity, its heirs(you) or else it belongs to no one at all. In the populous American culture if you can’t copyright,patent, or show proof of direct ownership, its probably not yours. SO if someone owns their own headdress that looks kind of native for intellectual purposes you might get the picture that what that person does with it determines if it is being abused or appropriated on a social or -more urgently- on a criminal level.(since you made a comparison to diplomas and uniform badges decals.) eg if your reservation law determines that someone in headdresses that are not theirs by rites is attempting to deceive others to obtain public office or get married under fraudulent circumstances or do a crime eg. embezzling funds, claiming an inheritance or impersonate an official..then by all means prosecute (within the proper jurisdictions.) but this does not describe a kid who is wearing it because it brings out their eyes. Nor does it compare to a person wearing a fake badge or even a real one that they own to a festival or costume party (they would have to be actively doing something to indicate impersonating an officer to get brought up on charges). If your council is actively using them to denote affiliation and rank then the wisest thing to do is make something unique and difficult to imitate on the dress, so that no imposter could make their way through to your inner circles without being arrested. Just know that in the outside world it is increasingly difficult to make laws that rely too heavily on deciding who belongs to what ethnic heritage. I’m glad for this..probably you should be too.
Wow, that’s quite the teal deer. Just a tip, but if you want people to bother with reading what you write, paragraphs are your friend.
I think this article is fantastic, and I think your tone in the comments is entirely justified. Thank you.
Thank you for a very informative article.
It is sad to me that people are so hung up on the “free-speech” issue here – to me, the compassionate thing to do is to realize that this behavior is causing a lot of suffering and pain for people and to stop wearing their sacred regalia. There is a whole universe of art and creativity out there to be inspired by without having to appropriate sacred objects from a culture that has already suffered quite enough, thank you very much.
From your perspective, is adornment with feathers generally frowned upon, or is it specifically replicas very similar in form to, say, Plains Indian headdresses (or any other headdresses of Native people)?
Say, for instance:
http://www.serpentfeathers.com/stream/wp-content/gallery/wingwands/ka_butterfly_headdress_red.jpg
or
http://th05.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2014/006/1/6/valkyrie_headdress_by_jolien_rosanne-d713huo.jpg
I would hope that versions like these that are unique creations and not borrowed from sacred configurations of symbols would be ok – certainly, it would be great to be able to point people towards adornments that were beautiful and could inspire them to do something unique that would bring some beauty and art into the world without misappropriating something sacred.
Those are amazing! They do not look anything like the Plains headdress, or any other Indigenous headdress I’ve seen and what’s better is they aren’t passing them off as “Native American”.
Thank you for clarifying this. I make head pieces that are similar to these shown in the links, and I was really concerned when I first read this article. I really appreciate that, although it is not your job to educate us, you took the time to write not only the article, but to respond to almost every one of the comments. this has been one of the most interesting and informative debates I’ve ever read.I really appreciate the specific answers, details and clarity you’ve given. even if I did need to read a few F/U’s to finally have it sink in lol 🙂
Noone on the internet is really explaining why the plains headdress is “sacred”. There is alot of explaining why it is “restricted” in plains society, and how its wearers are in high esteem and how the Headdress is created as an act of honor among peers. The blogger here explained how it is a denotation of prestige and even rank in that society. I’ve read how it has spiri8tual connotations imbuing the wearer with the energy of the materials or animals it is made from, but none of that generally translates to “sacred” in the western minded since of the word. The descriptions make it seem more personal,martial, and officious(none of which normally gives rise to an individual’s sacred items in the euro-american cultures on a protectorate scale), than religious or “sacred.” Is this a case wherein because everything is from the “protected” culture is “sacred”? Or is their a deeper more specific significance of the headdress in the religious systems of the plains culture. If you have an idea of how this term is used in the spiritual or religious sense of the word among the euro-american society can you or someone explain and/or compare in more in detail the significance of the headdress in those terms? eg in the Euro-American/Christian-culture a personal bible might become a relic of sacred value to their family or community members minds but it does not bestow such sacrament to all bibles everywhere beyond the original sacred value of it being a holy book..but the tone of the information I’m getting from various web sources about the headdress is as if the headdress itself of any kind made anywhere in the fashion of the plains cultures makes it sacred or a bastardization of such sacred(or a bastardization of such) and thus it becomes an object belonging to that culture’s heritage no matter what it is made of or who made it. Its not unheard of that a process itself becomes nearly if not more sacred than the produced vintage similar to the tea ceremony in asian societies..Could that be what is happening here? A misunderstanding about the sacrament that is being appropriated? That might be the difference for alot of people in understanding why you are so upset. Its the difference between a jealous craftsperson angry that someone is duping their work or creating poor works of the same trade versus a spiritual/magic practitioner concerned that someone is creating a bad mojo unaware because they don’t know what they are doing but completing all the necessary steps to make something terrible manifest. Is it both?
Who cares if it is understood within a western context? It does not come from a western context. If you insist that everything must fit into western paradigms, which is precisely what colonial governments have done by the way, then you are perpetuating colonialism. “The Indians did not have European property laws, thus they had no property laws” is the ‘logical’ extension of such arguments.
It is truly none of your business as to exactly what precise meaning the okimâwastotin has in our nations. When we tell you that it is a restricted item within our nations, so that only very few of us can even wear it, and we emphasize that it upsets us deeply when non-Indigenous peoples wear this item, that should be enough. Unless you completely lack respect. It isn’t enough to try to restrict the conversation to the headdress, I would have to break down complex cultural, social and historical issues for you…for free, so that you can then decide whether or not you want to bother respecting this restriction? No thanks.
If you want to actually learn more, within the culture then you will have to try harder than trawling a few internet sites, and you cannot do it by insisting everything be on your terms.
Apologies for another privilege-filled, still-not-quite-getting-it response, but I found your article very helpful in trying to understand the boundaries of cultural appropriation. I was originally looking it up, as I love the aesthetic of the typical feathered headdresses, but obviously don’t want to cause offence or damage to anyone or any culture by wearing one for entertainment. Trying to find something similar that isn’t problematic, is this sort of thing (https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/191866657/large-boho-feather-tribal-headdress) still close enough to be considered appropriative? Or is it alright because it’s not designed around a stereotype? Sorry for the ignorance, but I’d rather understand as much as possible…
That entire site is on the “I’d call this misappropriation” side of things. From the boots to the various headdresses, particularly as they are using descriptors like ‘tribal’. Some of the floral stuff isn’t bad, but I wouldn’t support an artisan who is so blatantly trying to rip of Indigenous symbols.
Thanks, that helps a lot.
Ok here I have to disagree. Above you were ok with someone saying a headdress is ok as long as it is not saying it is Native American or such but now tribal is a bad word as well?
In the very link Hannah posted, there are feathers, a golden rose and a leather band. Neither the individual elements or the piece as a whole says indian, native american, First Nation, whichever label you care to use. Are you just calling it out because of the feathers and tribal are used together?
In the US, there are specific laws which prohibit passing items off as “Native American”. A number of weasel words are used instead to get around this, including “Native American inspired”, “tribal”, and so on. This isn’t about ‘bad words’, it’s about bad practices.
As there should be, no dispute there. But tribal could mean any number of people, clans or cultures from anywhere around the world. Also it is being used as an adjective and any sane person would see it is not a real Native American headdress. I am disputing only that specific link. I would probably agree that some of the other pieces in that store cross a very gray line.
It’s a judgement call. Given my experience with the context I’ve outlined, I don’t think that store is grey-lined at all. ymmv.
Thank you for this article! I can’t for the life of me understand how people want to ignore your explanation about wearing the headdress. The bottom line is…..the Indian culture has do’s and don’ts. If you find a don’t just don’t!!!! My God, it’s not that hard! It’s THEIR culture whether you like it or not. Bottom line is It’s called R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
So do the Native Americans…
This whole thing is great, I am learning alot about my opinion
I just noticed signing into Playstation Home Sodium is selling rave wear that appropriates Indian headdresses. I was close to yelling at the screen, “SODIUM, WTH ARE YOU DOING?!”
Recently I have been looking into tattoos and ideas for tattoos, I have seen a lot of photos of people with headdress’ as tattoos on their own or on a woman, they are incredible beautiful so here I am researching the meaning and symbolism and the culture behind them and I am glad that I stumbled upon your blog/article. Being a native to New Zealand I fully understand your customs and your culture, it is similar to my own and I’ve always wanted to learn more about your culture.I will not be getting anything that would offend your culture tattooed onto myself especially something that is so sacred. I understand that it is a tradition that should not be changed or moulded to fit into a ever changing world where people recreate cultural things and try and change their meaning to fit their own agendas. Thank you!! Hope my ramble makes sense!
http://www.inspiredbythis.com/wed/outdoor-bohemian-wedding/
Make. It. Stop.
I read your blog with great interest. I did not read all the comments, so you may have answered this. The Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America honors the Indian Heritage. In some of their ceremonies Indian dress is used. Only Vigil members are allowed to wear a double trailer. I am interested to read your opinion about the IS.
Outright disgust. There is no such thing as ‘Indian Heritage’. There are 500+ individual nations with distinct languages and culture.
Thank you for the opportunity to read your well written explanation of these offensive behaviors. It can be difficult to see through the blinding light of privilege but it is possible. Keep up the good work.
I am writing an article on appropriation to art educators. I want to get information out there on how to be respectful when using appropriation properly as a teaching method. I feel it is important because we work directly with influential youth, so what we do as educators is important. May I use you as a reference? If so, how would I cite you? Would I use the name of your page or your name?
I should correct myself – I’m looking into writing an article on it. The topic may change. But in the meantime, I am looking for some authentic points of view in case this topic is approved.
Generally when you cite your sources, you refer to the url, the name of the blog, and the author yes.
A possibly stupid question but… No such thing as Indian Heritage – I’m on board in that in parts but… in a question of ignorance, how many of the different nations used these headdresses? Are they considered the same way by all the nations?
(Not that I’d want to wear a head-dress. I do have a feather in two of my hats but that’s from an ancient German tradition and they look totally different)
There are a very limited number of nations that use a Plains style headdress, and yes there are variations in styles. All of them within the Plains nations are restricted symbols that must be earned.
Wow, I commend you for your patience even though most people won’t see you as being patient (with their so-called inoffensive and well-intended inquiries). I am African, have lived in different European countries and Canada for more than 2 decades and one thing is sure: I don’t have time to educate people who seem to be unable to see things from a non-Western perspective. I don’t waste my breath on Eurocentric self-centered fools who are deeply convinced they shouldn’t be forbidden from doing anything. It doesn’t matter if it’s sacred, offensive to you, to your culture: if it isn’t to them, they have the right to do it. Someone evoked the Golden rule, well I applied it to people who have no respect for other people’s cultures. You say something culturally offensive to me? I’ll resort to analogy and give you a taste of your medicine. I don’t care if you had mens rea or no :-), this is the 21st century and it is unacceptable that people, especially young people, should still be educated about CERTAIN things. Really, what do you learn in your history classes?
You’re a dick. You make me want to go out and wear a headdress and it’s NEVER even crossed my mind. I never should have read the comments
Hahahahaha, that’s one of my favourite BINGO comments! “I was so totally not going to be a racist piece of shit, but omg you’re so mean and now I’m going to make it my mission in life!”
Yeah. I’m sure you were a fine fellow before you read my comments.
Being a 1/4 Cherokee and a member of the tribe, I grew up knowing Indian culture and studying it. Many of my “full blood” friends have married non-Indian people and their offspring has become more “white” or non-Indian. It happened to me. Other half of my family is British. When I see the minority of Indians (and I use the name Indians because that’s what we used to call ourselves, until it became PC to call us something else) become so thin-skinned and overly sensitive, I realize that maybe we should be diluted in blood and “phased out”. We probably won’t be civilized to each other until we’re all mixed. My great-grandfather was full blood and he loved the fact the Indians were portrayed so often in mainstream media and with sporting team names. Thank GOD that he isn’t around to see a once proud race become so overly sensitive and thin skinned. He was a HUGE Washington Redskin fan, because he considered himself and called himself red-skinned.
I think headdresses are beautiful. If you want to wear one, wear it. If you want to learn about our tribe and be a part of it, please do. But yes please be respectful. These were once “earned”, they are not anymore in a large sense. And please disregard these overly sensitive “rules”.
As for BINGO comments, unfortunately they are deserved. I used to work for Cherokee Nation. I can’t think of one tribe who hasn’t had their hand out for casino money or is in some other way corrupt. It’s sad to see a once proud race in a downward spiral. Indian tribes tend to turn the other way once they get a paycheck. Seminoles got a payout. Suddenly it’s OK for FL State to use the name.
But hey, let’s concentrate on changing every sports team name and the fact that someone has a tribal tattoo and once wore a headdress, or someone does a tomahawk chop at a baseball game or people go WOO BOO BOO BOO at football games with their hands over their mouth and LET’S completely ignore suicides and non-existent education systems in reservations and many, many Indian communities (oops sorry. I mean Native American) communities. That will solve all of our problems! Let’s turn the other way at the corruption within Indian governments. Where’s all of that casino money now when their communities so desperately need it? Indian bureaucracies are more corrupt than boxing and the World Cup put together.
You want to talk about discrimination? Indian tribes are by far the worse I’ve ever seen with discrimination.
How often has this happened? A tribe builds housing because liberals are screaming for assistance to communities. Tribe gets a huge kickback from the Indian-owned contractor when they over-inflate the estimate they give the United States government for the grant. Rinse, repeat.
Then “normal” people aren’t qualified for the housing, because it’s “owned” by high up members/ bureaucrats of the tribe for tax breaks from the IRS.
Or how about all the people (including veterans) denied membership to tribes who need the assistance?
A tribal member is a sharecropper with a local “white” farmer. Both benefit greatly. Tribe finds out and revokes tribal license because farmer refused to give tribe a cut.
I could go on. Quit pointing fingers. You should rethink your “list”. Because there’s so many more important problems and issues than a white person wearing a goddamn headdress.
I see you are confused about what constitutes cultural appropriation. And you what? It’s OK.
As a Cherokee, you have zero right to be giving permission to anyone to wear a headdress that does not come from your culture.
You have fallen into the delicious fallacy of believing that if someone speaks about cultural appropriation, they can only forever more focus on that one issue to the exclusion of all others.
Thanks so much for the time and effort you invested in this response.
I promise if the instance comes up when someone asks me if they can wear a headdress, that I won’t get completely PC and explain to them of my zero rights to advise them in the matter of their wearing a headdress.
You equate the headdress to the Medal of Honor.
You’re trying to tie in history to current times. That’s where you’re getting confused.
Are these headdresses earned today? (Serious question – I don’t know if they are)
Because the Medal of Honor medal most definitely is. Is it a travesty to see old uniforms or replicas of medals that people died in and earned in combat on an actor in a movie or play?
Were you pissed when 50 Cent wore a Marine uniform with medals? You’re Canadian. I know.
Was he right? How many soldiers and veterans wear these uniforms today and die daily? How many with headdresses?
What if a photographer researches and learns the history and sets up an exhibit at your local library that captures beautiful photos of people in headdresses to honor its history and beauty? Are you going to inquire and complain if those models earned it? I would assume you would. And due to the controversy they cancel the exhibit. Who wins? In your mind, I would also assume you would.
We’re not mythical creatures. We were and are just people. Everyone has a history. Everyone has a tradition. Lighten up.
What you should do since you’re quite the teacher is explain (to whomever asks) what the tradition is and let them form their own conclusions to whether they will and should wear one.
BTW, on another insensitive white people note. The name Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw language meaning “Red People”. We should demand Oklahoma change its name. I can’t believe how insensitive they were back then. Too bad you weren’t there to “advise” them.
p.s. Look up Governor Mary Fallon’s (of Oklahoma) daughter. There’s a pretty picture of her with a headdress on (she didn’t earn it).
Tom Hanks wore a replica Medal of Honor in Forrest Gump (neither did he).
Good luck with your crusade.
Lol. The purpose of the examples given, was to provide some cultural context that could be understood (hopefully) by non-Indigenous peoples, so a sense of the importance of this symbol could be conveyed. They are not being ‘equated’ to. And yes, they are still earned (why are you talking about this when you clearly know nothing of the subject?)
You must really be living under a rock if you are not aware of the huge backlash against Fallon the junior and her escapades in the headdress.
And once again, you have no right at all to give anyone permission to wear a restricted item that does not come from your culture. Thus invoking your heritage is a moot point here. Completely irrelevant to the discussion. It’s also a logical fallacy…you are appealing to expertise you simply do not have.
As an educator, I very clearly explained the tradition, and I do not leave it up to you, or anyone else to decide what they want to to do with it. You are free to wear the headdress, and I am free to tell you it is disrespectful. kiyam.
You can now cease attempting to post here, as you add nothing to the conversation, and have raised no points of interest whatsoever.
as another Okie I am a little surprised that you haven’t spoken with some Cherokee veterans about their feathers….ask them for their thoughts on what they represent today. Or next time you attend a pow wow (try Carnegie or Lawton) ask the members of the Honor Guard about the connection between returning home from Iraq and being given a feather. You will learn very valuable information by asking…and no, the Guv’s daughter did not look pretty in her cheap crappy rip-off but that family has zero respect for Native people, so no surprise there!
This is so informative, thanks a mil. I’m South African and I love learning about various culltures. The greeting ‘ekosi’ at the end of the letter is similar to the Xhosa word “enkos”i which means thank you. Let’s hope that your article achieves its goal. All the best.
I just bought two gorgeous headdresses this evening at a festival. I wish I could post pics of me in them!!!
Good for you, arrogant, ignorant little princess!
What a fucking bitch haha!!
Edit: this sweet person is posting from 96.53.32.190, Vancouver BC. Feeling quite upset he isn’t getting the attention he believes white males should. Awwwww.
I have a few questions and please be gentle with me, I am not trying to upset you, I am just trying to inform myself better on the subject. What are the specifics to receiving a headdress? How long does it take to receive one and what do you have to do to receive one exactly (this is very vague everywhere I look)? Why aren’t the woman of Native culture able to receive a symbol of such high esteem as easily? And, would she need to prove herself more than a man? Or have to marry a chief or something? Is a headdress like being given the title of King? Can a headdress be passed down or shared and worn by family members and friends of the Native community? Or does that headdress stay with its owner and goes to the grave with that person? Who can make a headdress? It that also exclusive to elders etc. Can a headdress be sold and purchased? Would someone Non-Native who was willing to emirs themselves in your customs and culture ever be able to receive one? Or would that only be able to happen if a Non-Native married into the family? Does it ever worry you that keeping the headdress so exclusive will make it extinct? Thank you so much for your time and once again please be kind. I am just curious.
Honestly, this is asking a lot. You want a lot of cultural details, but offer nothing in return for the time, labour and knowledge the answers require. I understand your curiosity, but I have not put myself out there as someone willing to provide this education.
WOW!!! Thanks for NOTHING! I took the time and energy to read EVERYTHING you wrote, I took ALL your responses into consideration, I pondered this for weeks, I’ve looked other places for answers, I took the time to think of and form my questions as to not offend and yet I have “offered nothing for your time”!!!!! Karma will deal with you in every way!!!!
This is the most hilarious flounce I’ve seen in a while, mind if I share it? Wow. Talk about self-entitled!
You want me to provide you with a detailed historical/cultural education on this issue, and you offer NOTHING in return. Providing you with this time-consuming, specialised knowledge for free does nothing for my community, and in no way benefits me, or my people. It is a measure of your privilege that you believe you are entitled to this kind of education at request, any denial of which results in you acting like a complete asshat.
awâs, greedy pig.
You say they have offered “nothing in return.” I think he has offered what he had to offer, a willingnes to learn and better understand. As he stated, he put a lot of thought and time in the wording, his attempt met with little more from you then contempt. Perhaps a simple and more unoffensive answer would be to go and live among those if you wish a more thorough education of the culture.
I haven’t any questions for you, myself, as I have been most blessed with natives who are more than willing to take the time to enlighten anyone who sincerely comes to them with a genuine desire to learn.
Knowledge is a great thing to possess for oneselve but it is a greater thing to share. If it’s money you want for engaging, say so.
Lol. I’m so happy you’re “blessed with natives who are more than willing” blah blah blah. I sincerely hope you have actual relationships with them as human beings and don’t just interact with them extractively via platforms like this. Feel free to spread the word, and do the work to gather up these lost sheep on the internet, soothe their poor injured souls when someone tells them no. You clearly feel that a willingness to learn and better understand is all someone needs to earn your time and energy. I welcome your work in this area, as you engage with complete strangers who offer you nothing more than their questions, have fun!
And, YES!!! I want a lot of cultural details because I am trying to understand the headdress and your culture in depth like it originally seemed you wanted by posting this. But, now I am realizing you are only doing this to ‘get’ what you want and the responses you want. The people who agree with you get answers and respect. The people that disagree or ask questions are met with your ridicule, childish insults or just plain nothing. If you aren’t willing to answer my questions or even point me in the right direction it’s cause you don’t know the answers!! You are a woman……..so you can’t wear a headdress anyway. What do you know?Consider educating yourself before you start a forum. And consider both sides of the story and not just your own. I have lost a lot of respect for you and your culture over this and all I wanted was to know more. You will never be free unless you live freedom for all. And, right now all you are doing is continuing to repress yourself and your people!! Well done!
Yes yes, it’s all “me me me”, I can hear you loud and clear. Cry some more.
You have no side to the story to consider…you are not a part of my culture, and your opinions on my culture are irrelevant. You have presented yourself as a self-entitled fool who demands I provide you with my time, energy and cultural knowledge for free. You then had a tantrum when I pointed out that what you are asking is inappropriate.
You will not get another opportunity to whine here, have fun with your shitty attitude and your racist Settler privilege!
And you are posting from Edmonton, Alberta. Cripes, you are in the middle of Cree territory and you are too lazy to do any work at all to find answers to your questions (including how to follow proper protocol)? Pathetic.
its good that you ask questions about culture, it is how all of us learn…provided that you are asking them honestly. Let me try to provide some information…many different Native groups use feathers; however very few created the type of head wear that is seen in Hollywood movies. Even those who did make & wear them had interesting differences in style, type of feathers, number etc. For example a Lakota bonnet flows onto the shoulders, while a Blackfoot style is more straight up…many other native men wore their earned feathers quite differently.
It is hard to generalize across time and across cultural groups…but yes, this was a man’s way of demonstrating honor & success in warfare. Feathers were historically awarded by his military society and he was recognized as eligible to wear them (feathers were also attached to weapons, horses, shields etc). Women didn’t receive or wear bonnets (women were honored in other ways; for example by wearing elk teeth on their dresses). Most of the 1800s pre-Reservation period items (weapons, clothing, personal protection) were buried with their owner, although a family member could inherit the right to remake items using designs, colors etc. Some families sold them to museums such as the Smithsonian around 1890-1920. Men stopped receiving war honors as the warrior societies were disbanded by Reservation Government Agents, but revived again when guys came home from WW1 and WW2.
Modern versions are worn by men (mostly respected military veterans) today, although other family members may receive an eagle feather gift upon graduating from school or as part of dance regalia. However in the US only enrolled tribal members may legally own migratory bird feather by federal law. Can non-native people receive them? No.
Yes, you can buy cheap versions made with painted feathers. Native people make & sell them to tourists….and so its easy to see why you would be confused on the issue. If native people make & sell them to tourists, it must be ok to wear them, right? Sadly, even some native people have accepted that culture is cheaply sold to anyone with a fat wallet. But to other native people, culture is a rich source of pride and should be carefully protected.
You have asked good questions and hopefully you are now learning that culture is a complex matter. You will always get a mix of opinions, but the sentiment that most of us have today is that culture and people should be respected. We encourage you to embrace your own background…if you are of European heritage, learn about your ancestors and their traditions. I’m sure you will find something wonderful to embrace!!
tânisi! I admire your work and I support your efforts to educate on behalf of Aboriginal peoples, including the classes to keep the Cree language alive. I respect your intelligence and experience. I want you to know this upfront because I do support advising people, repeatedly if required, about cultural norms, but I think I feel a little differently than you about some of the details of this issue.
As a Metis woman, I have been thinking about the issue and idea of cultural appropriation a great deal. I can see from these comments, it appears there are people who are very interested in baiting you for a fight. These are the ignorant ones I refer to in my own piece that I put up after the Pharrell headdress photo for Elle magazine. I have had my own discussions with such over the term redskin and my own childhood experiences with that slur.
However, I would like to get your opinion on my opinion I guess, because I enjoy any opportunity to keep learning, and I said, because I do respect your walk this far. I am not as educated as you and I am more plain-spoken, but I hope you will understand my view. I will post my link here to take you to my piece, which of course, you can delete without any ill feeling from me. I also don’t want you to get the impression that I want to lead your readers in any way. http://www.people.com/article/pharrell-williams-native-american-headdress-statement
Thank you, for everything.
-Robyn
Well, that was embarrassing – my eyesight, is not so great at times and I copied the wrong link to my comment.
This is the link to my opinion piece. Sorry about that. http://blog-woman.com/2014/06/07/pharrell-the-native-headdress-the-mistake-was-demanding-respect/
Thanks for the link, for the understanding about baiters, and for the additional point of view! I’ll give it a read and comment!
Okay, I was completely unaware of all of that. Thanks for creating a post which explains so clearly why it would be wrong for me to wear one of these headdresses.
I’d really like to learn a bit more about the significance of these, and spent a while googling but mostly came across links explaining that wearing these headdresses is cultural appropriation, and very little more (your explanation is by far the clearest of these that I have come across in my searching), and sites where I can buy them. Suffice to say, I’m terrible at googling. Do you know of any resource, or can you suggest some search terms, that might point me in the right direction for starting some research?
This is why I read your blog regularly and send as many people here as possible. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. Also, I am *thoroughly* enjoying your replies in the comments.
I’m polish. I have always disliked that certain things are reserved for men and certain things for women.. Ancestral or not like genital mutilation I find these ideas not permissible in the universal ethos of enlightened thinking. I wear pants, traditionally a mans outfit. I studied Haida for a year, I studied fashion and symbolism for a semester.. I think out global identity is up for a revisit and edit.. Similar to certain educational constructs (why can’t you have a degree in both arts and sciences). I think the head dress is similar to the floral garland, what ancient polish pagans gave to virginal girls (not a case of earning it but a case of status) and I think a girls virginty is no ones business but her own.. So I think it’s out dated and insulting to the privacy of any humans sexual identity, that’s the crux of this issue. Are the things the headdress represents values that still hold up? Because if you ask me, the fact that only a man can wear it is problematic
I have addressed this straw an argument, based on total ignorance of our cultures before. I’ll cut/paste for your benefit.
What’s that? No honey, the fact that the okimâwastotin (that headdress worn by clueless hipster girls all the time) is generally reserved for males in Plains cultures is not sexist or patriarchal. You can stop trying to ‘save us from sexism’ thanks.
In fact, we were centuries ahead of you in the gender equality department. There are of course a great diversity of socio-political traditions in our various nations, but one thing comes through loud and clear…our women held positions of power. Not merely over hearth and home, but politically as well. In some nations, women run the roost, and this without denigrating or subjugating men (in case you were worried).
Centuries of racist and sexist interference by European powers has taken its toll. We do indeed face sexism in our communities, to an extent unthinkable before Contact. It is sadly the case that the oppressed often internalise their oppressor, and the oppressor for us has always been racist, and sexist.
To combat this, we look to our traditions, which are egalitarian. Where men and women are respected and venerated. We do not fumble towards equality as sameness, as so many settler feminists insist we should (in our context only, as they often recognise this is a ridiculous approach otherwise). We revive equity. We acknowledge different gender roles, and recognise that the female is not subservient in our cultures.
When we discuss ‘women’s power’ and ‘women’s roles’, you hear echoes of your history. But your history is not ours. Our history speaks proudly of the strength of our women and our men. Gender roles were not created in our societies to elevate men and turn women into chattel.
You settler women have much to overcome. Your history is fraught with inequality and abuses. I am sorry that you come from such twisted traditions.
Do not attempt to transplant your historical circumstances into our Nations. You have no idea what the headdress means in our cultures. To claim that the restrictions on who can wear it are ‘sexist’ merely highlights this ignorance…your inability to see outside your own cultural norms, outside your own sad, sexist cultural history.
Colonisers always believe they have the right to define reality, particularly for those they have colonised. What kind of feminist are you, when you take part in these inequalities of power, and proclaim for us the meaning of our own symbols and traditions?
In case you’re not sure, it makes you a racist feminist.
Its always difficult to explain things across cultural lines…what may or may not be allowed in Polish society is quite different that what is appropriate in Kiowa, Caddo, Pawnee, Osage, Lakota or any of the hundreds of Native American and Canadian aboriginal societies. Here, men & women had historically different roles & tasks, but both were regarded as essential to the survival of the family & community. Some groups were matrilineal & matrilocal (Cherokee, Navajo and Iroquois) but on the Plains (where feather bonnet were worn) men played a strong role in war and leadership. Bonnets were worn by men as symbols of sacrifice, commitment and honor…women were respected and rewarded for other tasks in other ways. Today many Native women serve n the US military and receive eagle feathers when they come home…but they would not wear a large bonnet (very few people actually do, mostly older men).
Its not just a matter of simple gender expression…its part of a historical tradition. Many Europeans and Euro-Americans express frustration that Native people want to hang on to traditions. The reverse side of the coin is the sadness that Native people feel when they see how Euro-Americans so easily cast aside their own ancestors & traditions (and then in desperation replace those by borrowing from others without any understanding of the meanings or significance).
Edit: I am a whiny, racist pos who desperately wants attention but isn’t going to get it.
Lol, as if I’d give your disgusting self a platform. Time to go cut holes in some bed sheets, bro.
Edit: waaa waaa waaa I was so totally respectful of you with my false equivalencies and pathetic excuse for an argument and you censored me so now I’m justified in being an ass how DARE you not give me a platform to foam at the mouth upon? Don’t you even know what free speech is!? *hysterical weeping and gnashing of teeth*
Edit: great argument, very nuanced. I especially liked the bit about how we should all fuck off.
Bye!
I created this illustration based off names you would call boys in the 50’s and 60’s. Names like ranger, scout, rookie, champ, chief, etc. Check out the link and let me know if this is offensive because it most definitely wasn’t meant to be. Thanks ahead for your honest response.
http://bradwwoodard.tumblr.com/post/93114599956/day-35-in-todays-illustration-concept-was-king
Yes, the Chief name/illustration is problematic for all the reasons mentioned in this article.
Hi, I was looking into getting a tattoo of a headdress to symbolize the many hardships I’ve fought through during my life. I was wondering if this might also be seen as disrespectful…. Thank you!
Yes, it would be.
I really enjoyed this publication. It cleared up a lot of questions that I had; however I still would like something clarified. I am in the process of designing a headdress that I plan to wear as a “celebration of life on our planet” The base of the piece will be vines with leaves and flowers woven together around a wire frame. I will then add various natural object symbols, such as butterfly wings, flowers, tree branches, leaves, seeds, and feathers. My only concern with all of this is the feathers. I plan on using different types, including peacock and pheasant, in the headdress. This is not just a piece of art for me. The design and thought that has gone into this has stemmed from a personal, spiritual experience I had earlier this year. The headdress is meant to be a beautiful expression of my personal spirituality; however, the last thing that I want to do is disrespect the native peoples of the land that I now call home. I have great respect and appreciation for native culture – many people in the United States believe that the natives were “backwards” when in reality, it was the settlers who were backwards. The natives embraced sexuality and equitable gender roles, lived sustainably with respect for the land and ecosystem, and also had deep understanding and reverence for the forces that shape our existence. I try to live in a similar fashion to the native peoples; however, I understand that culture is not something to be recreated, boxed up, and sold to whoever will pay money for it. I personally do not believe my headdress to be disrespectful, but I would appreciate some clarification on your end. Thank you for your time!
Why are you explaining “native culture” to an actual native person?
Hi. Would an art style from a specific tribe be considered a type of restriction? For example, I love Tsimshian art, and I want to create something in that style. Would this be disrespectful?
Thanks
It depends on whether the symbols you wish to use are restricted or not. Some patterns/symbols are restricted to Clans/Houses. As a purchaser or admirer of art, I would also like it made clear whether a piece done in an Indigenous style was done by an Indigenous person or not, so that is another consideration.
No one is denigrating anyone. No one is being racist. These are not real headdresses. They are not even replicas. They are simply something that is modelled on something worn by some people. You appear to have a feckin’ big chip on your shoulder about the White Man. You are the racist. You are the one denigrating people.
Gosh, thank you so much for clearing that up for me! If only you had posted this clarification years ago so I could have avoided ever worrying about it or analysing the ways in which these kinds of misappropriations are actively harmful! It’s a shame that all of these pointless cogitations on my part apparently turned me into a giant racist, but now that you’ve pointed that out I will give up all of my structural power so that I no longer oppress the White Man.
You honestly deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for the efforts you put in today.
Hah, I love the settlers comment. It’s not like you were there. Get over your butthurt sense of entitlement and realize that cultures have risen and fallen by the thousands since the dawn of man. ‘Your’ people ( and I use that term loosely, since I’m sure your ancestors would have a laugh at your expense), were technologically inferior, and didn’t have the means or numbers to thwart other cultures from expanding. This has happened all over the world, throughout history. To act like you’re some special little snowflake is pathetic to say the least.
Scintillating social commentary, really insightful.
I came across your piece as an effort to educate myself more about headdresses. My grandfather was a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians as well as a decorated Korean war veteran he has earned multiple purple hearts. Even through loosing his leg and two fingers He was employed for 38 years as a train foreman for Consolidated Rail Corp (con rail) and the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad. He also was a game warden of 8 years for the Seneca Nation. He was such an unbelievably wonderful man. I wholly admire his strength, accomplishments and the astounding man he was. I grew up viewing his beautiful headdresses and would hear his story’s about pow-wow before he passed away. Unfortunately I was raised white as can be by an ignorant and disgraceful person. I do however have a deep respect, appreciation and am very intrigued by the culture’s and their people’s. I would like to commend you for your time, patients in writing this blog and dealing with people’s negative comments. Although certain asshats lol (word I frequently use and love) may not realize it. I agree with you that certain people feel a sense of entitlement and feel as though they do not need to respect other cultures. It clearly shows with all of the disgusting comments. All of the posts about is this acceptable, is that appropriation and “where is the line” have unbelievably pissed me off! I don’t know anything much of your culture but I don’t understand how people could be so dense. It is pure disrespect reading the blog, choosing to ignore it and attempting to continue to push. Then hide behind the pathetic excuse of being uneducated! It’s simple, NO headdress should be worn or crafted by someone not of the culture or one who isn’t entitled to it!!! What is so hard? As well as the sexist well why can’t women wear them comments. Who are you to question anyone’s customs or to assume anything!? Not knowing that women are held in the highest regard. I apologize that you had to deal with all of this b.s. When you were taking your time, just trying to do them a favor! Being uneducated is one thing but ignorance is a whole other. People commenting on the authors blog need to stop acting like she is being disrespectful!!! You are the ones that are disrespectful hypocrites and deserve every bit of backlash you get! Respect is earned not given! Once again I thank you very much for your valiant effort, you have my admiration. Good luck in all that comes your way in the future. And all the best to you in your future endeavors.
Have you ever tried looking at at this way?:
When a Native American wears a headdress, it is a sign that they have earned the right to wear it. If someone from another culture wears a Native American headdress, it’s just a headdress.
No. Make your own style of ‘headdresses’. Do not rip off ours and say it’s ‘just a headdress’.
Hi: at risk of a tart rebuttal, I’m interested in (further) exploring where the lines should be drawn in this debate. let me start by saying I completely accept that is it culturally insensitive (at the least!) to wear headdresses that are either authentic or as-authentic imitations of those made & worn by whatever tribes wear them using whatever style(s) and symbolism tradition dictates; and that to do so is (or may be) offensive to people of those tribes. likewise I accept the argument that any imitation of these bonnets (cheap or otherwise) that references any tribe – or even “indians” in general – without permission is similarly offensive. I respect your right to tell me this is so, without qualification, and thank you for making this clear.
however, at one point in the Q&A commentary above, some examples of various head-pieces were referenced and your comments made it clear you saw no problem with some that were “modern art pieces” shall we say, while you felt others that were “faux tribal art” were either a grey area or a no-no.
but – and this is where i risk your wrath, i’m afraid – after looking at those pieces, I have to challenge your right to that opinion (at least, in terms of your cultural referents) simply because the works pictured in no way, to my mind, compare to the Plains headdresses your ethnicity provides you authority to comment on. with one possible exception, I believe they were modelled on other American cultures: aztec, maya, inca, Amazonian. and the exception was, I believe, faux celtic, not Amerindian. (there may be similarities I am not aware of, but to my untutored unamerican eye these descriptors were my impression of what was on display).
so…. although I appreciate that (obviously) this subject is one you pursue with righteous zeal, and understandably so, I (meekly, lol) ask you to question the bounds of that zeal, since it appears to have spilled over into defining what other cultures may or may not find appropriate or offensive in terms of representation or imitation, and attempting to direct people as to that on their (presumably unsanctioned) behalf.
hope you take my point. and I don’t raise this to be critical as such; I do so because it highlights the question I started by framing: where exactly should the lines be drawn. respectfully, I suggest in your case those lines can only be drawn around your own culture – be that cree, plains indian, or “first nation” tribes in general; whichever level you believe you have the authority to speak to. but certainly not more than that.
sorry, this hasn’t come out quite as I first thought it, perhaps because I was myself offended at the liberties you were (apparently unintentionally) taking. but I hope that provides some pause for reflection – especially in relation to others’ points of view, where they may also unintentionally take liberties.
what I really simply wanted to point out was that feathered headdresses are by no means unique to either “first nation” tribes or the Americas; in one form or another they are part of almost every indigenous culture worldwide. and indeed there are Mongolian tribes who make “feather bonnets” which bear many resemblances to those of the Plains tribes.
that being so, I would humbly suggest that the only hard and fast rules any tribe can lay down regarding their sacred vestments is to restrict (or permit) replication of their particular styles, symbols, and methods of construction – because at base it is the unauthorised use of those (stress) which is offensive. with respect, to attempt to cast a wider net is to catch yourself in the same culturally insensitive trap as you decry.
So many of the responses I get to this article are “where are the LIIIINES” and “BUT WHAT ABOUT…”. Ugh.
It is actually pretty simple. Ask permission, don’t assume you have it.
I have zero tolerance for anyone wearing a Plains headdress they have not earned. I have that knowledge of its meaning and its restricted nature as someone from a Plains culture. This does not mean all non-Plains headdresses are up for grabs. Just go on and try to tell anyone that you have the right to wear a gustoweh without permission and see where that gets you.
Instead of spending so much time and energy defending shitty choices, and disrespectful actions and searching for loopholes, people would be a lot better off it they just asked…and accepted the answer.
Okay, but who do you ask for permission? You have said already earlier in this thread that even if one person from a cultural group says something is okay, does not make it ‘okay’ on any universal standard, and that the permission can be revoked at any time if circumstances change. It seems like what you are suggesting contradicts what you said earlier, and proposes that anyone wishing to appropriate an item of another culture’s visual lexicon (even with understanding that within that visual lexicon there are all sorts of layered and subjective and historical aspects), they must ask all members if this is acceptable or not acceptable etc. Right now, for the purpose of this conversation – which, incidentally I find really useful and insightful – you have assumed the position of the person speaking for many about what is acceptable/sensitive/offensive etc, which is why we are all asking you about boundaries.
For the record, I am not in any way critical of your sensibilities as they pertain to your cultural outlook, or what you’re saying about how you feel they can best be respected by other cultures. Where I don;t share your sentiments with regard to my own culture, I get where you are coming from and I respect that these are your boundaries. Regarding my own heritage, I don’t know if you have ever been outdoors anywhere in the world on St Paddy’s day, but in the process of commemorating a religious crusader who was responsible for the dismantling of another indigenous people and religious system in the name of the church, there is no shortage of “Irish for a day” stereotyping of my ancestors in a less than favourable way.. For whatever reason this doesn’t bother me. I can totally respect the proposition that this scenario would offend someone else, and while I don’t necessarily share your views, I can appreciate where they come from. I think.
But, the solution to this seems to be multi-directional. If you have one Native friend who says “yeah fine, it’s totally cool for you to do ‘that thing’ (wear a headdress/ item of jewelry/ redskins paraphernalia/ other misdirected cultural symbol etc) around me, but my mom hates it don’t do it around her”, then you begin to understand the nature of the offense as potentially offensive overall – in which case you might stop doing ‘the thing’ altogether – and/or you understand that ‘the thing’ is at least offensive to one person in that group and you do your best not to do it around them. My bf and I were talking about this and used the example of the “Smash Fascism!” slogan that was so popular among our social group when we were kids that depicts an image of a swastika being smashed into pieces. He said, of our friends that would wear that symbol, they would probably not wear it around other friends’ jewish grandparents. Not because the image was intrinsically bad, or that the message was offensive, but that there was a good chance people with their history wouldn’t want to be confronted with that symbol. Fair play.
So, from the point of view of the dialogue you mentioned in your original post that you said was important to be open and equal, what does “permission” look like? What does “asking permission” look like in an honest and sincere way? And does the fact that you, as a member of group x have obviously stated a ‘zero-tolerance’ lack of permission, is there a type of permission that could be applied or received that would be legitimate in the absence of your voice as a member of the community, which obviously opposes it?
I’ve already explained that one earns a warbonnet. That’s it. That’s the way you do it. Period.
All restricted items/symbols are thusly restricted in a very specific way, meaning, if you care to find out how one earns said restricted item/symbol, you talk to people from the culture that know.
Again, this is not that difficult, or complicated no matter how you might approach it as such.
I understand that, but it becomes more complicated when you say that anything that looks similar is also restricted. That’s where the discussion about lines becomes more involved. It sounds like you’re saying that anything with a semiotic similarity is also restricted, but that seems to include things like artworks made by other people as well as other cultural objects belonging to other people and representing different things. Again, I’m not trying to be critical of your sensitivity but I think that this might be why so many people are curious about what you see as being the extent of the offense drawn by things that resemble cultural objects in an indirect way. Are you familiar with semiotics as a way of reading symbols and images? I think this seems to be what people are stumbling on if that makes sense.
Cripes, flog this horse until the skin is flayed from its bones.
Don’t wear a Plains style headdress. Don’t minutely alter a replica of a Plains style headdress and say, “now it’s fine, right?” Don’t name ‘artistic renderings’ of headdresses after Indigenous nations and then wonder why we get pissed. Don’t play cultural appropriation BINGO, and ffs when people tell you to stop, respect that instead of going on and on and on and on and on about it.
Fin.
Sorry to bust your bubble Mr. Irish guy but after traveling and meeting many native born Irishmen and women, the general consensus amongst them is that they highly resent many Americans claiming Irish heritage but having no knowledge of Ireland besides being on an Island off the continent of mainland Europe.
I’m a girl, and I’m well aware that that stuff’s offensive to some Irish people, it just doesn’t offend me.
It’s made more complicated by the fact that we are the second largest diaspora in recent history, and people who identify as Irish outside of Ireland exponentially outnumber Irish nationals ‘in country’. One culture becomes many, many others over just a few generations, and (imo) no one person’s cultural identity or experience within that movement is more authentic than any other – even if you are (as I’m sure the many Irish people you met on your travels probably referred to non-native Irish) a “plastic paddy” or island born. “Wild Geese” and Patricios, Boston Irish, Nova Scotian Celtic, Newfoundlanders’ mix of British, Nordic and Native cultures all have their own deal. They all are sensitive to different things, they all use and keep and throw away different things.
At this point both in history, and due to my own family diaspora, it’s kind of hard to choose an allegiance although sometimes one feels forced to.. if only by being forced out of one by one. This is totally ok with me, for whatever reason I don’t feel ownership of or profound connection to my heritage in the same way as some of my countrymen. I’m also pretty well aware of how well we all rub each other up the wrong way – even within our own heritage. Sometimes within our own homes.
Sorry to bust your bubble, Danny Boy. On the topic of cultural misappropriation, I guess you probably also know that’s an English song?
Glastonbury Festival: Ban the sale of Native American-style headdresses on site from 2015. https://www.change.org/p/glastonbury-festival-ban-the-sale-of-native-american-style-headdresses-on-site-from-2015 *PETITION*
absolutely agree, and i thought i’d said as much. but you have completely side-stepped my point, which is simply that imho it is not the right of someone from another culture to dictate terms to a third party about that other culture’s standards. in short, the flip side of what you are saying. and pointing out that within this commentary you seem to have slipped over that boundary.
we ALL need to be careful and respectful around any cultural differences; being an activist for one culture’s traditions does not imbue a right to speak for another’s. hence the “lines” revisit.
I have not in any way ‘slipped over that boundary’. My position is that until you know whether a symbol that originates in another culture is restricted, or not restricted, then you refrain from using it. Period. I am not speaking for other cultures, but I am absolutely stating a bright line rule that is much more likely to ensure respectful cultural sharing than not. Do you disagree with this approach, and if so, it would be lovely if you’d come out and clearly state so rather than oh so politely suggesting this that and the other thing.
yes, i think that’s a good approach, and i agree and am happy to support that stand.
but two small buts: i respectfully invite you to review some of the comments you’ve made in responses in this thread and you may find the need to accept that you have on occasion crossed the line; and second, if i’m painstakingly polite it’s because you bite the head off anyone who isn’t!
be nice if you gave people a little breathing space – and owned your errors when you make them. respect is key – even when dealing with morons. 🙂
Fuck your tone policing.
I’m Irish so no one better celebrate st Patrick’s day. Also notre dame better change their mascot, we all aren’t leprechauns. What’s next some one will be offended if an American wears an Italian cut suit. You don’t own feathers or any of the materials used to make them. How do people automatically assume negativity instead of appreciating everything.
So you didn’t bother to read the article which clearly explains that the headdress is a restricted item, and you want to interject a bunch of super unique ideas into the conversation to get us to realise how wrong we are. Wow. Much originality. Thanks so much.
Hi, I’m English. Sorry about that. I’ve read every post in this thread of your blog. The problem is that ‘Western’ culture doesn’t really have an equivalence to your ‘restricted item’. I’ve been racking my brains but i can’t find one. Victoria Cross? Diploma? Various achievement awards? It’s touching that you proffer these as equivalent.
You see it’s like this. Lot’s of us (in this here ‘West’) will exercise our freedom to express ourselves by wearing facsimiles of any of these symbols of honour or owning cheap replicas bought in seedy shitty seaside towns and generally shitty gift shops (usually made in Chinese sweat shops).
What is important to us is the right to exercise our right to freedom of expression. Regardless of concepts of respect, sensibilities and sensitivities. It is inconceivable to us that anyone could object to us exercising our rights to wear what to us is a mere fashion accessory. And believe you me, your cultural symbols, hell no, your culture is nothing more to us than a theme, an influence, a style, a fashion accessory that can be bought and sold and at any point convenient to us will be tossed into the nearest rubbish bin (trash can).
You see we do that with our own culture (we’re so cutting edge).
So having done some perception gymnastics and weird perspective yoganomics I’ve come to the following conclusion:
It’s the RESPECT in your culture that’s paid to the ‘restricted item’ that’s the difference.
That’s what we don’t get.
‘Western’ culture doesn’t really have an equivalent to your culture’s respect for your ‘restricted items’. In fact I’d go so far as to say that ‘Western culture’ just doesn’t have your culture’s equivalent of ‘respect’ at all. Full stop. That’s it.
For us ‘respect’ is paid in certain circumstances, for limited periods of time, with large elements of coercion/shaming if we don’t buy in or comply. But in spite of all that it is also OPTIONAL. In fact mostly optional, and definitely an expression of individual preference. Because to us ‘individual’ is what counts. The I. The me. The self.
Your culture seems to set great store in respect. Or in something that the closest equivalent in our culture would be described as respect.
It also seems to me that a great many of the posters in your comment section don’t seem to be aware of the appalling Crimes Against Humanity that were committed against the indigenous peoples of what we now call the Americas. And within living memory.
I wasn’t being flippant when I said I was sorry.
Ugh! This stream of comments is so disappointing and tiresome. Kudos to you Chelsea, for continuing to respond and educate.
I’m a white male, living in Yukon, Canada. I struggle to deal with my issues around privilege, and I am fortunate to have intelligent and patient friends who are willing to set me straight when I slip back into my comfortable status… Because privilege is a comfortable status… That needs to be challenged and dismantled whenever it is invoked.
Yes, getting to grips with cultural appropriation, is challenging… Especially from the settler perspective where appropriation of every culture we have subjugated has been normalized through our education system, biased retelling of history, and the spread of western culture…. But it is necessary. It is necessary to hear what people are actually saying when they point out that the name of a sports team is thoughtlessly racist, or wearing traditional, or traditionally-inspired First Nations clothing, head-dresses, or jewelry is insulting. It is important to hear and absorb what is being expressed rather than simply hit back with knee jerk reactions of “it feels right”…. “I am honouring Aboriginal culture”… “I not a racist, you are”… And “I’m sorry, I didn’t know the rules tell me the rules so I know better next time.”
When you ask for the “rules”, you more often than not reveal that you have little genuine interest in the conversation or how cultural appropriation is wrong, you are simply wanting boundaries that either you can choose to live within, or pick at to prove you were not in the wrong in the first place.
Here in Yukon, there are 14 First Nations and eight First Nations languages. Some aspects of culture are shared and similar, and some are different. The Nations here are at different stages of reclaiming many aspects of their culture. They are relearning songs and writing new ones, relearning dances and creating new ones, and engaging in discussions about what is traditional and what is not.
It has been fascinating and enlightening to witness the conversation as the First Nations people here strive to identify and separate their unique cultural elements from the homogenous Native American catch-all fake culture that settler society has burdened them with. Examples are, Gwich’in people debating their love of fiddle music and whether it can be considered “traditional” after 200 yrs because it was introduced to their culture by European explorers… And Northern Tutchone elders explaining to their youth that the dances and songs they just witnessed by a visiting First Nation from southern Canada, while attractive, are not their songs and dances, and should not be copied, the youth must instead rediscover their Northern Tutuchone songs and dances instead.
Having witnessed such discussions, and out of my respect for the First Nations people here who are rebuilding their cultures, here is an example of how I deal with my own desire to appropriate/celebrate cultural aspects that please me:
Tlingit culture here has a tradition of vibrant, colourful button blankets. I adore these blankets, and would love to own one. Seeing one being created at a gathering, I asked about it, about the cultural significance of the blanket, and the symbols used. I discovered that they are often created specially to honour a person and gifted at gatherings and ceremonies, they carry significance for that person, the First Nation, or clan that is gifting or receiving. Most importantly I learned that these blankets are not commodities, mass produced for general consumption. As such, I continue to admire them, but no longer covet them. Perhaps one day I might be worthy of receiving one as a gift, but I am not seeking a caveat or loophole by which I can obtain one.
I love watching the many First Nations dance groups that have reestablished themselves here. I love their traditional dress. I love their music. But I do not seek to wear it myself, I do not seek to force myself into their celebration. Unless I had been explicitly invited to, or was in some way being honoured, I would feel uncomfortable and entirely out of place wearing any of a First Nations’s traditional clothing or head dress. I have a very hard time understanding some one who would not feel similarly.
One horrifying and haunting image, among many, from archival film of residential schools in Yukon that has stayed with me, is of First Nations children, dressed in white shirts and black pants, with their hair cut short, all very docile and obedient…. being encouraged to dress up in generic Indian head dress and vests, wave tomahawks, holler, and run around a camp fire in an awful mockery of what the nuns and priests considered their savage culture. Taking the individual cultures and cultural links these children were clinging to and forcibly replacing them with stereotypes perpetuated in movies and pulp novels. It is sad, chilling, and wrong.
We must not continue to perpetuate such ignorance. We must be better that this. It was not that long ago, less than 20 yrs, that the last residential school closed in Canada. Healing is needed on both sides. A big part of that healing for non-First Nations people is to move through our ignorance about First Nations history and culture and truly comprehend what has been inflicted upon these peoples without feeling the need to say “but that wasn’t me”.
It is not this blogger’s responsibility to provide 100% of that education for you. It is up to you to seek out that info yourself. And if you don’t know any First Nations people, or where to find any, then perhaps that is where you need to start in breaking down your own ignorance.
Another good place to start is Thomas King’s award-winning book – The Inconvenient Indian… A critical and personal meditation on what it means to be “Indian” in North America today. http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/the-inconvenient-indian-a-curious/9780385664226-item.html?s_campaign=goo-BooksByTitle&gclid=CMCy9cHhvsACFbRzMgod7gYAhw
I am by no means perfect. I come face to face with my prejudice and my privilege every day, but I strive to be better. It’s not that hard, you just have to want to make the effort too… And that means listening, hearing what is being said, and taking the time to absorb and understand it.
Michael Vernon, this is really well said, as is the response to a previous comment/query I made here by the host. I can totally identify with a lot of what you both are saying. A lot of my questions and confusion come not from wanting to commodify “restricted” items (ie – ‘coveting’ them, although that is an excellent description of what I think drives a lot of cultural appropriation, or wanting to own, wear, be identified with/ through them) but trying to understand how to make work that responds to some of those aesthetics, and their politics, and draws inspiration from the content of the history – hopefully in a socially critical way – without being disrespectful. It appears to be a lengthy and involved process, which is a very good thing, I think. This thread has been so useful in clarifying some of these issues for me, I’m really grateful for this conversation. Thanks to âpihtawikosisân for hosting and guiding the convo.
Racism = intent
Hi.
Following this year’s Glastonbury (see pingback below for the petition asking the festival to ban the sale of head-dresses from next year), one of my favourite sellers of presents-for-hippies began selling headdresses.
I wrote to them at the weekend respectfully asking them to read your article, which they did, and wrote back to me the next day to say they wouldn’t be buying any more. I thanked them,and they wrote back saying that they were removing the ones they had from sale.
If anyone is looking for boho/hippy/festie stuff in the UK, http://www.hippyclothinguk.co.uk/ have fairtrade goods and have shown they behave ethically when made aware of inappropriate cultural appropriation. I believe people who do the right thing should be supported.
Hi I am doing an art project for my GCSE (I’m in the UK) and wondered if it would be wrong to make an Indian/Native American headdress?
I would like to make it by hand using real feathers that I find. If I put a message talking about the controversy surrounding this and others and my views would it be ok?
Just don’t.
You should do this
Yup. Ignore the person you asked. Listen to this random person instead.
I’ve decided to do it anyway but it will be more of a piece of art and will honour the Native American genocide
Not sure why you even bothered coming here to ask, if “yes please go ahead” was the only answer you were going to accept.
Bravo on being bringing yet another unoriginal piece of ‘art’ into the world based on your own ignorance, and using Hollywood, pan-Indian stereotypes to do so. How innovative.
I am glad I didn’t take your advice if you are such a rude person, You haven’t even seen the art piece and you make a horrible judgement. this is for my. GCSE not so I can mock you and your culture. obviously I have more respect for the native americans that lost their lives to the power struggle over America.
I could care less about your art piece. Seeing it would not help. You asked, “would it be appropriate to use a Native American headdress”, and I told you no, as a person from a culture that uses this headdress. You have decided that your opinion on the matter supersedes the opinion of the people you claim to honour. Basically THE definition of White privilege, rooted in racist beliefs in your own superiority over the opinions of people from the culture you wish to exploit. Which begs the question, why pretend to give a shit in the first place?
Thank you for having more respect for those of us murdered by the state, than for those of us still alive. Very nice. Very in touch with your colonizer’s roots, eh wot?
What you could still do would be to make the submission for your GCSE the destruction of the headdress you made. Submit the advice you’ve been given here as part of a portfolio and show you’ve been able to change your actions based on respect for others and an ability to admit fault, and subsequently grow as a human being. Maybe read a bit wider on colonialism, orientalism, speak to your school or local librarian for suggestions.
You’re 15/16, old enough to be realising that very bad things happen in the world and that we all have a responsibility to take a stand when we know we could do something to make things better. At the same time being the age you are is a difficult time and learning how to deal with having been wrong is hard.
Of course you’ve had an abrupt response to what you’ve said here. What you said was very rude and offensive, however you meant it. You received a judgement that feels horrible because your refusal to listen to an unwelcome response, was horrible.
Can you imagine how it feels to have someone say that they don’t intend to mock your culture when they go ahead with doing something that you have told them mocks your culture? Imagine someone asking you if it’s okay to laugh at a piece of art you made, you say you don’t want them to, then they get all their friends together and point and laugh at you. What you’ve done so far is like that but worse. Don’t be a bully.
You can use your coursework/exam to show you’ve learned, and maybe even use it as an opportunity to enlighten your classmates or any staff who encouraged you to go ahead with the piece. To be a better person, go for redemption, not blustering refusal to admit fault. Choose not to perpetuate oppression and to make the word better.
so appreciate the way you broke this down. thanks!!
These comments are GOLDEN. I am only 3rd generation American, so I defiantly don’t identify with this Anglo entitlism. “But what about if I do this?” “What if it’s just for me?” Then you’re all quick to get pissed when you’re called racist.
If you can’t understand it, don’t fry your brain trying to, just DONT DO IT. Respect other cultures. This is not yours, you can not claim it because you think they’re “cool” or “pretty”, or you’re trying to “make a feminist statement”.
JUST FUCKING STOP. It’s a big fat, “fuck no knock it the fuck off”.
God dammit. Thank you for this article, apparently for some it was not clear enough though.
Thank you for this article.
I was privileged to be the guest of Lakota people for three months. Their cultural experience of white people like me was that we lied and lied and cheated and stole and lied some more. Nevertheless, they received me with courtesy, graciousness and generosity.
I have no idea of the ethnicity of the people writing negative comments. The “I can do what I damned well like” attitude is one, though, which Native American people will know all about at the hands of white people.
Those of you who feel entitled to (knowingly) plunder the beauty and integrity of someone else’s culture – you are missing an opportunity to become more truly human.
Yo.
Filipino-American girl. I don’t face the same type of prejudice as you do, especially since I live in California’s diverse San Francisco Bay Area, but given that I’m one of many Filipino-Americans who can’t speak their ancestral language, and the Islands got colonized by pretty much everyone in Asia IN ADDITION TO the West, and there are very few Asians in my chosen field of work (theater/acting, specifically), it sucks to have to explain everything to my various non-Asian classmates. Especially since most of them are black and face entirely different kinds of prejudices compared to Asians.
It’s probably why my spirituality’s all over the fucking place. I call myself Irish pagan as the short version, but my actual beliefs are Irish/CELTIC paganism plus ancestor-worship, plus quasi-shamanistic practices. Then there’s “various proto-religious rituals that don’t really fit into quasi-shamanism, but they seem like some indigenous practices if you squint and tilt your head to the right (plus I have to replace X with Y because I’m broke, but shhh).”
Things like your article make a lot of people uncomfortable because those people most likely want to keep living in their sanitized bubble of “Racism is In The Past(TM)” and “It’s Not Racism If It’s Not A Hate Crime (TM).” And the ever-present “BUT I DIDN’T MEEEEEEEAN TO HURT YOUR FEELINGS!”
Everyone who keeps claiming you’re rude or you’re too angry is probably at least a little butthurt about how instead of being a Wise And Calm Noble Savage (TM), you’re being someone who’s had generations of racism and colonialism in their history and is acting accordingly.
You can be intelligent and well-spoken, but that never, ever means that you have to be NICE.
Keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll read more of this blog when it’s not 12:30AM.
I’m interested to know what your stance is regarding native people who make their living selling these headdresses. Should they sell only to distinguished native men? Given the price that these items fetch, it strikes me that it may represent a not insignificant income stream for native families. Do you have an alternative they could pursue?
Sorry but this is a nonsense argument. Headdresses are not exclusively a Native American cultural ‘possession’. They are worn throughout the world by countless cultures. Taking offense by what someone else does is a choice…your choice. A non Native American wearing a headdress is not racist or a desicration of a culture. Banning things like this is an overreaction and really has no consequence to the growth of humanity. A truly spritual and loving person would not be bothered by what other people wear. Love & light.
Sorry, but yours is a nonsense argument. We are not discussing headdresses in the general, we are discussing them in the specific: Plains style warbonnets. Which, contrary to your uninformed opinion, ARE exclusive to PLAINS Nations.
Nice try.
“Love & Light” and down with colonial misappropriation!
People do dress up as decorated soldiers. They also do dress up as doctors. By that standard, they should be able to dress up as chiefs in the same venues.
They shouldn’t wear headdresses for concerts, because (most) concerts wouldn’t have people dressing up as soldiers, doctors, etc. It shouldn’t be a symbol of festivities. We shouldn’t use headdresses as a sign of wild rambunctiousness.
We’ve all seen old television. If someone shows up to work in an Indian headdress, but a full suit, it’s cruel. It’s like comparing the headdress to a chicken suit.
But if a kid dresses up as a doctor because he wants to be a doctor, then similarly, he should be able to wear a Native American costume . He won’t necessarily grow up to be doctor (in the tribe’s case, he can’t, unless he was born to it) but it’s still a sign of respect.
One of my mother’s favorite expressions came from a very horrible, and positively racist 50s song. It is, in full, “When I grow up, I want to be a doctor, lawyer or Indian chief.” Of course, the expression was originally meant to convey flippancy, that not all three values were equal, and therefore the person was unsure about what they really wanted to be. But grammatically, they are equal. Perhaps, doctor and lawyer are not equal, because an Indian chief is a prince, a warrior, and a king, and perhaps they are. But they are good aspirations, of the highest rank and greatest fortune.
Another (really very separate) issue is that the Plains headdress is beautiful. Many awards and recognitions aren’t. Art can be about meaning, but it also can be purely aesthetic.
From that standpoint, everything that is beautiful, whether it is a medal or a purple heart should be used, regardless of its significance. The significance is irrelevant. It is beautiful, and therefore it should be shown for its beauty.
A Swatiska is neither a Nazi cross, a Celtic gravestone, or a symbol of God. It simply is a swatiska.
The problem comes when the distinction between aesthetics and meaning aren’t clear. When the fashion photographer is using a headdress, he is using it because it is beautiful, but he is also using it because it symbolizes wildness. Now, it might symbolize wildness, purely from an aesthetic standpoint, because of the feathers. It would gain all the beauty of birds. (A black feathered cape is a ruffled raven). But it probably symbolizes wildnesses with all cultural attaches applied. That is the problem.
It hurts people to be continued to be seen as wild, tribal, and uncivilized. It may not be the intention of the individual photographer, tattooer, or costumed kid, but it still hurts. It is hurtful to continue using it, when you are better informed.
And yet, military clothing has been translated into fashion for quite some time, with the reverence the profession deserves.
That is also a problem.
I wish that the world was nicer.
We aren’t a profession. We are people, and we’re telling folks to stop using us as ‘dress up’.
So non-Indigenous people have two options. Ignore us and do whatever they want…or have some respect for other human beings and don’t engage in perpetuating harmful stereotypes about us.
It’s really actually very simple.
Your frustration isolates you. If you would preserve your culture by sheltering it then it is meant for a museum. History shows this in almost every facet of human existence. Language, Race, religion. It’s all just a sand castle waiting for a tide. We can complain, build armies, shout from mountains, time gets us all. If you would keep your ‘castle’ and give your life for it you are a fool. Cultural appropriation is such a pompous, self righteous term too, implying that it is some inheritance of great importance which makes you important by extension. The most long lasting cultures are ones that are formless and fluid, why I can enjoy pizza and shawarma or sushi. There’s nearly 8 billion people around now. No one is “special”, it’s ridiculous to think that caring about the style of someone’s hat is what you feel makes you special. It doesn’t and you’re not, you’re just a bag of meat like me. But hey, maybe hats make you get up in the morning. Weird, but what do I care? I’ll probably not wear your hat because it’s not really that fashionable anymore and I’d look silly—much like if I put on Kaiser Wilhelm’s hat, although it might be funny. We all are just ashes that hasn’t figured out the world has burned.
Yes yes, it’s a clear binary, either we let people shit all over our culture and continuing perpetrating racist stereotypes about us, or we’re a dying culture. How about go fuck yourself.
This is really beautiful and beautifully written!! Most of the above ‘rules’ so to speak, are just common courtesy and respect in my opinion, which a lot of people of many different cultures do not comprehend! I find I need to remind myself that most people are not as respectful, considerate and thoughtful as I am. Not saying everyone…. so please, do not jump on me!! I am 1/8 Native American Indian and I am very, very interested in learning about that part of my heritage. I am also Swedish and English. Some combo huh? Anyway, when I was a young adult, I had an infatuation with NAI (I hope no one minds if I abbreviate). It was only later than I learned my complete heritage. I have been finding more and more that some of my ways of thinking and doing things are consistent with the NAI ways. I couldn’t be happier to learn to that, because I have always felt kind of lost in this world. I have a difficult time adhering to the standards of today’s society.
Thank you for this!! So happy a friend sent me the link and I also bookmarked the longer version so I can read more. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thanks for a great post. There is far too little communication between Aboriginals and non-aboriginals regarding most things. As a non-aboriginal living in Winnipeg I constantly hear and read other non-aboriginals making statements and assumptions about what they think Aboriginals need or want. We have a long (and sad) history of thinking we know better, without every asking. Perhaps its because we (collectively) know that real knowledge will challenge us, and we’d rather stay ignorant.
Winnipeg has recently been identified as a city that is deeply divided between aboriginal/non-aboriginal lines. If Winnipeg (and most cities in settler countries) wants to bridge that divide and start cross-cultural communication, then we have to accept that the cost will be to give up our self-imposed right to resentment and to hold stereotypes. To this point, many of the readers to this blog do not understand that by reading this blog they have lost their innocence and they can not longer in good conscience wear a headdress. This should not be something to be lamented as a loss, but we should celebrated as a win in cross-cultural understanding.
My fellow class-mates and I have set up a blog with some provocative posts that are meant to bridge our cultural divide (at http://exploringthedivide.wordpress.com). The topic of Aboriginal cultural appropriation is one of the topics discussed. I encourage the skeptical readers to check it out, and encourage the aboriginal readers to critique and correct us, in case we get anything wrong.
Thanks and don’t get discouraged.
Thanks for your post! Just one quibble. “Aboriginal” is an adjective, not a proper noun, so should not be used as one. It is always Aboriginal (people, community, cultures etc).
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/remembrance-day-sergeant-franck-gervais-not-in-the-military-dnd-says-1.2833025
ay-ay mistahi for this excellent article!
let me start by saying I am 54 years old and my grand father was a native American and so was his mother. I saw on the internet a white female wearing an indian head dress and I thought it was very disrespectuf to the indian.i also read her remarks and to me it was just an excuse and the remark of being born and raised in Oklahoma was no excuse I live in florida and there are many indian reservations here and once again I have not seen a native American try to imitate any one elses culture.we all come from different back grounds and we hafe to respect each other and have compassin for each.
My lineage is Scottish, Chickasaw and Swedish. I identify most closely with my Chickasaw heritage and customs, although distant. I will never be white enough to be white, nor Chickasaw enough to be Native, but I don’t let that bother me. I appreciate this article. It says to me, let’s keep the dialogue open. DON’T hand pick pieces of another culture and mimic it. LEARN what it all means. GO to a powwow and observe, respectfully. You may actually get to make friends with a Native person…….which begins with, as the author has stated…listening and asking. Nanna Ayya
It’s simple…Are you Native? Are you male? Did you earn the honor of wearing the headdress by doing things that were set apart by leaders who had the authority to make those judgement? All other arguments are invalid.
Edit: awwww, the person posting from the IP address 95.145.216.251 from Oldham, UK, believes that Indigenous opinions don’t really matter. Well this Indigenous person doesn’t let racists spew their poorly-spelled ichor on this blog, so sorry!
At the end of the day its a bunch of feathers. Some leather twine and beads. Maybe some animal fur. To get so incredibly hung up on who should and should not put it on is actually quite absurd. I hope you are not borrowing any items of clothing traditionally belonging to other cultures and only wear traditional native strictly hand made garb from head to toe otherwise you legitimately risk being perceived as a whiny hypocrite. All cultures borrow from each other in a process of evolution into something new. This is life. This is progress. Things only have meaning that we give to them and insisting that your point of view is better because it comes from traditions long gone is to insist on living in the past and quite frankly quite sounds fairly arrogant. To not adapt is to stagnate and die. This is one of the reasons your people have perished. Those who were not wiped out by the white invaders refused to accept a new reality of life. I feel truly sorry for those who insist we should follow values cultural or otherwise from centuries past. You doom yourself to suffer needlessly.
I agree. Outdated and outmoded traditions from centuries ago need to be replaced! Things like the Doctrine of Discovery, first legalized by Papal Bulls in the 15th century. Without this, European Settlers would have had no legal claim to any of the lands they colonized. I say it’s high time we repeal that and open the question of how to deal with the illegitimate land claims of European-descended Settlers!
While we’re at it, the entire land system in place in Canada and the US is rooted in ancient European feudalism, and clearly needs to go. Down with fee simple!
Outmoded philosophical beliefs about human beings (specifically the White male of the species) and their supposed God-given dominance over the Earth and all the creatures that roam it, are clearly causing horrific environmental damage that will impact many generations to come. To not adapt is to stagnate and die, and while doing so, doom those future generations to a poisoned and hellish environment.
I feel truly sorry for those who insist we should follow values cultural or otherwise from centuries past. They doom us all to needless suffering. I’m so glad you recognize this.
Hello! I have done a lot of searching on the web to no avail and have reached out to my Native friends and family of a few tribes (Ojibwe and Creek in my family and Cree friends) who seem to just not care if war bonnets are appropriated, thus giving me no answer. I would pay you for the commission of your time / effort / expertise in addressing my questions. If you would like to make this exchange, and consent to offering me your response, please respond with your price and I will Paypal you the suggested amount. If not, lovely blog post and thank you for your consideration. For your consideration, my question is as follows:
I have read your blog post and all comments, and am not new to the idea of cultural appropriation of Plains war bonnets. I am mixed Native American / Mexican / white, but pass as mixed-white / white. I was fortunate enough to grow up with cultural understanding / education / of my tribe (Creek and Chippewa/Ojibwe), but I pass white enough so I was not subject to any of the cultural / social disadvantages / racism / discrimination / etc Natives face in a society with power structures founded in colonialism and white settler supremacy. I was taught that Chippewa did not traditionally wear war bonnets / feathered headdresses, but with settlers and the robbing of Native land, Chippewa were forced in closer with other tribes and began adopting the dress of other tribes like the Sioux / began wearing feathered war bonnets. I am attending Burning Man this year, and the theme is a type of unmasking of the mask / adornment. Since many chose to appropriate the traditional war bonnet of Native Americans in festival culture, I wanted to display the ways in which non-Native headdresses / headpieces could be worn as fantasy headdresses, thus removing the mask the cultural appropriation of Native wear hides behind. I love my Native culture and want to help those in the festival culture (although Burning Man isn’t a music festival, I still see gross appropriation in there) better understand appropriation and offer visible alternatives of head adornments they could wear instead. I also plan on handing out small informational flyers (I was going to link to this post on the paper if that is okay with you!) about what appropriation is and how it is detrimental / disrespectful. I benefit from white privilege and am not a male who earned the war bonnet, so I want to avoid completely wearing anything that would disrespect the culture of First Nations people / further perpetrate the idea the cultural appropriation is okay…it would also completely go against the point I am trying to make / conversation I am trying to start about Native headdress appropriation in festival culture. Are there any bright line rules you could offer as far as division between fantasy headpiece and appropriation of Native war bonnet? I noticed in a comment about someone asked a similar question, but I am still struggling. Are feathers okay in minimal? Or not at all? Or just not in the shape of large cylindrical crown that flares out? I know from what you wrote that anything marked “Native,” “Native inspired,” “tribal,” etc is a no-go. I have done some research and have found some links of things I think may be “okay,” things I think are definitely bad, and some I am confused on. I have categorized them below, please correct where necessary…visual learning is really helpful for me!
OKAY:
1. https://www.etsy.com/listing/184232999/pink-feather-headband-wedding-hairpiece?ref=shop_home_active_14
2. https://www.etsy.com/listing/155542778/amazon-feather-headdress-penthesilea?ref=sr_gallery_19&ga_search_query=fantasy+headpiece&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery
3. https://www.etsy.com/listing/188115645/feather-headband-leather-festival-crown?ref=shop_home_active_19
Bad:
1. https://www.etsy.com/listing/187982796/tribal-festival-feather-headdress?ref=sr_gallery_19&ga_search_query=fantasy+headpiece&ga_ref=auto3&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery
2. https://www.etsy.com/listing/152119973/colorful-feather-headdress?ref=sc_3&plkey=c4418caac0facd4e6cedd60571ebb8f4627a5d30%3A152119973&ga_search_query=feather+headdress&ga_ref=auto3&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery
3. https://www.etsy.com/listing/205040154/white-indian-headdress-white-warbonnet?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=feather+headdress&ga_ref=auto3&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery
Unsure:
1. https://folksy.com/items/4392499-Frida-Vibrant-feather-headdress
2. https://folksy.com/items/6452461-Paintbox-Handmade-Festival-Headdress-Vibrant-Feather-Crown
3. https://folksy.com/items/4120262-Mineral-Feather-headdress
Lastly, do you think this method of commentary on the appropriation of the Native headdress in festival culture is too thin a line for me to walk / a bad methodology? I like the idea of offering a visible alternative to appropriation in action (i.e.: “Sure the headdress you are appropriating is beautiful, but you are actively stealing from a minority culture and engaging in racism. Now, look, here is an info sheet and, really look, I am wearing a headpiece that is also very beautiful and not offensive / appropriative! See how easy, you can do it too.” At least this is how imagine the conversation going…). Do you think my point may be lost considering the fact that although I am Native and grew up with knowledge of my Native culture, I still pass white and my tribes traditionally did not wear headdresses until after colonization, thus it could just look like me wearing a headdress as a white girl at a festival if someone just sees me and doesn’t engage in convo / read the flyer.
L, did you get any response on this? As another festival/bm goer and observer of misappropriation in that culture, I’m very interested in the answers to your points.
a good read indeed
Thank you again for your consideration and patience in helping those of us who want to be allies. The bingo card is helpful, I know if I check it I’m less likely to speak from my privilege . Sometimes I find it hard to believe how pissy people can be at being told they have offended someone, even accidentally, and given positive supportive suggestions on how to avoid doing it again should they want not to. But the folk who say you have no right to be offended or should shut up and stop offending them by telling them they’re offensive, they’re really wilfully ignorant. I’m so impressed by your ability and willingness to keep calling them out and answering them even when it seems evident that they’re just trolling. I’m amazed at how level headed and polite you are with some of these folk. I hope you continue to speak truth to people who have chosen to be assholes. Thank you for your help, I’ll continue to pay attention.
What rights do I have from my past-life as a Warrior.
During all that genocide, many people have been born again all over the world, displaced, and trying to reconnect to what the Soul remembers of itself, and in turn, reach out and reconnect to Soul Families through familiar customs, cultures, art, and ways of Life.
We all bleed red.
My question is rhetorical.
The question is ridiculous.
Someone I know recently posted a photo of her young child in a headress, taken at a resort they were staying at. I found it offensive and I am not even Native…but still, I said nothing to her. Should I?
Well, your language and tone, in the comments, have completely undermined your reasonable post. Good luck with all that vinegar.
Folks who tone police were never going to challenge their own privilege in the first place…don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!
http://www.derailingfordummies.com/derail-using-anger/
Thank you so much for this thread. I recently directed a version of Anne of Green Gables and in it the school children put on a play of their island’s history. Of course it starts with a portrayal of early inuit and aboriginal cultures before leading into early European settlers. I had the students dress in what most would consider stereotypical early aboriginal attire, no headdresses or anything to that extreme (think Peter Pan and Tiger Lily). The script called for this.They also held in their hands examples of early tools and such: wigwams, bow and arrows, and hatchets. After one of the shows I was accused of promoting stereotypes and being akin to doing blackface on the stage. I had no idea that what was written in the play could have been seen as racist, of course, or I most certainly would not have included the piece. The majority of the audience enjoyed the piece and even laughed uproariously at the absurdity of the children’s attempt at retelling the history. Of course the students did look ridiculous in the attire, and I hoped, if any stereotype was shown, that the stereotype itself was being mocked. I feel so sorry if an audience member took offence, this was never the intention. Thank you for the conversation throughout this thread. Again, ignorance is never an excuse, but education is always a response.
The issue with showing a stereotype to be mocked, is that it must be widely understood a) what the stereotype is and b) why the stereotype falls flat. Unfortunately, Canadian society is most certainly not at that point. Instead, these kinds of stereotypes merely reinforce already widespread beliefs. That is really why so many of us caution against their use, and point out how problematic they are. We aren’t at the point where we can all look at these portrayals together, and understand quite clearly what is wrong with them. Thus, they need to be avoided. The intention is not really the issue…many harmful things can be done in ignorance.
Once again, thanks. You’ve offered a fantastic reply. I only wish I could somehow change what I offered on the stage, but must admit I’m rewarded by the discussion and understanding that followed. I wish this was brought to my attention earlier in the production. I am hopeful that I caused no offense to others but am fearful that I unintentionally did. People need to feel comfortable addressing any of these complex issues and know how to approach the issue without the fear of offending the ignorant. Thanks.
Better late than never!
From the book Bones: Discovering the First Americans by Elaine Dewar ISBN#0-7867-0979-0
She is at the ROM in Toronto & the head of anthropology, Mima Kapches takes her on a tour of the drawers & eventually she ends up in the basement looking at dioramas of the permanent exhibit on Native Americans (pg. 17) “…
as noted: But the other display clearly showed my unexamined notions about the simplicity of ancient Native cultures in the Americas were wrong.
This room provided evidence of striking technological ingenuity & ancient mastery of the continent. A gigantic quarry north of Thunder Bay had been used by Paleo-Indians from all over the Great Lakes region.Copper from mines in the north has also been found in the Rockies, southern Mississippi and the St. Lawrence.
The ROM’s display of copper tools said they were from the Archaic period therefore about 5,000 years old.They had been made by the annealing process, cold hammered.
They were strikingly sophisticated, beautifully crafted.
A provincial archaeologist later told me of an Archaic copper woodworking tool in his care that a Native woman had found on a beach at the western tip of Lake Superior. He had been amazed to see there was a peice of wood still attached to it. The wood fragment had been radiocarbon dated & turned out to be about 6,800 RC years old.
The copper tool had been made almost 3,000 years before metal tools were forged in Europe, only about 1500 years after Paleo-Indians were supposed to have faded from the scene.
The Americas, I’d always assumed , lagged way behind the timelines of African & European development. The history of metalworking in Ontario turned those notions upside down.”
At the risk of using an imprecise metaphor (because I’m Anglo and can only speak from a culture I know), try wearing a Medal of Honor or some kind of papier mache facsimile of same and walking into a room full of combat veterans. See what response you get when you tell them it’s your right to wear it because all symbols should be for everyone. If they get heated, tell them you’re honoring them by wearing it because you respect their culture. Then get pissed off and tell them they’re rude when they swear at you. Talk about a cultural disconnect! And that’s just a couple hundred years or more of military culture for which you unwittingly pushed some hot buttons. Not to mention the deeply spiritual and valorous meaning of that symbol for them as it speaks to their personal histories in combat, the sacrifices they made, the brothers and sisters they lost, the sacred experiences and horrors they lived through.
We pick and pick and pick about this issue. Just gotta have those feathers and beads. When will people just move on from this whole headdress fashion idea and start wearing flaming beanies or pirate hats or something? Why can’t people just let it go?
I am a member of the Karuk tribe of Northern California. My tribe doesn’t wear the Plains Nation style of headdresses or war bonnets and it would be cultural appropriation for me to wear one because that is not my culture. Why is that so hard to understand? It is not your culture so do not presume that it is okay for you to wear something that is sacred to another. I don’t wear an American military uniform nor do I prance around in a Catholic nun habit. So why is that Native American culture as a whole is so disrespected and stolen over and over. If you want to disrespect the culture of those who have been persecuted for centuries then you better drink the tears and blood of those who died to preserve tradition and bled to continue to instil pride into today’s indigenous survivors. You can’t pick and chose what you like from a culture without understanding the meaning and sacredness of what it is you are taking. I am disgusted with many of the ignorant comments on here. The original author has every right to reply with how she wants to some of your idiots.
Edit: sorry, but this racist little coward posting from 147.206.5.3 in Jefferson, Louisiana from the Ochsner Clinic Foundation’s corporate IP address doesn’t get a platform on my blog.
When Native Americans who traditionally did not wear a full headdress decided to wear them for tourists started in the 1930s, how can you say headdresses are still sacred? When Native Americans make headdresses and sell them to non-natives, how can you say they are still sacred?
We are not a monolith. Indigenous nations can and do appropriate from one another as well. This does not render the headdress un-sacred to the Nations from whence they originated. A Cherokee wearing a headdress does not mean that the Cree headdress is suddenly rendered unsacred, and available to all. To even suggest such a thing is ridiculous.
Thanks for responding. However, I don’t think it was ridiculous. Is anything being done to stop the Eastern Cherokee from wearing/making/selling warbonnets that are not their original tribal wear? If not, it sets a precedent, giving the appearance that it is okay for others to wear them.
“Anything being done” as in what?
There are no colonial laws against it, only Indigenous laws which carry no official weight in the US or Canada. When Indigenous people NOT from Plains nations wear warbonnets, they are called out for this, and it is pointed out that this is not a symbol they have a right to. What do you propose beyond this? If you are speaking of precedent in a commonlaw sense, the entire discussion is already mired in the impossibility of there being an actual commonlaw claim against cultural appropriation. That is not what we are appealing to, however.
Understand. I had never heard that they were called out or included in any public way as others are. They should be included in the public discussion. Thanks.
The public discussion generally refers to what people hear in the mainstream…and Indigenous voices are as a rule rarely (if ever) included in that. To find out what Indigenous peoples are actually doing, you have to dig beyond mainstream reports.
In response to the summation of your position, I would say that you overlook the fact that all cultures are part of one culture and that transcultural confluence involves both symbolic distillation and transformation.
1. The headdress as warrior status- The decimation of indigenous tribes around the world results from the misplaced trust in and respect for European military officials. Surely their are more important symbolic aspects of First Nations Culture that need guarding and promoting.
2. The headdress as First Nations Property- The first tribal populations appropriated symbols from nature not a primordial human authority. Do the feathered headdress’s of African and Australian tribes infringe on the isolated genius of First Nations People?
In response to your response, bullshit. All cultures are absolutely NOT part of one culture. Nowhere is this made more clear than through the institutional and systemic presence of White supremacy, which is fundamentally exclusionary.
1. You have no idea what you’re talking about. Surely you should actually learn about the topic you are attempting to speak on before responding.
2. All First Nations people, either Indigenous to Africa, Australia or elsewhere, are entitled to protection of their intellectual and cultural property. Oddly enough, European law LOVES the idea of protecting intellectual and cultural property…for itself. Everyone else is considered ‘fair game’ for exploitation. Once again busting a big, racist hole in your claim that all cultures are part of one culture.
mîciw nisôkan, môniyâw. You folks don’t even TRY to make a decent argument, you just climb up on your high horses, and wave your little flags of ‘we are the world, we are all equal, but I’m a White guy so clearly I’m a little more equal (and authoritative) than you’.
What you said below in your response/response is really interesting, and makes a really solid point: basically what a non-Plains Cree (or other unauthorized) person does when they wear the war bonnet is to convert it into a symbol of white supremacy.. am I reading you right? It’s not just a question of straight ahead cultural appropriation, and all these comments about equality of intercultural transaction are sidestepping the fact that the meaning of the thing is actually co-opted and transformed in the moment in service of the dominant group, and at the expense of the group where the symbol originates..? Like, the blond white girl at Coachella is actually using the warbonnet as a white power symbol, whether she intends to or not.
I just wanted to say thank you for writing something that is comprehensive, eloquent, and yet easy enough to grasp. This is a sensitive topic, for everyone that is involved or can potentially be involved, and it’s wonderful that you were able and kind enough to write something that is both to the point, and yet open enough that everyone can approach it without feeling threatened.
Many thanks.
Edit: whine whine whine, I’m so offended by this article and blog because I bathe in White supremacy and how dare you challenge my innate right to do absolutely anything I want without ever commenting on it? Oh and I’m posting from 70.49.206.69, Elliot Lake, Ontario.
Edit: “I have such important things to say, how dare you not let me say them omg you’re such a racist waaaaaaaaaa.”
The sanctity of the Leader-Bonnet and its misappropriation are one point, tarring all non-FNP wearers of the bonnet with one racist brush is another. Non- First Nation People wear the bonnet for different reasons. Some intentionally offend, some unintentionally offend due to their ignorance of history, some have been awarded the bonnet due to their unique role in protecting the FNP community. Only the first group can rightfully be called racist. Essentially every tribe on the planet has come about through transcultural interdependence. Warring factions within these tribes do not make the cultures they come from intrinsically racist. The indigenous people of Britain were colonised by the Romans who indirectly inspired the colonial empire. Their are good and bad people in every culture. It is important to have understanding and respect for individuals who have been gifted the Leader-Bonnet but it is also important to acknowledge that every culture has indigenous roots. The dreams and deeds of a person defines their character and nature. It is important to acknowledge the importance of special traditions but also appreciate where cultures meet.
It doesn’t matter why non-Natives wear the warbonnet. It really doesn’t. The issue is permission, and unless you have it, you are doing something against the wishes of those from whose culture the warbonnet comes. Deciding that one’s reason for wearing a warbonnet deserves some sort of exception to this is prioritizing privilege, which is inherently colonial. All Indigenous people can do is explain WHY this is not okay. We cannot enforce anything. Privilege means having the power to just go ahead and take whatever symbols you want, and offer “well here are my reasons” as being in any way relevant to the issue.
An almost unintelligible argument, expressed in a faux intellectual tone. Pervasive institutional racism makes for a racist culture which is what we are today in America. Until everyone is free we all bear responsibility along the continuum.
What is so onerous about asking permission? Ask yourself why most indigenous people don’t seem to struggle like us white folk do with being polite and taking no for an answer about issues like this.
The above is in answer to Zangoma’s statements on “transcultural interdependence”.
Sorry you feel it necessary to exclude my view points and cherry pick those that confirm your own. I agree that the Leader-Bonnet should be respected as sacred but I guess as it is used to revere both peace and war it is bound to be a controversial symbol both locally and globally. Ultimately I agree with your view that it is unjust for people to wear this adornment without respecting that it is awarded by elders based on leadership. I do not however believe this justifies your own religious and cultural zealotry. Be the change you want to see!
Get over yourself. I’m not here to check the blog 24/7 to make sure your precious opinions get a platform. On MY blog.
Now you are IP banned, for being a self-entitled whiner.
Hello.
I am into the Mexican headdress .
under the rules, you simply have to be a landowner, owning a concubine or two would help.
Think of this as a crest, but it is worn.
Since I am not permitted to capture you and use you as my slave, or rip your still beating heart out, I will forgo such actions.
But, scalping is also forbidden.
So, you see, the rules have changed.
I feel that this discussion doesn’t address my concern about this issue. My concern is that the question should not be regarding respect or disrespect of symbols. Symbols are dead; there is no depth. Anything contained in any given symbol can be expressed in plain language. There is nothing inscrutable. If a person has accomplished something respectable, no symbol should enhance this. I believe that we should be irreverent.
Don’t mistake my point: if someone defiles a symbol in order to antagonize you, that is an attack. But it would be the manifestation of the person’s intent that would be the attack, not what is manifested. I am Catholic, but if someone were to defile a cross not to antagonize, but to express their irreverence towards symbols, I would be happy. When a non-believer wears a cross I am glad; the symbol has been obscured and the content has been illuminated for those willing to look.
Headdresses in the abstract have no value to me. I may be impressed by a beautiful headdress, but that is something different. If there’s meaning to the symbol, I can appraise the meaning’s value without the symbol. I want to see art from a culture, I want to hear their stories, I want to hear their music. New ideas, not the same ones over and over again.
Lol, could you try any harder to literally make this about you? I double dog dare you!
There must be a million comments here. Interesting debate. But honestly, this is nothing more than an Aboriginal finding away to “deny” white people something. After feeling so oppressed and being trained to hate white people, they love being in a position to prevent white people from doing something. They find it empowering, even though it is cheap and not legit.
Whenever Aboriginals gain a voice, they use it to slam their white oppressors. Want a laughable example? A TRIBE CALLED RED. Suddenly, they don’t like “non-natives” wearing face paint to their concerts. Really? Because unfortunately for them I have actually studied aboriginal history and customs in university, grew up with many cree and huron friends, and regular visited the Native Friendship Centre for educational sessions in the town I grew up in. And paint was just as often used for decoration (like modern make-up today) on women, and for DANCES AND CEREMONIES….you know, sort of like a CONCERT. Yet here is A Tribe Called Red, denouncing people who are actually wearing it in the same tradition as the natives did. Oh, not to mention face paint is hardly unique to aboriginals, but like I said….the smallest opportunity to deny or denounce white people, and that is the real motivation. The Head Dress is no different.
It’s time to reaffirm a few things here.
1. You are not native to North America. In fact, Canada and the USA are countries with systems founded by the British, French, with Spanish and other influences. They were built by Europeans and assumed various European forms of rule. They then populated themselves through immigration, and became their own. The countries are solely that of the European immigrants.
2. Oh….but it is about “the land” right? Well, hate to break it to you, but go back in history ANYWHERE on this planet, and land was assumed, acquired, protected and created through conflict. Always has been. Still is. Even the “natives” fought each other for territory. Guess what? Survival of the Fittest (also a native tradition quickly forgotten when it comes to them) The Europeans were more advanced. They destroyed you. You lost. You are lucky that the founders didn’t simply wipe you out completely. That’s the way the world works my friends. There was a conflict. You lost. Move the fuck on, it’s not up to “us” to learn and respect your ways, it is the other way around. Go play with your culture in your own personal space, we don’t care. But holy shit, we pay taxes to put into your selfish hands and then you turn around and say we have to learn about your culture? When Natives become experts on our European ancestry and traditions, we will think about learning about yours.
3. Canadian/American culture trumps your culture. Point? Your “rules” and “restrictions” are quickly trumped by the rules and traditions in our country. We believe in ABSOLUTE freedom. To the point where someone can wear a Nazi outfit and while they may be ridiculed, it isn’t illegal or restricted for them to do so. It’s called freedom, a concept our ancestors fought for and protected and WON the right to continue, unlike YOUR ancestors who lost their rights and privileges when you lost the wars. Do you understand? You don’t get your own set of rules that trumps those of the country we BOTH live in. So yes, we have the freedom to wear a head dress for reasons of our own choosing. Should people learn about it? Absolutely. But the only think more ignorant than someone not knowing what it is, is someone like yourself telling others they shouldn’t wear it because of some internal, outdated view that things in this world only belong to one race of people. The practice of being so irrationally protective over cultural trinkets is what leads to war and conflict worldwide. If people who just chill, everything would be fine, but choose to restrict, and the human condition dictates we enter conflict.
4. For example. You see someone wearing it. Why not take the opportunity to make a new friend and offer to explain to that person what it means, or what it meant? Education comes first, not restriction. Restriction creates conflict. You think YOUR culture of all people should know that from history.
Yes, I am a white person. Tired of all these minorities treating me like I destroyed them. I’m supposed to be an expert on Natives, Africans, Mulsims, etc… because “we” have oppressed them all. Well, no….I haven’t. Perhaps some people in the past did, why does that get transferred to me? I mean, I’m supposed to know and respect all these minor cultures, yet they don’t take the time to learn the first fucking thing about me or my history…..and WE are the ignorant ones? For example, I just get labelled as “white”…therefore I am somehow privileged and have oppressed these people. Yet my family is German and was against the Nazis (as 60% of Germans were) and my family was decimated. They came to Canada broke. Grandfather almost died while working in a mine. Grandmother took care of kids, even though she couldn’t speak English. Dad grew up being labelled a Nazi. Mother’s side was Scottish. Came to Canada. Grandfather joined the military. They had three girls. Oldest one died in car crash at 18. Youngest one born with brain defect. My mom helped raise the family after father went into depression over dead daughter. Family made it work. Parents got married. Became very successful through hard work and sacrifice. Tough me, my brother and sister about values. Hard work. Respect for money. Travel broadens the mind. But….you know, we are just a privileged white family where everything came so easy because of skin color. And now I must spend my days learning about entitled minorities living in a country that they did nothing to build, yet use the freedoms within to shit on people over trinkets.
Why not stop spending your time defending head dresses and put your efforts into eliminating the corrupt, entitled welfare state the native population has become. They love to wag their fingers at white people with one hand while holding the other one out for more money any chance they get, all under some archaic belief that we “owe” them something.
Come back to reality please. The world can be harsh, so suck it up, and try focusing your energy on shit that REALLY matters. This trivial bullshit is nothing but veiled racism and does nothing to advance your culture, let alone contributing to the country and society you live in.
Thanks for your racist spiel. It’s the last thing you get to say here, “Justin Miller” posting from the IP address: 99.231.124.84 in Toronto. Every once in a while I like to let ignorant, White supremacist comments like this through just so folks can get a taste of the overwhelming sense of entitlement many Settlers have, and how poorly they defend their colonial privilege.
Oh, and mîci nisôkan, môniyâw.
Nice try with blocking me. You think a free wordpress blog has that much power? You think I actually use my real name and email account? I didn’t….why? Because I know your type. You come out swinging against an entire race of people, and when they do the same to you, suddenly it becomes “racist” and “privileged”.
EDIT: the rest of this tirade has been deleted, unread. This is what White supremacists really enjoy…demanding access to platforms to spew racist bile, and then gleefully ‘working around’ IP blocks. The implicit threat is, of course “you can deny me nothing, I will harass you as I see fit!”
Nope, sorry.
This was posted from IP: 38.110.68.13, still in Toronto.
This couldn’t be a better example of someone suffering deeply from the dis-eases of not yet realized white privilege, white default, and most evidently, white fragility.
I didn’t bother to read the dudebro’s ragefroth past the opening few sentences. Much whine, much rage. Me me me! Ignoring evidence! Cuz I’m a dudebro! Roar!
Gee, sounds like a fun date. /sarcasm
Wow, where did this guy Justin Miller learn his history?? So ignorant it’s almost laughable. What an embarrassment…
Just to address one glaring mistake: it was the European diseases that our ancestors brought over from dirty Europe (which they were fleeing largely because they had overpopulated and destroyed the land) that killed 90% of Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island, not the wars. Europeans would have never survived here without the help of Indigenous peoples. We are NOT the superior race, only the most devious and manipulative (historically anyway – time for a change). We (white people) are NOT entitled to rule in this territory, just like a thief isn’t entitled to enjoy ownership of the proceeds of crime.
I have been following this blog and the comments on it (it’s basically the only exception to my “don’t read the comments” internet policy) and I have to say it’s been really enlightening. There is a lot of complicated stuff being played out here that I’ve never really thought about or experienced. So, I guess my question is – to you, the host âpihtawikosisân – do you see a situation where parity of experience is possible? Like, where all of those of us who were born in Canada into all different situations and backgrounds, can interact in a positive and mutually constructive way? Your original post gives some really helpful guidelines and encourages asking questions and taking notes, but a lot of the back-and-forth in the comments reveals a much more complicated side to that process. Rather than saying one should preach and the other listen (with the awareness that one has been preaching with a megaphone for 200 years regardless of the will of the ‘listeners’), and given the various degrees of understanding you seem to receive (and to be receptive to), how do you think we should approach the concept of equality in a legitimate way? Big question, I know, but I think rather than coveting, or stealing, or abusing, or misunderstanding, maybe there is another way in to cultural awareness and real progress for non-native people? I know it’s not your job to be a guide for anybody – though it seems like you’ve kind of taken up that mantle here regardless – but where do you think we can join forces culturally? Do you think it’s possible to establish a serious joint culture?
I think a huge part of the process needs to be in-person interactions. The belligerence and nastiness that does tend to dominate these discussions play out online and in comment sections of print media in a way that rarely happens with the same frequency when people are face to face. I think the anonymity of faceless comments allows people to be flippant about relationship building. For sure, I am also much less willing to put in effort to respond in a measured manner online when I am being barraged by so many thoughtless, repetitive comments, whereas in person I am often much more likely to give more fulsome responses.
So for people who want to build relationships that are mutually beneficial, I think there has to be a recognition that only so much can be accomplished at a distance, online or via reading books/articles/etc. At some point, we have to put in the effort to actually engage one another face to face. There are a lot of opportunities for this actually, particularly since Idle No More, but even before that. You can go to Native Friendship Centres in urban areas, you can keep any eye out for various workshops and discussion groups in your area that bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous people together. You can contact communities to see if they also have programs or sessions to raise awareness. These efforts are meaningful, they take commitment and energy, and they must be part of a long-term dedication to growth. No short-cuts. This also requires that non-Indigenous people do their utmost to learn as much as they can on their own as well, rather than expecting Indigenous people to guide them every step of the way. I see this blog as an entry point only, the barest minimum of effort one can begin expending to start on this path.
Personally, I think we will find the most success at mutually beneficial relationship building, when we make connections with one another in a specific geographic area. For example, if there is a gravel pit proposed for a rural area, then everyone living in that area, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, has a stake in the potential environmental and social risks inherent with that kind of development (social risks in the form of man-camps etc). Reaching out to one another to discuss the development, understanding that all people living on the lands about to be impacted CARE about those impacts, is key. In urban settings, forming relationships to deal with urban pressures is also vital. All of these efforts need to be intersectional, and open to the ways in which racialization intersects with class, gender, ability/disability, etc. We all have a tremendous amount to learn.
Totally agree with what you’re saying – in particular when it comes to shared objectives.. Hopefully eventual unity and mutual support is one of those objectives for all concerned, but I think you’re right that interacting person to person, especially where both are looking to care for the shared environment/ looking to make sure everyone is prospering from it fairly, goes a long way towards making connections that go beyond bullet points and all-too-often racist “banter”. Anyway, I really support what you’re doing here, and I have been lead to think about things in a new way, many new ways, as a result of what you’ve been writing. Thanks for posting and for your commitment.
Also, “no short-cuts” is a really good mantra in this conversation.
I just found your site and I am wondering what the meaning would be if I had a picture commissioned of Jesus in a native headdress. This would be in a place where native Christians meet.
Make sure you get it done on black velvet, for extra class!
I’ve read this whole comment section. This one is gold! (The black velvet should really get his blue eyes to “pop” as well)
Hi, I am reading this from Australia and I really love the conciseness of your post on cultural appropriation. Can I link this in an email I want to send to an Australian clothing chain store who are selling headdresses as ‘festival gear’? I am not a First Nations woman myself but I live in a country where First Nations people are struggling to maintain culture and language and this is quite serious. More power to you and thanks.
Feel free!
o.k. Thanks. I will also check with the local native people as I am in Alberta. But I was thinking, for believers in Jesus, he is THE chief, and earned the right to be Lord/the boss in our lives. This would be quite comparable to chiefs over bands who have the right to be such. I have enjoyed perusing this site – sad to see some are disrespectful.
First off thank you for sharing your feelings toward this issue. You asking people to address the information in the article so i will do my best to do so.
RESTRICTED SYMBOLS
You wrote: Some items are restricted items in specific cultures. Examples from Canada and the United States would be: military medals, Bachelor degrees (the actual parchment), and certain awards representing achievement in literary, musical or other fields.
These items cannot be legitimately possessed or imitated by just anyone, as they represent achievements earned according to a specific criteria.
– all of these items mentioned can be imitated so long as the user is not attempting use the item in question to gain from its benefits by fraudulent means. Dont use a fake degree to get a job or wear a priest costume to attempt to administer religious services etc..
Not all people at parties wearing headdress are attempting to mock or represent Native culture. It can be just fashion with no attempt to persuade any one that the wearing represents Native culture in any way. Not only that but you would have to be a fool to think that a person at a party wearing a headdress is doing so for political or cultural reasons.
You said: Yes, some people will mock these symbols. However in order to do this, they have to understand what the symbols represent, and then purposefully desecrate or alter them in order to make a statement. They cannot then claim to be honouring the symbol.
– Again what party person is attempting to honour anything….they are at a party. Its not a anti native american party….just a party. One does not need to know the origins of clothing or accessories in order to wear them.
Not only that, but for example, people that are not Christians wear a cross as jewellery all over the world and that is a sacred symbol that many Christians find offensive when worn by non Christians or with sexy clothes etc…
You said: Some people will pretend to have earned these symbols, but there can be serious sanctions within a culture for doing this. For example, someone claiming to have earned a medical degree (using a fake parchment) can face criminal charges, because that ‘symbol’ gives them access to a specialised and restricted profession.
– as stated earlier no party person is trying to use native american headdress to achieve something unearned. Most of the party headdresses are obviously fake, with neon colors and plastic feathers….If i was trying infiltrate native culture or preaching anti native american racist thoughts will wearing a headdress that would be a different case. but that is not what is going on at parties.
You said: So unless you are a native male from a Plains nation who has earned a headdress, or you have been given permission to wear one (sort of like being presented with an honorary degree), then you will have a very difficult time making a case for how wearing one is anything other than disrespectful, now that you know these things. If you choose to be disrespectful, please do not be surprised when people are offended… regardless of why you think you are entitled to do this.
– I agree, a non plains native american should not wear an authentic headdress made to signify an earned status. But wearing a fake one, like a fake cop uniform or doctors uniform for play or fun is in my opinion fair play.
– you and others have the right to be offended and consider such actions disrespectful. That doesnt mean you are correct.
You said: Even if you have ‘native friends’ or are part native yourself, individual choices to “not be offended” do not trump our collective rights as peoples to define our symbols.
– you can define what symbols you want but that doesnt NOT give you the right to tell other people how they should feel about those symbols, nor doesnt it give you the right to own and restrict FAKE versions on culturally significant symbols. The whole world and there different cultures borrow and share from each other. As long as someone is not using the symbol for racist purposes or agenda than you can hate it but its not your right to censor it.
I am also metis and I find it sad that you allow yourself to be angered by what people are wearing when no harm was intended toward native peoples and just think the headdress is cool looking. I do not define myself by the fake cultural symbols worn by white people. Just as a Christian doesnt define him or herself by how others wear the cross. I know that the cross is not earned as a headdress is in native american culture but it does represent something powerful and meaningful for Christians.
Just because we live in a white privileged world in a land that was taken by settlers does not give you the right to restrict what fake accessories i am allowed to wear. The headdress in your opinions might be sacred, and the fake ones a stupid idea for fashion but it is an opinion that not everyone shares. I say let people be FREE and wear what they want so long as it is not done to be racist or promote racism toward others. And you can be FREE to hate it and express your hate. But NO censorship! Censorship is not freedom
No, I do not individually have the right to restrict symbols. Hence the ‘collective’ rights I spoke of. I am not the one restricting these things within Plains cultures. Those restrictions come from more than individuals, and they cannot be undone by individuals. ie. You.
So declaring “I say say let people be FREE blah blah blah” is pretty much meaningless. You don’t get to make that choice, or provide that permission. You simply get to individually choose not to care.
For david7717@gmail.com
You said: If i was trying infiltrate native culture or preaching anti native american racist thoughts will wearing a headdress that would be a different case. but that is not what is going on at parties.
By dressing up to look like your host (or in any case your neighbour), in a way that they have said repeatedly they don’t like, you are abusing your ‘power’ to ignore social standards other than your own, and you are acting in a way that is oppositional and confrontational to First Nations (anti-Native American/ ignorant/ racist behaviour) while wearing, at the very best, a ‘comedy’ version of their traditional clothing. That is exactly what is going on at parties. Just don’t. Or accept the fact that, if you do, you are a willfully ignorant dick and will likely be treated as such.
Thats freedom, being able to wear what one wants. No censorship! and yes people may be treated poorly for wearing a headdress, but I refuse to acknowledge someone elses power to tell me what I can and cannot wear. That is the point. Freedom is being free to be a dick or not be a dick. The price of freedom is that not everyone will like or agree with each others actions, but we are free to make them….. and perhaps suffer for our choices, but free to choose nonetheless
I don’t think anyone is suggesting an absolutist ‘ban’ on behaving in a racist or culturally insensitive way. There is no punishment except that you will have to hand over your “ally” or “not a racist” cards. By choosing to wear a headdress, you do not get to make these claims about yourself. In the event that there is a music festival on land owned by First Nations people, they can tell you to do or not do whatever they want – they are your hosts, and they make the rules. “Don’t come to our house and disrespect us” seems like a pretty fair rule to me, and while we’re on the subject of respect “don’t be disrespectful to us” generally, overall seems like a pretty fair request, and comes at a very low cost if you look at the problem in a big picture sense. You are, of course, free to *not* attend music festivals hosted by indigenous people if you are unable to leave your insulting parody of your hosts in the closet at home *this one time*, as are you free to act in a disrespectful or racist way whenever and wherever you choose. Unfortunately, you, should you choose to behave that way, are not alone. I think what our host, here, is trying to suggest is that it is in no uncertain terms *both* racist and disrespectful to wear this item of clothing, and that the standard (and apparently very, very repetitive) claims made in defense of an individual’s right to wear it anyway only exacerbates the disrespect. Following from this, ignorance is willful, not incidental. It is not your ‘right’ to be racist, but it is your privilege. Lucky you.
To clarify: by “you”, I mean the royal “you”. If you, I, or anyone chooses to behave in a disrespectful way, we must accept that it comes with consequences whether we intend them or not.
my guy, freedom doesn’t mean exclusion from consequences, you can be a dick, but you’ll get punched, and “refusing” to acknowledge that the blog owner doesn’t want people to wear headdresses in the same fashion as a halloween costume just shows that you’re immature and cannot accept the “freedom” of others, which is hypocritical of you.
Also, you’re confusing as hell with your “anti-censorship”, as this was not discussed at all and is just a point that you shoehorned in because you don’t understand the conversation at all.
Actually, I understand this quite well, it’s a good explanation. The comments by people criticizing you are incredibly rude and insensitive. There’s a parallel in the fox-hunting, basset, and beagle foot pack hunting community, and that is in the group of people who have the right to wear the colors of the pack, and to wear a hunt jacket – green for basset and beagle foot packs, red (“pink”) for fox-hunters. Colors are awarded at a formal ceremony at the annual hunt meeting by the Master(s) of the pack. You have to earn your colors, it may take two seasons, it may take ten, or it may not happen at all. It’s discretionary on the part of the Masters. You get a formal certificate, and then you have the right to have the hunt jacket tailored and the colors attached. Tailors in hunt country may well ask to see a copy of the certificate before they make the jacket and attach the colors. Although I’ve never heard of someone faking the colors – it’s just not done – it would get found out soon enough and the person would be apprised of the nature of what had been done, and what they needed not to do. If they kept on, they’d be excluded from the hunt, and word would get around, and that would be it for them. I’d hope that indigenous headdresses, other ceremonial items, and sacred ceremonies would be held in similar respect, but it indeed says bad things about our culture that they are not, and end up as articles of commerce.
“I refuse to acknowledge someone else’s power to tell me what I can and cannot wear,” along with rejoicing in the freedom to be or not be a dick. Oh dear. Perhaps you missed a developmental stage during your early childhood?
Edit: Good lord, get a blog of your own and stop spamming mine with your holier than thou nonsense.
I am 1/4 Chickasaw. I go to festivals where many youths wear fake chicken feather headdresses and I think it’s rather tacky and this is what I think: My tribe, like a great many other tribes adapted….. you could even say culturally appropriated… the wearing of war bonnets from the Lakota and Blackfoot Sioux. I often wear an eagle or turkey feather in my hair to express my tribal self….and I myself, out of reverence, would not wear a real war bonnet. However, I go to the Indian clinic for all my medical and dental needs, so does all my family. I have asked dozens of the Pomo, Miwok and Wappo tribe members that I meet what they think of this issue. So far, I have not spoken to a one that is offended by white folks wearing fake war Bonnets…..cuz they are fake and unearned and therefore meaningless. Invariably the answer I get from the few working class native Americans I’ve asked is: “we wear Cowboy hats…so what? HaHaha” And the conversation quickly turns to more important issues like food, and school, children, the rez and tribal lands and tribal leadership.I know that my experience to speak on this mater is limited but I find it Ironic that in my area of northern California the people who are most up in arms about this are privileged, upper class white folks. Maybe we should find something better …something that will effect the lives of native Americans in a positive way…Like land and water rights, and the preservation of native languages. This assimilated headdress huff is just a fad that we are chasing to appear empathic and be cool…..without actually getting off our couch. Has it ever occurred to us that some of these misplaced and uneducated imitations might be worn out of a latent respect or envy of native culture that can be cultivated? I think it is indicative of both a general irreverence for and the real need of tribalism in our society. I tend to think that borrowing or superimposing a cultures indignation may be disrespectful in a more profound way than wearing a fake, pink war bonnet purchased at a mall. Just my two cents.
Perhaps you should check out the rest of this blog, if wider issues is what you think we should focus on. After all, 99% of this blog deals with issues other than cultural appropriation.
Perhaps those people who believe we focus too much on one issue…aren’t paying attention.
The wearing of headdresses is fine by me. Proving identity can be a touchy subject in these days of terrorism.
Why then don’t we just use finger printing or easier still maybe an eye scan once facial identity has previously
been determined. This way the headdresses can stay as long as an eye scan is carried out.
Dave G
Great article, really informative. I’d never given much thought specifically to the concept of restricted items being misappropriated, and I really appreciate the analogies you used. Will definitely keep an eye on your blog.
Can I do this latchhook head dress
Wut.
Thank you for writing this… I have been recently arrested and charged with assult and battery for removing a ‘head dress’ from a girl wearing a buckskin bikini as her ‘indian costume’ on Halloween here at our tribally owned casino, on our tribal reservation…. I was super offened and upset. 1-that she, as a woman, had on a very elaborate head dress, (definitely no dollar store or costume store ‘garmet’) 2- that she had the nerve to wear it a reservation, 3- that she had on very little clothes, I was taught to cover and respect my body, specially in public and 4- that she felt like even after other people addressed her, even a tribal elder, on how inappropriate and culturally disrespectful it was she continued to prance around in it like she was doing something cool… Really felt like a slap in the face. Since my arrest and night in jail (I had to be bailed out with a $5300 cash only bond, even though I have never been arrested and have no criminal history) I have been reading as much as I can regarding this topic and really trying to gather incite about all angles of what happened. Thank you for sharing.
Hello.
At issue is what is cultural and what is not.
I fly a “Wing Pack”, a glider that one straps directly to the back.
It has nothing to do with any ceremony or anything else.
Otto Lilienthal invented it around the late 1800’s.
It actually flies, no feathers.
But some Native Americans see it and either want to make it more bird like or express concerns.
I simply am perplexed.
By law, it is a non powered ultralight.
But, look at the pictures of what it is patterned after.
Now, look at some of the dancing regalia and it might make sense.
Remember, Native Americas were imitating nature.
Birds have feathers of different types and colors to identify each other.
Our goal is to camouflage.
But, in the end, everyone is imitating nature.
Native Americas did not invent the feathers, or even the plumage.
They came up with a rank and file scheme.
So, decode this scheme, and work out one everyone can agree with.
Nature is the best example.
Thank you.
Wow! Thank you for this letter!!! My 24 yr old daughter and my Niece want to get a tattoo with a bison head and a headress to honor their great Grandmother who was of Blackfoot heritage . I had a gut feeling they shouldn’t do it and googled and found this awesome article! I will forward this to them as I believe it speaks for itself! Thank you and blessings to you from Creator, Respectfully, Leslie
There’s a popular game/app for iOS and Android called “Angry Birds Fight!” by Rovio In the game the bird characters wear various ‘hats’. One of the available ‘hats’ for the Chuck Bird is called a “Chief’s Headdress”
You can see the bird wearing the headdress in a photo of the game tweeted by Rovio:
http://twitter.com/AngryBirdsFight/status/687888490676109312
Is it possible that when people see a headdress in games like this from a major player in the app gaming industry it leads people to believe such symbols aren’t offensive.
Is this offensive?
It’s difficult to believe such a popular game with over 10 million downloads would put something in their game that was so offensive to people. [They have items from various different cultures]. When people see the headdress in games like this it doesn’t support the idea that it’s a restricted symbol.
Are there people that encourage companies like Rovio to not use restricted symbols in their games. [Designed for Ages 10+] ?
This is the page for the app/game on Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rovio.angrybirdsfight
[Google has a policy stating that developers can’t distribute apps through their platform if they contain offensive items. This further propagates the wrong idea to people that the headdress isn’t offensive, as Google allows the game to be distributed]
This is a list of the various items available in the game. There’s various cultures represented by items that seemingly aren’t offensive. Seeing the Cheif’s Headdress as a cultural item represented in the game doesn’t give people the impression that it’s a restricted symbol or offensive.
I was just curious if it was only people wearing the headdress that’s offensive or any representation of the headdress, like that worn by a cartoon character in a game.
I think i will wear one of those native american headress for halloween, also a poncho, a sombrero, blackface make up and fake big teeth while putting asian eyes all the time, with a thin and long fu-manchu fake moustache, and i will shout every five minutes “CURTURALO APPROPRIATION RURES, BITCHESU, BANZAAAAI!!!”
you know why? because fuck fuck you, that’s why.
And there is nothing you can do to stop me.
Nope. Can’t stop you. But there are consequences…folks have lost jobs, been denied entry into post-secondary institutions and so on for such actions. Feel free! People WILL call you on it.
Meh, knock yourself out. Your maturity is underwhelming.
Thank you so much for this article. I have been looking for some feedback on something I’ve recently come across.
My son is in cub scouts. Many scouting ceremonies have Native American influences incorporated in them per tradition. As we are planning our bridging ceremony, we came across this video that we wanted to use:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vOnvrEHAFuM
However, one of our leaders is concerned that this is disrepectful to the Native American culture. Could you please give me thoughts on this? As a Native American culture, would you like to see Boy Scouts to step away from these traditions?
“What is this you call property? It cannot be the earth, for the land is our mother, nourishing all her children, beasts, birds, fish and all men. The woods, the streams, everything on it belongs to everybody and is for the use of all. How can one man say it belongs only to him?” ~ Massasoit
“It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome. . . . Children must early learn the beauty of generosity. They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness of giving. . . . The Indians in their simplicity literally give away all that they have—to relatives, to guests of other tribes or clans, but above all to the poor and the aged, from whom they can hope for no return.”
― Charles Alexander Eastman
These are houred Native American quotes. I feel that many of the most prestige and wise ones would feel and communicate in another way about this that would bring more compassion and understanding to all of us.
Thank you for this article I am an Englishman and I admire your culture very much I am not an academic just a normal working man. I have bought some pipes through e bay from I belive from native americans I have also made some pipes is this OK anyway thanks.
No, it isn’t. Pipes are another one of those very restricted items.
Yes, some Indigenous people sell these things, for various reasons: to make a little money to get by or because they too don’t know any better having had their teachings stripped from them via the residential school system. This doesn’t mean that it’s okay to buy or use these things.
OK wow well I have not sold any and didn’t intent to but your sayhi don’t buy anymore and don’t make anymore if that’s what your saying I will respect your wishes and my apologies for any offence non was intended
Yup, that’s what I’m saying. The pipe is incredibly important to Plains cultures in particular, and is a restricted item. Thank you.
You say pipes are a restricted item why are they could you help me understand this I have looked through your blog I am a white english bloke and I expect you to give me a lot of shit no prob I would much rather talk to you face to face but that’s not going to happen soon. So I am asking you respectfully if you could give me a short and concise answer as this is the first time I have come across this
I can’t give you teachings about the pipes, because that is restricted too, and to be honest, I am not a pipe carrier so my own knowledge is limited. Only certain people carry pipes; think of it like a relationship with the pipe, where there are obligations towards its care. Unless someone teaches you this, and you know how to tend to that relationship, you shouldn’t be carrying one. Doing so suggests you DO know these teachings, and that is deceitful, as well as being disrespectful to those who have put in the time and effort and respect to learn these things properly. I hope that helps clarify!
You have mentioned that certain teachings are “restricted”. Is there an analogy to “restricted” cultural information in non-Native cultures? I’m trying to wrap my head around this idea. For example, Russian culture does not have a set of secret teachings on the meaning of vodka that one has to qualify to be initiated in, nor can one “unlock” extra chapters from the tales of King Arthur by passing an exam in Celtic studies and undergoing some sort of ordeal at Stonehenge on Halloween.
I gave examples. Practicing medicine is one. That is restricted to people who qualify to study medicine; it is not open to everyone.
Thanks for replying! One difference with that is that medical knowledge itself is not restricted – there are no culture enforcement agents who are going to try to prevent me from reading medical textbooks that they think I am not worthy enough to study from. That seems to be the kind of thing you were talking about when you mentioned that pipe lore was restricted – did I misunderstand? Is the pipe knowledge itself restricted from disclosure or is anyone allowed to learn the teachings as long as they don’t actually perform the rituals? In my own culture, anyone is allowed to learn medical knowledge, but only some people are allowed to actually do it, so the analogy doesn’t seem to hold.
I thought that maybe a good non-native analogy could be Protected Health Information (PHI) that cannot be shared under penalty of law, but PHI does not normally contain cultural teachings, but rather individual patient data.
I’m busy.
So perhaps you could explain why you need to translate this through your own cultural lens before you’re willing to respect it?
This article is completely on point, and so are her responses to the uneducated, nasty, weak minded people who do not care of our wishes. In fact, someone who is Irish, over in Ireland, doing a report about our culture. She actually cares to ask how we feel about headdresses, and their meaning. I will make sure to spread the correct knowledge, just as you do, to help educate these kinds of people. Thank you for this article, it even taught me some things because unfortunately, my grandmothers were stolen from our true family as children, who also died young, so I did not get the chance to whole heartedly learn from my own blood, so thank you again.
Thank you for this excellent overview of a complex concern. I am a writer from below the 49th parallel who was honored to collect the personal stories of Metis elders in a small area in central Montana in the early 1990 s. They asked me to make sure the stories were told to a wider audience as well as their own descendants. They knew almost nothing of their families political history. My way of honoring their request is a novel that answers questions they had for which there is little known specific to their families. And as I was told, if you don’t know what happened or would it look like, make it up. Which I did. Several parts make use of Cree and Mitchif words. I am looking for someone kind and curious who could help me look back almost 100 years. What am doing with this note …. two things you recommend: first, I here admit I don’t know,” and two, asking someone for help.
This is beautifully educational, thank you. Although besides this very valuable open letter, I have yet to know a Native that I could even ask to further educate me. I’m always met with defensive behaivor, name calling or racial remarks. I find that to be distasteful and deterring. My quest for knowledge about Natives from Natives has been a hard one to seek with any kind of common ground. In fact if I hear “white guilt ” one more time , I’ll give up. I’m hoping my experience with Nativesome is rare, and that there is someone out there who will not meet me with hate and “white guilt ” accusations. Your article is the first eloquently educationly written piece that I have seen thus far. Again thank you.
If you feel close to the fed up point because you are encountering reluctance to help you, please try to imagine what it is like to face brutal and systemic racism and colonialism over a period of centuries. You cannot only rely on sweetly worded responses, you need to see where that reluctance to help you is coming from, and depersonalize yourself from it. This is about systems, not individuals, and you too can do the work to reject the system that dehumanizes us because that is the right thing to do…not because people are nice enough to you to warrant it. Just some thoughts.
I’m sorry, but that does not make sense to me. Human beings are individuals. I do not carry any hate towards Natives. There is no need in me for Natives to be segregated or inadequate. It’s at no fault of mine today that my Euro ancestors did the horrible crimes they comitted hundreds of years ago . Today, in 2016 it is just as counter productive to treat me the same as them as it would be for me to treat Natives they way they did. I am my own person, with my own thought process, and very much unlike my ancestors. Natives want to be seen and heard, and I see and hear you, but the stigma of the past separates that…and it simply should not.
No one is saying that you are at fault for what your ancestors did.
What we are saying is that you continue to benefit from what your ancestors did.
This puts upon you the onus to either do nothing and continue to benefit, or to actively change things so those unjust benefits no longer accrue to you. Both require you to make a choice.
If you simply accept the benefits you have which are a result of chattel slavery and Indigenous genocide, then the fault is yours, not your ancestors.
If you work to understand the ways in which chattel slavery and Indigenous genocide continue to inform the social and political sphere, then you work towards liberation of all peoples, not merely working to your own benefit.
And that is how we erase stigma, and overcome the past. Not through platitudes. Thanks.
Please inform me as to how I benefit? Maybe it’s that that I am not understanding. I once talked to a Native and they brought up a few way that I may benefit, such as I get better jobs, dont need credit checks for housing, and can afford nicer things, clean water and such, all because I am White. In reality,none of this is true. Where I live, being White has no privlage. In fact where I live the population of Eastern Indians and Asians out number anyone else. Where I live if you dont speak one of the many languages of the two cultures I mentioned, it is very hard to find a job or a place to live as they have monopolized the area. I live at the poverty line for my city, and below the poverty line for surrounding cities. I get credit checked like everyone else. That was her version of how I might benefit, you may have a different definition that I am interested in hearing.
Here are some resources:
http://www.cpt.org/files/Undoing%20Racism%20-%20Understanding%20White%20Privilege%20-%20Kendall.pdf
http://www.wpcr-boston.org/index_files/Page559.htm
Maybe start with this one: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gina-crosleycorcoran/explaining-white-privilege-to-a-broke-white-person_b_5269255.html
I hear as a white person, we continue to benifit from what our ancestors did, unless we make a choice not to. Could you please outline how we continue to benifit from those actions? Maybe it is so unconscious for us, to the point that we are unaware of doing it. I would like to make that choice. I find that sometimes we make choices that we are not aware affects others negatively.
Thank you
Tracy
Here are some resources:
http://www.cpt.org/files/Undoing%20Racism%20-%20Understanding%20White%20Privilege%20-%20Kendall.pdf
http://www.wpcr-boston.org/index_files/Page559.htm
Thank you for a frank and generous reply. I especially appreciate the referral to the Kendall article, very helpful, particularly in this terrifying time where white privilege has such a loud and frightful voice. “Being seen” can be the critical, sometimes fatal, act when most of us and those we live among do so without “historical context.” As she quoted Audre Lorde: “We cannot allow our fear of anger to deflect us nor seduce us into settling for anything less than the hard work of excavating honesty.” I thank you for your work.
Also, for give me but I can find no definition of chattel slavery that doesn’t say something to effect of :Chattel slavery is the type of slavery where human beings are considered to be property and are bought and sold as such. Are Natives forced into slavery today? Being bought and sold amongst the Whites, or anyone else, to work in fields and do their biding ? If so, that is wrong as is any type of slavery, so I would like to know if that is going on.
Indigenous peoples were absolutely taken as slaves, but the chattel slavery I am referring to is the transatlantic slave trade, wherein an estimated 12 million Africans were legally transformed into “property”. This had such a profound impact on the wealth of European nations involved in the slave trade, that those nations continue to be among the wealthiest in the world today. The enduring legacies of African chattel slavery include ongoing anti-Blackness, which continues to seek the subjugation of Black people to the benefit of Whiteness…Whiteness which by the way exists as a concept precisely because Blackness as a concept is positioned as its foil.
Chattel slavery is no longer legal, but its impacts are still felt today, in very real and tangible ways. Just as Indigenous genocide is. For example, McGill University sits atop stolen Haudenosaunee and Algonquin land, paid for by funds stolen from the Mohawk. James McGill, the founder of that institution, was himself a slave owner. His wealth and his legacy would not have been possible without colonialism and chattel slavery. McGill continues to be a site that profoundly and disproportionately benefits White people. Linkages like this are literally everywhere, and cannot be cleanly cut off from their historic roots.
Ok, I didn’t know that about McGill. That’s crazy. What would you like to see changed that would help balance the historic wrongdoing?
EVERYBODY working to dismantle systems of oppression, rather than supporting them consciously and unconsciously. Commitment to real change in all aspects of our lives.
Ummmm …..Quick question and this is a hypothetical situation:Is it offensive if I got myself painted in dance regalia or the normal dresses that women used to wear?You know the brown dresses or do they have some special significance? And if I’m going to create a headband using colourful feathers it is okay right?
You are asking me if it would be okay to dress in a stereotypical, hollywood Indian “maiden” outfit of fringed buckskin with ridiculous feathers?
That’s your question? Really?
I feel like the answer is right there in the question.
Oops…I’m sorry..Not that I would ever wear it considering I’m Asian Indian. I just find the headbands pretty and was wondering if people are allowed to wear it.
Looking for advice:
I am a student teacher preparing to teach a Science unit on salmon. I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore the importance of salmon to the Northwest Coastal people. I had considered starting the lesson with a directed drawing of a salmon (based on this image: http://www.clker.com/cliparts/6/8/e/d/1197119086264087826kubble_Native_Salmon.svg.hi.png).
I do not have First Nations heritage and I admit that I do not know the cultural significance of all of the elements of this work of art. In light of this, would this activity be something to avoid?
Thank you!
This doesn’t come from my culture, so I really don’t know. I would perhaps narrow the drawing down to one that has provenance though, as in from a specific Pacific northwest coast people, and a specific artist. It’s more likely then to be an authentic picture and you then centre real people in the art itself.
Thank you for your reply! I will look for a different picture
Thank you for your comments. This was very helpful and insightful into the feelings and culture of the Native American people. I am not native but grew up around Fort Hall, Idaho and have always had the greatest respect for Native Americans. I currently work at an Indian Health Services clinic and enjoy working with this people. I am wondering if it would be appropriate for me to make a plains style tipi to set up at my home. I am looking at using a Sioux style construction and paint. Also, I appreciate your comments about a headdress and understand the significance and symbolism. I am wondering if it would be OK for me to make one and use it only for display in my office. After reading your article, I would not wear it at all. But it is out of respect for the beauty and honor that it represents that I would like to have it for display only. This might be the same as wearing it, though and if so, I wouldn’t want to do anything that would be offensive or disrespectful. I would appreciate your input.
Just…back away from the headdress.
Ok. Thank you.
I’d like to start off by saying I’ve always been interested in other cultures in general. Maybe because I’m half Mexican and half Irish while living in America. I appreciate other people’s cultures. I recently stumbled onto someone’s youtube page who is often seen wearing a Plains Native Americans’ war bonnet or headdress (not an actual one of course, but a style and shape exactly like it). Though I’m not Native, I still am offended because I know the sacred cultural significance. Maybe you can do something about it; I hope you can and will. https://youtu.be/J2pF5e7xyhg
I am not an attack dog to sic on others. Please consider what your request entails: mt time, my effort, and opening myself up to hostile, racist and draining people whose arguments and deflections I am already thoroughly acquainted with.
If this is an issue you have become more educated about, and cultural appropriation bothers you, please feel free to carry some of the burden in order to lighten the load on folks like myself who are tired of repeating ourselves. I’ve provided you with arguments here, go forth and use them! But please don’t ask marginalized people to go “do something about” folks. Trust me, we face enough hostility without trying to seek it out.
Hello again just wanted to thank you for educating me at first I thought you were a little hard on people but now I have realised that your not your culture is wonderful and should be yours and yours alone the rest of us should admire it but not try to copy it or try to make ours thanks for answering me Paul salt working class English bloke
Hi! I had never considered the headdress as a restricted symbol. My father was cree and he died when I was two, and the only photograph I have of him is him in his headdress. After he died my (white) mother and I moved away (and she did everything in her power to keep me from learning about my heritage) and so I didn’t have the opportunity to grow up around this part of my culture (and my Kokum past away last year so I never got to ask her either unfortunately) and I am now disconnected from this part of my family (and heritage). I have recently been trying very hard to learn about my family and our heritage and to honour what makes me who I am. I stumbled on your article because I had been thinking about getting my father’s image as a tattoo (which is him, in his headdress) but now I am worried that this may be seen as cultural appropriation and that is absolutely NOT what I want to do to the people who come from the cultural I am trying so hard to learn about. I just want to honour my dad. I was wondering if, in your opinion, it would be appropriate for me to get this tattoo, or if this would be a bad thing to do.
I realize that reading my story takes some of your time, and so I just wanted to thank you for your response and your time and consideration.
I hope you are having a lovely week, and I do apologize for my ignorance.
Ehhh, but this is a little different. That’s your dad, and he likely had the right to wear the headdress. If you dad was Cree, you’re Cree too. The tattoo might be something you have to defend, but I think, “this is a portrait of my Cree father in the headdress he earned” is legit.
I just happened upon this article and I COMPLETELY DISAGREE. I think that unless you can prove beyond reasonable doubt that someone is mocking or debasing a culture then the use of any regalia is in fact part of our universal culture.
If a woman or anyone wishes to dress for some reason in the costume of a Scots-guard or A Norman knight and my reaction was to go around whinging on the internet or in any social medium what would be the reaction of society?
Not only are we past gender defining and restricting in this globalized society but the plains people of north america rewarded these headdresses for acts of murder(warfare), feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. If you are claiming that only people who have committed acts of murder in tribal conflict within the united states can wear these headdresses then I guess we should burn them all and not make any more until the US fractures back into regional strife?
They can be worn as a thing of beauty and the author of this article should learn how to see them in this light for her own mental well-being. As a thing of cultural identity they may be also, not only.
Who are you or any other individual to claim the rights to an image or object that you didn’t create or contribute to its creation?
The reason for the restrictive reproduction of symbols and medals of military or any other present day organisation is to make it more difficult for people to pose as members or decorated members of such organisations for personal gain. Note I say more difficult because it still happens.
If anyone is confused as to the military decoration of a person wearing a “native american headdress” then they are either confused as to what century they are in or have seen far too many movies and need to drink some water.
This whole dialogue is pointless to my mind. Addressing your whinge is a waste of society’s time as a whole. How about we address something that matters instead?
How about we look into the issues of alcoholism, unemployment, murder, rape, imprisonment, REAL racism, education, addiction, immigration, poverty, malnutrition, obesity, smoking, mercury poisoning, ocean acidity, garbage disposal, recycling, renewable energy, pollution, terrorism, mass shootings, gun rights et fucking cetera ad fucking nauseum of the peoples that make up our whole globe.
This “issue” if it is your personal little crusade is pathetic. I wish people didn’t give in to their white guilt so readily and realize that the weight of history is not ours to bear. Lets make a better world where we celebrate all the cultural history that makes up this world and stop bickering and moping because we don’t feel good. Your feelings don’t matter, you are just another one of the more than seven billion people struggling to breathe on this little rock. Go scream into the wind and howl out your demons, come back when you can help us.
Feel free to read some more articles in my Indigenous 101 section, you seem to be struggling with the false assumption that headdresses are all I talk about.
“Your feelings don’t matter, you are just another one of the more than seven billion people struggling to breathe on this little rock.”
lol. Yet you are so full of outrage, do your feelings matter? Enjoy the consequences of throwing your White privilege around.
As a mother, I taught my children respect and consideration for others. As I believed then and now that those two traits could carry them thru life. Also if everyone was to concentrate on and practice both, can you imagine the world we would leave behind. Well we can not expect to agree on all subjects, but we surely can agree. That we all deserve to be treated with respect and consideration. So why don’t we start by accepting that it is not ok to wear symbols, or articles of clothing that has been deemed disrespectful by those in the know.
Thank you so much for your explanation for the good of all. My mother made sure that I knew my Acual American Heritage and encouraged me to read whatever I could I am1/4 chateau, Cherokee. From before the Trai of tear. I have always hated the Anglo part of myself. It has been hard.
Tracy
I have been enlightened…I want to thank you for shedding light on this subject. I am also guilty of being war bonnet naive. Now I’m brought to another realization.
. Mohawks! Is that offensive also? I had a Mohawk for years when i was younger, I never thought of it in negative aspect, nor cultural insult however, I understand that’s how it may be interpreted.
So I work in a summer camp, and a big part of what I do is getting dressed up and doing a theme every week. I was really interested in doing a native american themed week and ofcourse the first thing that comes to mind is the headdress. So after reading your article I was wondering where the line is? Is the act of making a headdress taboo? Is just having the headdress disrespectful? Or is it the act of wearing it? If I make a headdress and don’t wear it, am I disrespecting your cultural heritage?
Don’t make, or use, a headdress.
If you want to do a Native American “themed” week, then please put in more effort than embracing pan-Indian stereotypes, and do some research into the Indigenous peoples on whose territory you are living. That would actually be educational instead of exploitative.
I tried emailing you about this issue but never received a reply. This man on youtube is wearing a headdress in most of his videos. I don’t know what you can do to stop him, but it is offensive and he needs to stop. https://youtu.be/J2pF5e7xyhg
So do something about it. I’m not an attack dog.
Edit: sorry (not sorry), racist creep. You don’t get a platform here. Now let’s see where you’re posting this poorly spelled racist invective from. IP address: 23.233.23.39. London, Ontario. How nice.
Happy National Aboriginal Day you White supremacist piece of shit.
Would it be disrespectful in any way to get a tattoo of an Indian man or woman in a headdress. Are there any things a person who is not Native American should avoid, as far as tattoos?
Go get that tattoo. Who gives a shit? We don’t restrict our culture – to do so would rightly be considered racist. They shouldn’t either. I mean, if you can really call it a culture (you can’t).
It is a culture . Just because it’s not one you have faith in , doesn’t mean that it isn’t ,your most eminent and respected Royal Majesty Mr Dave.
You don’t decide what is and isn’t a culture.
As victors, we assimilate… and we assimilate cultures too. Get over it, or face another war.
I particularly love the part where you threaten violence.
Baloney. Go back to trolling for Trump, Peter. You’re on the wrong page.
That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard. You have not won anything Peter,your ancestors systematically murdered,yes that’s the word ,MURDERED people of the Native American Communities.That’s Inhumane,those are war crimes,and most of all it’s GENOCIDE.
It’s their choice to practice whatever Cultural faiths they have or have you not read the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights? What you’re asking of them is a violation of their rights.
apihtawikosisan,
I’d like to offer a correction to your article. I believe the term ” cultural appropriation” is inaccurate. Cultural Genocide, seems more appropriate.
To the “white people” with opinions. You don’t get one! Typically, one would educate themselves before engaging in any kind of rebuttal against the facts stated in this article. But, to educate yourself in the history of the Native People of North America and the Manifest Destiny that white settlers believed they were entitled to; is to educate yourself in white wash bullshit!
History books were written by white people. It is biased; half truths.
The facts are that this land was stolen. Your ancestors, my ancestors, raped, murdered and stole their way westward.
Just because you might have a few drops of native blood means nothing. You are not native! I disagree with Black Elk.
Some of my ancestors were Cherokee and Lakota, but I am white. I shutter to think that my Native grandmothers were most likely raped.
Native people were hunted and killed. Their land was stolen under treaty and forcing them to live on reservations that had little value. When killing them fell out of fashion, they tried to kill the “savage” in them by kidnapping their children and forcing them to be white!
Now we want to take away the rest of what they hold sacred for the sake of “art” or some other lame excuse? Fuck each and every one of you!
Sincerely,
Pissed white guy!
EDIT: No. You do NOT get to tell people how to feel about rape. I am not posting what you have written.
But the Masons have rites and activities that are only available to those who have made certain commitments and promises and have met certain qualifications. I think if you look around enough in the world it is not hard to find cultures that have things that are sacred to them and where participation is limited. I don’t think that is unusual or beyond understanding or acceptance.
This is the only explanation of cultural appropriation that actually made sense to me. So it’s not the use of feathers or types of other feathered headdresses in the world, it’s the actual Native American headdress. I hope some day it is protected.
Hello, I am wanting to ask the opinion of native people on my adoption of the name, Medicine Bear, for myself. I have been going by this adopted name for about five years now. My given name was Jerry and I am of Haitian and Dutch mixed heritage. I became very fascinated with the bear and have felt very much connected to it and learning about bear medicine and studying native plants and their traditional uses. I am constantly gardening and being close with the earth. Is it offensive that I have taken on this name? I feel very badly if my use of it is bothersome and would be extremely apologetic if it is so. Also I would like to connect with Native American people in my area of the country and help with farming or gardening work if possible. What are people’s suggestions? I live in Illinois. Thank you so much!
You can’t give yourself a name.
He can give himself a nickname and he can legally change his name if he chooses.
Sure he can do these things, but not legitimately. Indigenous naming traditions generally involve someone else giving you a name.Giving yourself an Indigenous name is disrespectful and not legitimate. Then again, Settlers do what they want, don’t they?
Still don’t care
You’re still an asshole.
and you a skanky, indian whore. i suppose is the fetal alcohol syndrome. stop appropriating whiteys culture and get back to the rez and the shithole that spawned you.
IP address: 96.48.19.46, Abbotsford, British Columbia. You posted four racist comments (only this one will be published) and sent me an racist email through the comments page. What a sad life you must have.
You have presented neither yourself nor this information as being authoritative; indeed, you have clearly stated that you have no right to speak as an arbiter (although you almost did so once, at least). It must be frustrating to have so many people nevertheless use you as a sparring partner to test their own limitations. They’ve missed the point!
I’ve enjoyed the past hour or so. Cheers!
You are awesome.
So much discussion here when there is room for none. It’s dead simple: one is not allowed to wear a military medal without earning it, and likewise one is not allowed to wear a headdress without earning it. Period – end of discussion.
No! you are not allowed to wear an IDENTICAL replica of an official military medal, that would suggest that you have been given that commendation that is associated with it. You are allowed however to wear as many made up medals as you want.
Same with uniforms. It is illegal to wear an IDENTICAL REPLICA of any official uniform. It is not illegal to wear a made up uniform,
An important distinction that is lost to the SJW crowd.
If I stick one single chicken feather in my hair I’m accused of cultural appropriation.
Chicken feather in your hair? Red herring more like it.
Nicely written. Composed and delivered with a fair explanation and very balanced. I have learned a lot from it, but I would never have thought about the addresses being worn by anyone other than the chief or important elder. I know there’s a reverence and spirit held within the feathers and adornments and I have always respected anything first nations. I think it is one of the most beautiful cultures if you read anything you can get your hands on about their teachings and stories. They are soul food to the imagination and respect we should hold dear. I think I’m going to sign up for an introduction to aboriginal teachings. I find it very interesting. Please know that you have a friend in me
I agree with everything your implying, I just have one question why can people with let’s say an African back grounds hat happens to be like a rapper so to speak. Why is it they are accepted in native communities as being okay and accepted but a musician with European background is horrible and should fall off the earth they are just so disrespectful. ?? .
Huh?
Instead of wearing one on my head now I know just just throw it in the toilet and shit on it
Edit: what a lovely sentiment from IP address 209.171.88.137, Newmarket, Ontario
Anybody that makes a big deal out of this school thing is the actual problem. For fuck sakes lighten up people. By making this a big deal you are the actual racist.
Talking about racism isn’t racist.
Talking about sexism isn’t sexism.
Talking about garbage stinking, doesn’t make the garbage stink.
Definitely time to take out the garbage though.
I would suggest that your words imply you are racially biased and, in fact, not fully aware of North American culture. I use north American culture as this culture is neither exclusive to whites, nor is it European. You describe the military uniform and degree as being similar to the head dress, and yet neither of these are racially exclusive. You suggest that imitation of these is frowned upon, and yet people dress up for parties, plays, Halloween, educational courses etc in these ‘restricted’ items without being offensive, in fact, being they are a way to honor these things. While there are cases, a non Aboriginal wearing a headdress is likely not trying to pass themselves off as having earned it. As you so eloquently put it, this is a racially specific item, only an Aboriginal person who hadn’t earned it may be being dishonest. Also you have indicated women cannot, or rarely earn this. In what way is this not sexist? Perhaps I am being ignorant but I find myself in a society tripping over themselves trying to celebrate cultural differences while being respectful. To put it another way, id I saw a first nations man wearing khakis, driving a BMW, or working as a physician instead of healer I would not be offended. I would appreciate that he values are culture so much to become a part of it. I am not trying to be combative but I would ask you consider this.
I would suggest you are really far too impressed with yourself.
Race is a construct. Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups with specific cultures.
You don’t get to talk about our gender roles from a western perspective.
Good job at “settlersplaining”.
Pay me if you want more discussion.
And yet that ‘Western Perspective’ is the norm. I don’t mean to be disrespectful but a woman not being able to earn a headdress is hardly fair. Now , I’m not white but I still feel that it is in a way unfair. Women aren’t less than men , and should be allowed to earn it , if they’ve done something worthy of it.
No. It is not the norm.
Women can earn the headdress, the issue is NOT about being “less than men”, that is part of YOUR history. Indigenous societies have complementarian gender roles, not hierarchical. Applying the western lens in this situation is completely inaccurate.
Hmmm…Thank you for telling me that.
I am so sorry to bother you, and being that it is now 2019 I am not sure if you will even answer, but I am confused about women’s ability to earn the headdress. If you are willing to take the time to educate me I would greatly appreciate it, if not I understand and I hope you continue to share your insights and knowledge with the world as you have been in this article and comment section. I am specifically confused because you stated earlier in rare instances women can earn the headdress, however, the link you attached for headdress’ in your article above states “Also, only men wore warbonnets. (Women sometimes went to war in some Plains Indian tribes, and there were even some female chiefs, but they never wore these masculine headdresses. My question, being that you provided the source, is: is that source unreliable and you didn’t realize it, or is the instance in which a woman can earn the headdress so rare that it simply wasn’t mentioned? If you are willing, I also have an additional question: the article states that “Unlike many of the Native American headdresses on this page, both men and women wore headbands, which were not associated with war. The number and type of feather did not usually have special symbolic meaning, though in a few tribes that bordered the Plains eagle feathers were reserved for warriors. For the most part, Woodland Indian head bands were worn for their beauty, and were often decorated with intricate patterns, wampum, beads, and quillwork.” this paragraph seems to suggest that the headband (excluding the few tribes where they were only awarded to warriors) is no different than any modern accessory (Say something like a watch or necklace; worn often by men and women for aesthetic reasons). Does this mean if any individual that is non-native wears a headband similar to this for aesthetic reasons its okay? Again I appreciate you writing the article, I have native American ancestry but no actual link to the culture and I came across your article in an attempt to learn more – I truly feel that I am leaving having done that successfully. Have a wonderful day.
Read chain her by one foot by Professor Karen Anderson
I was told once by someone that if the “war bonnet” is in colors that aren’t ever used by native americans and is in a slightly different style then it doesn’t count, but I wanted to ask at the source. It was a beautiful headpiece this person wears all the time.
Indigenous peoples are not frozen in time. We can use new colours, even synthetic ones, and our traditional items are still authentic. If you’re not sure how that works, ask yourself if you can possibly be authentic as *insert your culture here* if you aren’t doing things exactly the way it was done in 1855?
Is it appropriate for a (female) non first nations person to give a male with a serious illness an eagle feather. I have a few in my possession and would like to give two to this gentleman as it may make him happy. I know the Eagle feather is very important with the First Nations People and would like to know if this is a Do or a Don’t?
It’s an odd thing to do I suppose? If it’s not a part of your culture, what meaning does it have for you? Why do it? If it has meaning for you because it has meaning in First Nations cultures…then you should follow First Nations protocol. Otherwise, it doesn’t really have much to do with Indigenous people, so…?
Thank you for this great informative article. How does natives feel about of people “dressing up” as natives in general with makeup and such for photoshoots, carnivals and so forth?
Respect from me
Janni, Denmark
Don’t do it. We aren’t a costume.
Well I do understand that it’s important that people shouldn’t wear headdresses because they’re earned and wearing them without earning them is disrespectful but I just thought that protecting Native American communities from being murdered was more important.
But I have pondered over it and I realize that if cultural appropriation perpetuates harmful stereotypes, it endangers the very existence of the various tribes. And that’s why I’m extremely sorry for my earlier comment.
I had a question. Which tribes use the trailer warbonnets?
And I’m beginning to understand your frustration. When people use parts of your culture without understanding its significance and use it especially to market their products it’s annoying. Just a few minutes back I read about a hotel in Texas where they called Garuda a guiding muse….Now that’s wrong. In Hindu mythology, the Garuda is supposed to be a deity and not a Muse, the Garuda is not like the Nine Muses in Greek Mythology.
it just makes me mad. If you’re going to use another culture’s deities or symbols, the least you can do is understand it’s significance and use it right, but no people never learn.
I’m sorry, I started rambling, when this isn’t about my culture, it’s about Plains Headdresses. I just thought that you’d understand, considering that it happens so frequently in western nations.
You have the melanin enriched West Indians, Guyanese, and Brazilian Carnivals as well as the melanin enriched people of New Orleans Mardi Gras wear the headdresses to celebrate and honor their/my ancestors. We are not going to stop our culture because you mixed breed say so.
Carnival is another matter entirely, but you are a rude one, so you can just not post here again, thanks.
Elaborate headdresses have been worn throughout history by many different cultures, but many Americans mistakenly believe it is unique to Native American tribes. People get up in arms and cry appropriation whenever they see anyone wearing a feather headdress. Carnival is not another matter entirely. Before slaves were brought to the Caribbean Islands the Islands were populated by what Europeans called “West Indians” There is a history of feather headdresses among Tainos and Caribs, native tribes of the Caribbean. Dominican Taino people also had elaborate head dresses. Further. Africans in their motherland on masks and headdresses as a symbol of our ability as humans to rise above problems, pains, heartbreaks, illness — to travel to another world to be reborn and to grow spiritually. So many countries, cultures have head dresses not everyone one sees is NA
“Carnival is another matter entirely”. I restate it because it remains true. You are commenting on an article about people who have no damn right to wear headdresses, yes? Quite specifically as stated multiple times, the Plains headdress. That’s the matter under discussions. Carnival is not the same situation, hence “another matter”.
So your saying because I’m not a lawyer I can’t wear a suit? I’m not a fire fighter I can’t wear a firefighter jacket? Seems a little over PC, buck up buttercup & put your bigboy panties on!
So you’re saying Indigenous peoples are a profession? Seems a little poorly thought out, buck up, grab your hurt-feelings & feel oppressed elsewhere!
I was raised white and never told anything about my parents other than their being Native Americans and i was happy and never felt a need to ask questions. I decided as an adult to dig into my history because i was curious. I have found relatives. Parents are dead. But ive step siblings, cousins, some live on “the rez” and they accepted me immediately. Ive only met 1 step sister face to face, im in Calif. and theyre in Wisconsin and she had the opportunity to come out to Calif. Like i said in the beginning, I was raised white. My cousins shared photos of theirselves dressed in regalia. So beautiful. I commented that id love to own a feathered headdress but my cousin shut me down. I am female. Females may not wear that style! What about earings? Feathered earings? You have to earn the priviledge she said, to use certain feathers. I thought she was lying to me. I literally became angry. I said “i dont need permission to wear a feather!” And said i can Make my own. I still need to apologize for my attitude. I have alot to learn.
I could read your responses all day. The lawyer and teacher in you shout out patience and wisdom…and I so get it when you have had enough of the same moronic questions over and over and just say “f@#$ off” already. Your honesty is refreshing…..AND you keep coming back for more. You are making a difference to those who really want to learn. I have learned so much from this site. Just what is it about “that offends me and my culture” that people don’t seem to get. Obviously most people come to this site to learn about cultural appropriation and that is good. Its too bad many are unable to appreciate it’s harm or cannot understand it. I cannot believe the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians have not figured this out. What the Fuck! It’s sickening. Keep up the great work.
I agree. You have brought me a long way in the past couple years toward a fuller awareness. I like to recommend this site to friends, too.
What I don’t understand is if a white man is not allowed to wear a headdress, why is a black man allowed to wield a samurai sword, why is an indigenous man allowed to wear pastors vestments? This is hypocrisy, either everyone’s allowed to wear what religious and cultural symbols they want to or no one should be allowed to wear any. Political correctness, cultural appropriation, socialy acceptable, All these constructs are divisive they put barriers between us. I am indigenous and Canadian and l feel issues like this are ridiculous. We are a multicultural country shouldn’t our citizens reflect that? saying that because we aren’t a certain race we aren’t allowed to practice other cultural rituals or wear other cultural symbols is Ludacris! are we trying to create some kind of society that divides and classifies us? Although it would appear so with articles like this. Furthermore could it be said that because I’m not Greek I can’t eat Greek yogurt or read ancient Greek literature? Or yet even more ludicrous that because I am indigenous that I must wear culturally appropriate clothing. This article in a, way even though very small promotes oppression. It denies freedom of speech and self-expression. I was in a custody battle with Social Services over my child and they said that because I was in indigenous male, before I can get my son back I would need to learn how to be an indigenous male. Of course they didn’t actually accomplish that as it is illegal to force someone to live a certain way. Forcing someone to believe or follow religion or culture or denying them the ability to do so whether or not they are a part of that religion or culture is wrong and should be acknowledged as So. Now I welcome you all to disillusion me and destroy my logic. Deny my claims and belittle me. Or maybe you’re all very nice and that none of you will. I also wonder if those beautiful indigenous arts include headbands? Because that’s a racial stereotype. at least that’s what my politically correct School taught me.
Love the Ludacris shout out, he was great in the Fast and Furious franchise!
Sorry but your entire rant is a big bag of straw, and I’m uninterested.
Im chief here in georgia for new haven native american church and i will never put on a headdress or paint
I agree! My fiance is of the Yoruba tribe. I am an American white woman. He wants me to where the headdress. I feel particularly uncomfortable doing this even with his mother’s permission. I just don’t feel like I have the right to adorn such a beautiful historical and traditional dress. The traditional gown doesn’t bother me but I feel like I would need an explanation if I were to wear it. I was hoping that my hair could be fashioned to create the look without actually wearing the wrap. Are there any acceptable alternatives? I don’t not want to be uncomfortable nor to I want to offend my husband. Help
Your husband and his family are the best people to ask about this.
Disclaimer: I know this reply does not specifically address the headdress issue, but I believe you will find my reply worthwhile.
If we delve deep enough, we can see why people are unaware of the issue that surrounds the Natives. From a young age, we are taught barely anything about the vast culture that surrounds them. I went to French schools, which depicted French settlers as respectful of the Natives. These two different groups of people traded and learned from each other. Natives get blankets and metal tools, French settlers are taught to live in Canada. Then we are taught that the English came and tried to assimilate the French, thus creating the false belief that the French were (and still are) the victims.
As schools perpetrate the belief that French must protect each other from the oppression of the English, this causes us forget about the Natives. This is a huge problem concerning Canada and its people.
Canadian identity has always been an issue and it will surely stay this way for a while, yet unknowingly Native culture has surprisingly rubbed off well onto the Canadian culture even though many people fail to recognize this (read “A Fair Country” by John Ralston Saul if you want to learn more about this, I highly recommend it). The Canadian “niceness” that differentiates us so much from the Americans comes from the Native culture of respect. Sadly, this doesn’t carry over to all people on all subject matter.
I don’t think cultural appropriation is a bad thing per se, but I do believe it is insulting and demeaning in this case : People steal parts of your culture without acknowledging you. For example in 2010 Vancouver used the inuksut as the Olympic symbol, representing “Canadian-ness” and a landmark, which I believe is a good idea, especially in giving Canadians a bit of identity. However, I believe it was wrong of Vancouver to do this because even though they have used this symbol, they adamantly refuse to acknowledge the Natives’ existence and their demands.
I believe that under better circumstances, cultural appropriation is actually a rather flattering thing, such as remembrance and acknowledgement of other cultures such as St-Patrick’s day, which brings attention to the Irish and their culture (which is more than simply drinking).
I hope one day the Government of Canada will instill classes about Native culture in schools, and finally acknowledge Native and listen to their demands. Native culture is the root of Canada, and as a country divided between Natives, French and English, I believe it will one day be resolved, allowing Canada to achieve its full potential.
Chi Miigwetch for sharing!
Good thing this dude is around to drop pearls of wisdom like this:
“Something important to note about those taking offense to Native American War Bonnets, or any War Bonnet for that matter as this was not an exclusively practiced tradition among Native Americans, and the practice of this tradition is all but dead. It is no longer practiced anywhere near to the same degree it once was, in fact, you can buy several very authentic looking ones online.”
Gosh folks, I didn’t realize the EXTREMELY COMMON PRACTICE OF CHIEFS AND RESPECTED COMMUNITY MEMBERS WEARING THE HEADDRESS was dead.
so far i know its just about dead, according to wiki, only 9000 people practice the old religion/tradition, its most deffinetelly “common practice”, why would you even do that these days ?! o.O we live in a world of sciense and technology. old religions are for the most part dead, all of them. as for traditions , they just meaningless dress up these days, irrelevant who is doing the dressup in most western countries at least
“So far as you know” sure isn’t much. Maybe refrain from attempting to speak on an issue you are clearly ignorant about? Thanks.
I was born i Canada. My ancestors came here from Europe yes, but I was born here, making me a “native”. I was even born before some of those who claim to be “natives”, since they too came here but from Asia. Want to be technical? My European culture brought with it science, photography, electricity and I will pass on everything else we brought here that the so called “natives” use everyday without waiting for permission… because we do not care.
Culture is a beautiful thing but some people need to calm down and think before they make stupid claims. I will wear a headdress if I want for the same reason you drive around in a Ford pickup truck.
Why dont we focus on the real problems instead of that useless stuff. In the end, no amount of culture will put food on the table or water in you glass.
People are getting supider every day…
You were born here before people supposedly migrated here from Asia? LOL. Okay there, buddy. Talk about making ridiculous claims, you managed to even bungle the Bering Strait Theory (which is already full of holes).
Yes yes, we know “you don’t care”. You’ll be as racist and wrong as you wanna be. You’ll tell yourself your people invented everything, but you’ll never take responsibility for the harm your people have done and continue to do. You’ll claim you’ve somehow earned the right to benefit from stolen lands and resources because of your innate superiority.
The real problems are people with your extreme level of ignorance and sense of entitlement and luckily this issue brings you out of the wordwork like termites. How sad to be so proud of theft.
I am from Trinidad and Tobago (in the Caribbean), and this year our government has declared a national holiday to our indigenous peoples (ie. Native Americans). I want to make and headdress to wear on that day as a means of paying respects and spreading awareness of all the amazing contributions made to our diverse trini culture by these people. I hope this pure motive is not, in your opinion, an issue (btw. I’m not white. I’m actually of in indo-caribbean or east Indian descent – but I love to bask in, and educate myself and others about the many cultures that are fused together here in T&T). Let me know what you think 🙂
Honestly the best people to ask about this specific situation would be Indigenous folks from your region.
Thank you for writing this and being a voice of reason. I now understand what appropriation is and isn’t and how someone could be rightfully upset if I do appropriate something I don’t have the right to.
This is great! I love how respectfully you addressed the issue. Some people think literally everything is “cultural appropriation” like eating Chinese food or playing with fireworks. I love how you addressed the restricted vs unrestricted symbols/items thing. I’m tired of people saying that eating Chinese/Indian/Mexican food is “cultural appropriation”.
I was reading some of the “other” comments, Linda defending this little girl group, that I’ve never heard of… One address the head dress that ancestors wore, no not just ancestors!
They are Stull being worn in cerimonies, so that means it IS currently as of this day to being Distespectful!!
Talking about fashion etc. this is not a fashion statement, they read but still don’t understand.. We’re all the Feather’s I want , but don’t fashion them into a feasted worn by indiginious people culture, period!!!!
Wering this is wrong U are not a leader of any NDN nation you did not even earn one feather which is a honor for the young men in certain NDN nations!!
The fact is, U know it’s wrong & disrespectful now so Pleade Stip doing It’
Very well written. I completely agree on all the points you made. Honestly people, if you dressed up as a sacred person in any culture it would most likely be disrespectful, say dressing up as the pope and walking around the vatican? I bet you would get arrested, possibly beat up. Or what of you went to a part of tribal Africa and dressed up as a Village Chief, do you think they would be happy? Same could be said about other cultures as well, including the various Native American Tribes, except they are not beating you up they are explaining the problem. All of the Americas had Native Americans in it (no shit right?), so by that same logic, anywhere in the Americas it would be disrespectful, because people are being disrespected. If people dressed up inside their homes, never showed anyone, its certainly not being true to that culture, but its not exactly disrespectful either since no one is being disrespected (not exactly sure about that, maybe it is still disrespectful?). But people are not doing that, they dress up in public. You cant say Natives are over reacting as some sort of fact, its an opinion, but it is a fact that it is disrespectful on a large scale to many Natives, and others alike such as myself who are not Native, but still find the practice apalling.
“Sticking feathers up your butt doesn’t make you a chicken”
-Tyler Durden~Fight Club
My name is NastyNate.. from Lincoln Nebraska.. 29.. I read all this whole “article” and comments posted.. I feel obligated to leave my opinion..
.. A Pale man gurgling choking on his blood laying face up after being knocked out after pushing my brother in the back while he was walking up stairs with a pizza in his hand to feed his son.. first I hear the loud thump of pale man hit the ground.. I go outside to see the issue.. my brother has the look of.. i didnt want to do it Nate.. i hear gurgling… he says .. i knocked his ass out.. i know my brothers “ok”…
that look though says it all .. he didn’t want to do it.. we were raised though to instantly end the threat… pale guy. Lucky he’s not dead at the time.. I go down and see for myself. . He’s gurgling. . This man has issues with everyone.. I can easily slice his throat at the time.. No.. as a righteous man I dont… I say .. roll on your side so you dont die from choking on your own blood.. this is a man who tried to tell me what steps I can walk up.. takes pictures of my family.. mumbles aggressively at my family for examples for no reason.. and others in this neighborhood. Yet here he is now in a very weak “state”..Either way I can easily kill him every time I see him especially at that time.. yet I see it a whole different way.. he smokes cigarettes constantly.. and it is a symbol of the whole world to me.. theirs always going to be a “dumbass” and is actually killing himself/herself whatever.. I really dont have to do anything beyond stay in an intelligent state of mind.. I’d defenititly have earned feather for that.. actually caring beyond that seeing he can change or let this fool/oppressor live and see that he’s really killing himself..
..thats one example .. i have many to “earn” these feathers.. I’d have earned a feather in the American social order society we live in today forsure for that.. then comforted the kids and other family around at the time.. I feel im tested every day on that note of killing.. though the intelligent and tough part is not killing.. this society is mostly Pale.. which brings me to the effect of.. “if” total opposite of “power in society” I’d have my “headdress” or be in the stance of making one for the steps and strides I’ve taken on my “path”…. these “powers” are not though in a way.. I say that with a laugh.. people work for this optical illusion dollar bill to seem to get somewhere though have no clue where “they” are going.. my ancestors are of broad multiple blood lines.. most I dont know and “maybe” never will because of past history done to them.. so these tradition were not past down and down.. like marriage.. I’m way beyond the thought that I can only marry one woman.. my understanding is.. its as many as you can take care of.. though a person has to be able to take care of them.. fully.. so when told I cant do this or that.. from “headdress” to peyote. . Bullshit.. this person has no clue what is possible for me to get and earn..
..seems to me.. most people on here have very weak minds.. no common sense and so forth.. ive been making a “headdress” for myself.. though it will be unlike any other.. I will wear with complete pride and respect..with a stone “mukufu” of many different gems. Mukufu Swahili for necklace. . Necklace is to feminine for me.. this presence ..I put off wearing these will affect everyone around me.. period.. you test my worthiness of “earning this “headdress” you will see why I wear it.. verbally or physically..
..once again feathers up yo ass dont make you a chicken.. so fuck.. a fool can wear what “they” want these days obviously.. though its what comes with it and how that “path” reacts to it.. i see a “dike” wearing mens clothes.. she might think she’s tough though I know the truth …she knows the truth.. most the time she’s a weak little bitch..
.. never been scared.. worried.. shit dont pump in my blood.. until I read your “article” I didnt know it was just certain tribes and “very sacred to some.. came looking for thorough inspiration not stealing.. either way once again with the chicken .. you see me wearing mine even after writing this and not knowing me I guarantee I get respect. Why.. cause you will feel the reasons without even talking to me.. so after reading this I called my “elders” and asked for their permission and if thought ive earned it.. said yes.. out of respect for you and I dont even know you and I did that and my ancestors.. though to lay here and say/think what my tribes did or might be doing today without “interruptions” is neat and I know deep down ive earned it easily.. these days killing is nothing letting others live is way more difficult..
..once again ill wear with unknown energy these youngsters will look up to and want to be like.. my son will definitely have to earn his.. there’s no price on mine when finished.. its priceless to me.. even though the materials cost only so much.. yeah I can go kill alligators birds sharks yet im more profound in getting things done.. im not hear to please others in that since though I go about life for the better of good and positive “if” that includes you then good.. “if” not ..not my problem must be headed in the wrong direction. .
Unlike any other .. NastyNate
Algonquin. .Cherokee.. Bohemian.. African(somewhere)..Irish..Scottish. . Plus the unknown.. when i am in the sun i turn a brown red orange.. my son has the most beautiful skin its a little darker.. these people no matter how most look now come from color anyways.. folk just whites out…
Grazie.. wish you well.. dont think to hard about permission or me earning it.. you see me you will feel the energy of “why” .you probably need a massage after writing on here all these years.. i can give you a good one.. probably live longer after its done..
I have an honest question here. I completely understand the sacred and earned cultural significance of the headdress. I also find that wearing a fabricated version to a festival or party as trivial costuming, media event or other sort of exploitation is wrong. I am wondering specifically about small children who experience the world through play and imagination. If you allow them to use this as cultural costuming only in an educational setting where they would be studying many aspects of the culture as well as the symbolism and importance of the headdress itself, would this still be considered wrong?
At this point, I don’t think that the majority of classrooms are places where authentic learning about Indigenous peoples happens. We are a huge diversity of very different cultures, so it would make the most sense to be learning about the Indigenous peoples on a specific regional level (those whose traditional lands the school is on). The best way to do that would be in co-development with those Indigenous peoples, in which case they would guide what would be appropriate to wear/play.
Laid out like this, it doesn’t look terribly difficult, right? And yet we aren’t even close to being at this point yet. Which really sucks.
Thank you for such a speedy response! I see that this thread has been continuous for years and I appreciate your tenacity and follow through.
We live in the PNW and have a wealth of resources connecting with indigenous peoples of the NW Coast and heritage. It is easy to find tangible experiences here. We are covering some home school units for ages 5/6. In addition to our study of the NW Coast, we will also be covering a section on the Great Plains, Eastern Woodland and Southwest (focus on the Sioux, Iroquois and Hopi). Brief synopsis is that we will discuss cultural diversity among indigenous people of North America (with the focus directed into units outlined above) touching on: housing, clothing, food, games, language, family, legends, ceremony and traditions. This is what brought me to your blog. We do not have as many educational resources outside of the NW Coastal regions. Kids love to dress up and explore in ways they can see and touch. That is what lead me to ask the question regarding the headdress which is of interest to most children. We want to be respectful but also allow room for curiosity, exploration and connection which hopefully encourages kids to become compassionate and educated global thinkers.
Sounds like you’re on a good track! One thing I’d like educators to really keep in mind as well is that we as Indigenous peoples exist in the present. Often people want to think of us as we were in the 19th century, but our contemporary experiences are just as (I would argue more) important than brief overviews of history. Do your students know about Standing Rock, for example? What are Indigenous peoples wearing NOW, from ribbon skirts to yoga pants haha. Of course our cultures are rooted in our traiditions, but the way we express ourselves today isn’t something from the 19th century, it’s something from the now. That gets forgotten a lot when studying us.
Yes! We are focusing on1800-1850, however there will definitely be some discussion of the world today. Standing Rock is something I have been personally following. We also have a great cultural center here called Daybreak Star that is a valued resource for community events.
Given the context, do you think that introducing dress up is wrong? They are ages 5 and 6.
I honestly just don’t envision a scenario where that isn’t a fraught activity that outweighs any benefits to it.
Curriculum excerpt taking from Penn State University.
“Diversity dress up incorporates diversity into dramatic play to help children learn about different cultures.
What you need:
Clothing for various cultures (examples: yarmulke, a Jewish head cover; Burka, a garment worn by Muslim women); start with clothing that is reflective of the various cultures in your program, then expand to other cultures that the children may express interest in.
What you do:
Have children try on the various items of clothing and discuss the culture that wears each one and why/how that style of clothing was created. Place the items in the dramatic play area so that children can wear the clothing as part of their play scenarios.”
Look, you keep asking me to approve, and I think I’ve been pretty clear that I don’t. I’ve explained that we simply do not exist in a space yet where these things can be done respectfully, without perpetrating stereotypes, and this excerpt which encourages “dressing up” as PEOPLE is really messed up. Obviously I can’t stop you from doing anything, so if you’ve made your mind up, feel free…but you’re not going to get my blessing.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, got it from a source that was obnoxious and liked to cry about everything, but this genuinely makes it clearer about the significance of these headdresses.
Things change. I suggest getting used to it, or be prepared to left behind. The bent cross is a sign of evil to most westerners. It’s a good luck sign in India. I will not begrudge an Indian who wants to display one. Nor will I begrudge a racist for displaying one. My Americanism sees the latter as free speech, hateful yes, but free nonetheless. People need to determin what symbols mean to them in was that provide them meaning. So, I will not begrudge anyone who chooses to wear native war bonnets when, where and how they wish to wear them. Likewise I will not begrudge a living planes native for ascribing specialness to what I see as merely visually interesting collections of feathers and bead work. For me a so-called war bonnet will never be more than a fancy dress item. And no one should expect me to see it as more. I don’t belittle my parents for praying in front of statues, believing water has become endowed with supernatural properties or in the very unlikely event that a god manifested as a man in the uterus of an unwed teenager. I hope they, likewise, do no belittle my belief that the supernatural isn’t necessary for me to be spiritual or moral, and that I can validly wear a cross for reasons very different from theirs. Symbols, and any cultural artifact for that matter, will always be reinterpreted if someone is motivated to do so and if someone perceives value in doing so. That is not appropriation per se, it’s just change. Nor is it disrespect when that reinterpretation does not fit with the beliefs and views of the source culture. We can be different. Things can and will change. It’s ok.
I can kind of respect a native culture wanting to protect and recover the remains of what they may view as an ancestor from a university. Kind of. But I also find it silly that those that would protect and reclaim those remains wont acknowledge that a body from someone that died thousands of years ago is no more related or important to them than it is to me, though our reasons for valuing those remains may be quite different. You see disgrace and disrespect. I see cultural evolution. You see terrible harm and appropriation. I see people making new myths that have new meanings that fit changing needs.
This whole article is rather high horsed to me. Why not limit yourself to passing on your belief system to those of the next generation of your culture, and stop suggesting those outside your culture must see and feel the world through your lens? I will never expect you to view making a crawfish bisque and eatIng it with friends and family as spiritual. For me it just is, mad it will just always be. I don’t worship flags, the military, any state or national government. I don’t worship a god. Well, I kinda worship science. I did not care if people burn flags, bibles and the like. I don’t feel obligated to see a war bonnet as anything other than fancy dress. Tartan on my person does not indicate an emotional clan affiliation with deep implications. Peyote and similar botanicals are just something some people get high on. You can see these items anyway you want. You can impress on those who care to know you and respect you the value of seeing them and using them in particular ways. I get that. But make no mistake, I’ll defend the modern adaptation of hula in Hawaii to entertain tourists as not being respectful to Hawaiians, and is as valid as any a Maoris in New Zealand might view hula. And I’d tell any Maori that the tribal tattoo they wear may hold some deep meaning to them, but that does not mean they have the right to stop anyone else from using a similar design on their own bodies to mean something completely different. Your view smacks of cultural elitism, and the ever present thin skinned I’m offended I’m offended I’m offended that is so popular today. Sadly, it’s also a turn off that closes minds from even wanting to understand your view point. Your restrictions are yours. They are not mine. The suggestion that anything cultural is not subject to appropriation by others is as ridiculous as a Muslim expecting my daughter to cover up in public. I can come to value how others see things, but I will fight anyone that suggests that I am required, or even should see things the same way.
Fuck off.
Suck My MOOSE COCK
I’m gonna go with….na.
..of course you wouldnt mind someone burning a cross.. on the way you view culture reads like the stooges in white hoods and bed sheets.. Its called RESPECT goofy.. who probably voted for ya man donald duck.. no need to reply just watch a view movie series id suggest for a cracker like you.. Whited Out on YouTube.. Hidden Colors.. and Ziegeist..
* well said Leblanc. Everything must be permitted or else nothing. There are countless legends of being jealous, covetous, and unwilling to share in Cree, White, and other cultures. The headdress is made from items shared from the animals. It is likely not maligned by the eagle that one of his feathers was used, despite it looking better on the eagle than on an article of clothing. Culture is similar, while we can become old and feel out of place when culture changes and we do not, it is inevitable and it is a blession to be able to share it and become part of its change, rather than cover it and only see it on display in a museum.
Telling white girls that it’s not okay for them to wear headdresses is not cultural death, sorry.
“Everything must be permitted or else nothing”. This look at culture of everyone else but ours as all the same, which is ridiculous. Why would we treat the Mexican culture the same way we would the Japanese, or the Russian, or the French? Or the people in Texas the same way as New York’s?
Different cultures and peoples consider different things sacred, or disrespectful, and if we are to have peace, we must respect that. THAT should have been the first step before “be(ing) able to share it and become(ing) part of its change”. But that ship done sailed, and Native American people are STILL not getting the legislatures and rights and demands that they deserve.
It is the same as greeting people with handshakes in America vs with hugs and kisses in Brazil. I had to adjust to the handshakes, and not demand people be comfortable with my hugs. I /chose/ to come to America and felt compelled to adjust to the people who live here, but the Native Americans have ALWAYS been here, but were brutally colonized and murdered. They should’ve never HAD to adapt in the first place!!!
Those countries I mentioned are in literal different physical spaces, but natives were here BEFORE EVERYONE, and yet they are being withheld from their right to existing in their homes, and having their culture spat on. It’s with all of those facts in mind that we must think of when we see butchered depictions of sacred items from another culture. It does not hurt me or you to Not wear something, but it does hurt a whole people to see their last remaining items of closure being worn as if they’re a fad, something meant for quick and easy consumption, props for decoration, mockery, satire, symbols of every American’s carefree ignorance.
We should be humble and know when it’s not appropriate to desperately Consume something that was never meant for us.
Thank you for this article. I reviewed it before I sent a letter to a brand I admire that had posted a collectible “skull headdress” tshirt for sale – sent some info (including the SFU guide) and a diplomatic “What were you thinking?”. I got ambivalence from the customer service team and crickets from the CEO and their merchandise provider. Not only have they not removed the shirt, they just featured it in their latest promotional gear email. I feel the request and their education should be “escalated” but not sure what to do. Thoughts? Thanks for any help/guidance.
Thank you. I do have a question. I am the mother of a Boy Scout that was just in a ceremony with the Order of the Arrow. The older boys wearing headdresses REALLY made me uncomfortable but I don’t want to push the issue with the Troop without all the proper information. Can you speak to the BSA use of headdresses for the Order Of the Arrow ceremonies? Thanks in advance. (We are in NC, so I am sure no one here has ever had contact with a Plains Tribe. I grew up in Wyoming so my views are slightly different when it comes to how I view use of tribal items.) For the record, I am of German/English background, not First Nation.
No, I will not be contacting them, I am not a “cultural appropriation educator” volunteer you can just call on to do this kind of work. Feel free to address this yourself; that would certainly be more useful than expecting me to expend time and energy I do not have on yet another issue. Thanks in advance.
I apologize on my misuse of words. I was not asking you to contact the BSA. I was asking for your opinion as a First Nations Person on what you know of the practice. I read your older responses to others regarding the topic after I posted my initial comment. I am just trying to find the right words to use when I do talk to my son’s Troop. I’m hoping to help educate them, not attack them.
I am planning on talking to our local group about WHY they are wearing war bonnets. Change has to start somewhere and I want to help.
Thanks for clarifying; it gets exhausting being constantly asked to intervene in situations where allies can be doing that work. This article that you’re responding to is a resource, and linked at the beginning is an expanded and more detailed version of this piece. I’d start with that.
A large part of the problem used to be that ones ancestry in general was not thoroughly investigated. Today we have DNA tests that can verify ones ethnic background, when in the past word of mouth by relatives and the availibility of census records were mostly what people went by.
Bottom line is you are either of native decent or you are not…and if not, don’t play the role of someone you aren’t. Instead represent the ethnicity you are…never anything to be ashamed of.
None of us can change the past. We cannot right the wrongs throughout history. But we all can take pride in thevdiversity of who we are ethnically. And instead of asking someone what their race is, ask what part of the human experience do you decend…after all we are all part of the “human” race.
I suggest you read Kim Tallbear’s “Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science” before you put too much faith in DNA to solve the ‘identity problem’.
And being Indigenous is not the bottom line. Not at all.The Cherokee are no more entitled to appropriate the restricted symbols of Plains Nations than non-Indigenous people are.
What is the stance on dream catchers?
Thank you for explaining. I grew up in the Cowboys and Indians age, and was fascinated by the culture. I got a bead weaving machine as a kid, and spent many hours copying beautiful designs. But…I also loved wearing a bonnet of feathers, especially at our local Frontier theme park that employed some actual Indians (a thrill for sure). It made me think of how REAL Native Americans in the 1800’s must have lived and thought.
Thank you
Your words bring tears to my eyes
I commit to doing my best.
Wishing you peace and joy
Personally, if someone told me that something I was doing offended them and then laid out the reasons why in a concise and open way, I would not start arguing and playing devils advocate and completely miss the point. I would consider what that person was saying and analyze my own actions and where they were coming from and try to learn from it to grow as a person. I know, it seems like everybody these days is getting offended over everything, but it all boils down to one simple fucking thing.
Respect one another.
What the author is trying to drive through is that headdresses are considered sacred regalia and that it is offensive to indigenous people when non-natives wear them.
Why it is offensive should not be the burden or the task of the native community to educate non-indigenous people about.
The only reason non-native folks are getting uppity is that now that they are getting called out for the first time because the Indigenous community now has a voice and they are shouting to you non-natives to simply respect their culture (also recognizing you are all on stolen land would be nice too but lets take one thing at a time). Instead of getting indignant or defensive – just be respectful. Not that hard.
As a native American is it OK for me to wear a headdress if I didn’t earn it?
I mean, good luck, because you’re going to get an earful if you do. And “Native American” isn’t anything; not all Indigenous nations have the headdress being discussed here? In fact only a small number of them do? So if you’re not from one of those nations, definitely not.
More people should read this.
Thank you so much for this. I am using it as I’m trying to explain to my son’s school why sending him home in one of these last week upset me, and why I’m angry. My son sobbed when I explained it to him, and how disrespectful of N.A. cultures it is. He wanted to throw away everything he had related to “Indians” and I had to insist that A – it’s not his fault; he needs to be taught by adults and B- he should NOT throw away information that actually explained how the Native American cultures were different. My son is a sensitive soul and I hated to disappoint him, but to teach him racism and cultural appropriation is ok for any age is far worse.
Stop eating pizza, pasta, olives and don’t drink wine. You are appropriating my culture. If you want me to respect your demands, respect mine. Oh and stop trying to steal my holiday that was given to my people in apology for us being lynched. You, who complain about people stealing from you. HYPOCRITES!!
Eat shit.
So respectful. Really wants to make me respect your culture when you respond to legit comments with profanity.
BTW stop using WiFi, WordPress and using refrigeration – that’s appropriating my culture as well, thanks.
If you want to continue being a racist asshat and say it’s because I use the f-word, please eat shit. No one buys that you’d behave differently if somehow we met your standards of “polite”.
You don’t automatically get respect just because of your background. Respect is earned, and you certainly don’t get respect by telling people to eat shit because their ancestors, who they had no control over beat up on yours.
So ya…log off WiFi plz.
Na. You benefit today, materially, from ongoing dispossession and colonialism. Demanding Indigenous peoples “speak nicely” to you before you acknowledge that and do something about it is what colonizers do. So fuck off.
Hello
I feel like I’m only going to repeat what others have already said, and that your reaction may not have changed much from 2014 to the present day.
I came upon your article through a festival that I attend in New Zealand – Splore. Because Splore wants people to consider what they’re wearing and attempt to be authentic and appropriate, they have discouraged people form wearing American head dress. I agree with this, and I support the concept of people not wearing culturally specific items to a party just for the sake of looking cool.
The Splore website linked to your article, which I read, and as a lot of poeple have said, it was well thought out and written.
However, I do humbly feel that you have done an incredibly poor job in the comments section. People have asked some genuine questions and you have dismissed them by calling them racist or just telling them to f-off.
I think you have had an opportunity to educate people, and have fallen back on the most common and easy way to de-rail a rational discussion – attack the person and don’t debate the points raised.
You have shown intollerance, hate and vitriol towards everyone who has disagreed with you, and in my opinion, done nothing to further the uinderstanding of the subject at hand.
Regards
Ray C
New Zealand
Ray, your concern is bullshit.
I put in the time and effort to educate folks with a well-laid out, “polite” piece. What follows are literally thousands of ignorant, and often downright racist comments. You seem to feel that I must meet every aggressive, vitriolic, hateful, self-entitled comment with equanimity and more education. You spared not a single word to suggest that anyone else, yourself included, has any sort of duty to come to this discussion in the same way. You have done nothing yourself to address any of these hateful, racist comments… instead you insist this work is MINE. What is your part in this, Ray? What obligation do YOU personally have to further education? I would hope it would involve not expecting a single Indigenous woman to respond to thousands of strangers in a manner you deem “polite”, but clearly this is your expectation.
When people address my well laid-out comments in bad faith, and do not actually engage the material in order to assert their “right” to whatever it is they are claiming, they are not here to be “educated”. And I am not here to coddle them into anything. It won’t work.
What you are doing is tone policing; declaring that the message is lost because I swear and get mean with folks who spout incredibly racist and violent rhetoric. In doing so you absolve yourself, and these many others, of their agency in perpetuating ongoing racism and settler colonial erasure of Indigenous peoples.
You go sit with your complicity in this, Ray. If you need oppressed peoples to be unendingly polite before you’ll accord us the favour of humanity, then you are aren’t an ally, and you too, can fuck off forever.
Regards, you asshole.
Your article is so clear and eloquent, I find it really hard to believe that there are so many people trying to argue with you. Wow. The absolute ignorance and racism of these people is painful. Thank you so much for doing what you are doing- I know for me I would be emotionally exhausted trying to explain to these idiots why their arguments are bullshit. It takes real courage and strength to do what you are doing. I am a white settler, and an artist, and I am trying to address issues of colonialism, white supremacy, and environmentalism through my art projects, so any information on the web that shares indigenous perspectives is really appreciated. First, I can learn from it, and make sure I am not being a shitty colonist… Second, I am more equipped to explain to other people why their racist/ignorant views are flawed…. and Third, I can try to bring these issues forward in my artwork, without appropriating anything. So, thank you again. You are awesome!
PS. I want to make it clear that the artworks I make that address issues of colonialism etc, are not for sale, its conceptual art, made for the sake of starting conversations around issues, not for the purpose of making money.
I was about to write a post about this Specifically because I’m so tired of Our culture being appropriated and Disrespected However You Literally worded it in the best way possible. Much props and respect to you for your level of intellect.
Hey. Upon reading this. I still have questions. Painting just a war bonnet? Is that okay?
You have a very inspiring way of exploring and sharing your thoughts. N doubt, info is original and very well structured. Keep it up.
Hello. First, I want to say I agree with your original article defining what does/does not constitute as cultural appropriation. Just as it would be inappropriate to wear military medals that you did not earn, it should be just as inappropriate to wear a headdress which, from what I understand, only should be worn by those who have earned the right to wear it.
Second, I wanted to know what your stance is on whether the use of historical figures in film/TV/video games is considered cultural appropriation. Take, for example, the
My apologies, I hit a wrong button and my previous comment was submitted before I was finished.
I believe I was asking your opinion on the usage of historical figures in media being considered cultural appropriation. For example, the Civilization series of video games is famous for allowing players to take on the role of certain historical figures, allowing them to take over the world, so to speak, as any empire they choose. As an example, in the most recent game in the series, Civilization 6, they added the leader of the Cree nation, Poundmaker, as a playable character. This choice has garnered somewhat negative attention, specifically in this article: https://www.polygon.com/2018/1/4/16850906/cree-nation-civilization-6-poundmaker. Would you consider the usage of historical figures such as Poundmaker to be “cultural appropriation?”
It’s less “cultural appropriation” and more “flat out inaccurate”. Poundmaker’s descendants EXIST and should have been consulted on this to make for a richer experience. The mîkiwahp is portrayed Anishinaabe style, not a plains style tipi. Dialects of Cree are mashed together.
An earlier attempt by the video game franchise to include a Pueblo character had to be scrapped, at the request of Pueblo council. (https://www.macleans.ca/culture/civilization-video-game-poundmaker-cree-nation/) It’s a matter of basic respect, especially given the history of colonization and exploitation to speak to Poundmaker’s descendants to ensure things are right.
Very nicely put!
That was eloquent and beautiful. Thank you
Not your Business…
The Fraser Institute told the Indigenous people that they should celebrate 150 years of Canada. Because after all, the residential schools are closed now, there is some kind of investigation in the missing and murdered women and people who publicly state their hate for indigenous people are getting banned from social media.
The police tell the battered woman that she should be happy about her marriage now. Her husband stopped beating her, he can not publicly threaten her anymore, and after all, there were some moments together that were not just abuse.
The politician tells the gay refugee that he should gladly return to his country – after all the killing has stopped, the president that threatened homosexuals got exiled to another country and the media is not sending hate messages anymore.
Who are we, to tell others how they should feel.
Who are we, to tell the abused, tortured, discriminated that they should stop feeling this way.
Who among us, would like to be told
that all you need to change is how to feel about violence and pain and “Voila” it just disappears.
I grew up in Communist Germany. It even quite annoys me if people try to tell me that the day The Wall came down should have been the happiest of my life.
Greetings. I will be going to a costume party in which I would like to recognize Sitting Bull for his conquest of Little Big Horn. I totally appreciate the sanctity of the Indian Headdress, and my intention is NOT to disrespect the Indian culture, or Indian nations. Will wearing a headdress, in this situation, also be considered “disrespectful”, as my intentions are to bring recognition and appreciation to what Sitting Bull, and other Indian chiefs have accomplished?
Yes. You’re not Sitting Bull, or other Indian chiefs.
Yes, it’s disrespectful. Intention vs. impact means your intentions may be good, according to you, but they will have a negative impact on other folks. Please read this thread all the way through, if you haven’t, it may help make this more clear.
I wanted to wear a headdress because it looks cool. After reading this I will not be wearing one. But why not? So I don’t upset people. That’s why. I do find it slightly annoying that someone else being upset can stop me from doing something, although it is the compassionate thing to do on my end. Oh well.
To the Original Poster…
thank you so much for taking the time to write this article, as well as answer all the comments given.
As someone who identifies as a white transperson, in the past I have fallen into the trap of thinking “cis white guys are bastards who think they rule the world.” all the while being blissfully aware of just how good I have it.
however… just by the color of my skin and the life I was born into, I was given so much that I did not earn. Though I struggle with being treated as ‘less than’ – your article and some links and comments led me to understand – my personal struggle in no way is more important than the struggle that someone else fails.
I will not be wearing a feather in my hair, now or ever. But today, I feel that I am starting to understand that we all struggle, with different things. We will never truly feel another’s pain or know their struggle, but I believe that through educating ourselves, we can become a bit more compassionate and kind.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Great article
This is a well written article. Thankyou for helping to open the eyes of some who do not see or are blinded by cultural misconceptions. It is through honest and open interaction such as this, that helps to bridge cultural gaps. Well written and well done sir!
Thank you for your thoughtful, kind and informative explanation. I think to be mindful and respectful of others as human beings takes a certain amount of self-reflection and willingness to accept when one has overstepped a boundary.
Thank you for sharing. My white son’s school is putting on a Thanksgiving play, and he was sent home with a sheet of paper that said that his class would be dressing as “Indians.” My heart sank, and I e-mailed his teacher to ask what that meant, and what the content of the play was. Long story short, I sent a revised copy of the play using corrected terms, including Wampanoag, and cited several Native educators who had ideas about how to teach the lesson in an historically accurate way that is still fun for the kids. Needless to say, no changes were made, and my kid will likely be the only one without the feather headdress. It’s so much easier for white people to say “This is the way we’ve always done it” than to pause for a moment, and consider that tradition doesn’t make it right.
I am uneducated in native history, being the founders of where I call home, I would really love to know more. I live in an area where it’s quite populated with native folk, and I would love to know about it, I want to learn more and have no clue what things mean…. what’s this mean, pointless comment right? So I want to have some basic knowledge to start with and allow an actual native to be able to fill in some bubbles let’s say. Like a brainstorm chart. I just have so many questions. Like a grown up child. Just want to know things so I don’t seem so……. distant. I don’t want a culture conversation to come up and me just be ultimately uneducated(rude). I would like to have, let’s say, a respectful amount to where I don’t sound like I grew up in an all white neighborhood…….. (not my fault)
There is a section of this website called “Indigenous Issues 101” https://apihtawikosisan.com/aboriginal-issue-primers/
Also, I’ve written a book that is an intro to these issues, many of the pieces in the 101 section are in that book. https://apihtawikosisan.com/
This still has so much impact today as it did when you first wrote it. I sadly have no Indian blood running through me but I have ancestors on my Father’s side who were. Lots of people may claim to have 10% all they want but most are just wannabes. I honestly humble to say I am 0% … Regardless, I understand that headdresses in tribes all symbolize something important. Women did wear headdresses but not in the plains region. Nor were they as elaborate or a “boho” type headgear they try to make them to be. Headdresses in the plains were worn by important men out to battle or for celebrations … but I just honestly have to ask something important here. Women in America have strongly argued with men through the centuries and decades they can work and battle just like men could. Women have gone to battle in military and work same jobs as the men. America was taken from the Native Americans yes it true but even cultures worldwide grow and change with there times. Why can not a woman today be okay to wear a headdress if she can be a warrior for her country? Still being stuck in old traditions I do understand but this is not 1800s anymore. My father’s tribe is from the Eastern Woodlands. The women wore the feather headband proudly. Sadly even that one gets disgraced in my opinion seeing it in old cartoons on little boys and palming there mouth on Looney Toons but no one went as far to ban Looney Toons … I maybe a fascist but thing about America it a place for freedom of beliefs. I understand and respect yours but I try to understand others too.
You probably could’ve left out 30% of the passive aggressive wording and just kept the info on what is/isn’t off limits. It’s not your choice whether anyone takes your advice, that’s up to the person themselves, regardless of how many people are offended or upset at one’s actions. I think you will get better results if you reworded it, maybe have someone else read it through who is not Native American. You may not like it and you may feel a bit compromised, but you will get better results and that’s the most important goal.
You could have left out 100% of your hurt feelings and suggestion that I get a non-Native to help me shape my words to be more pleasing to you. Oh and you can 100% fuck all the way off, thanks!
Wow, anger management.
Wow. It’s almost like people making the same tired argument (“You’re not the boss of me, you jerk!”) and tone policing for OVER TEN YEARS gets a little tiresome, hey?
I’m supposed to engage in good faith with folks who don’t even attempt to do the same? Na, I’m good, you can fuck off too if you’d like?
I’m constantly surprised by your patience, and how much you engage with people who are obviously slow on the uptake. Once again, gratitude. From me, and on behalf of a bunch of idiots who will hopefully learn something.
I had been considering purchasing a t-shirt which depicted a skull wearing a native headress but wavered on the decision because I didn’t want to disrespect anyone’s culture. So, thank you for this open letter, your explanation and examples helped me truly understand why certain images/actions can cause offense.
Although I admire skulls and headresses in artwork, I now know that wearing such a shirt would be disrespectful.
Keep it up m’girl..if I ever get some money I will send you some to help keep your blog going.
If my name ever comes up for school funding I intend to study about our wampum belts all over the world. I put my name down when I was 26yrs. old, no response as yet & I am nearly 60 yrs. old now…lol
A response from my brother’s friend DAVID KING
I am a university professor now, I was adopted into an Inuit family many years back, by Rhoda Inuksuk, president of the Inuit women’s association of Canada, and everything to do with Inuit and residential schools involving archives is my work…Including the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.
…. has provided a rather simplistic, ethnocentric (that is being polite) and unprofessional opinion. One brief example, Europeans lived in sod and rock huts, in fact, the Irish Shiners who built the Rideau canal in Ottawa lived in sod and rock huts well into the mid 1800s and beyond…igloos, made of snow, were far more sanitary. You just build a new one. Also, Europeans at the time of contact were not as advance as north and south American Aboriginal peoples in medicine and agriculture.
In fact, Aboriginal food staples brought back to Europe created a population explosion, also well documented. As a medicinal example, Aboriginal peoples used aspirin to relieve headaches, it came from willow bark, which is where it originates. Europeans used “blood letting” literally…not to mention, the idea of cleanliness and bathing is relatively speaking a new concept for people of European decent. Certainly at the time of contact, and settlement, bathing was not high on the list of things to do. Even in settled communities into the early 1900s, people could pay a hotel for a bath, with used bath water coming much cheaper. Europeans also had a habit of sharing living space with their livestock. It is no secret among scientists that animal husbandry is one of, if not the most common ways in which disease has historically made the species jump…bird flu by no means would be the first, which is why the worry. The best example would be smallpox which is believed to have originated in India. The cure was discovered by Edward Jenner in the 1800s, it was cowpox… the same thing used for cattle cured the disease in people.
To be perfectly honest, the average Inuit home at the time of contact would have been far more sanitary then the average European home.
The fact is, we all live in a hybrid culture today…one is either selectively ignorant of history or outright racist to hold to an assumption that people of European decent always lived like they do today while some how ethnocentrically judging Aboriginal cultures in comparison to today….
I could go on for ever, how about the Early American settlers who hunted and ate Aboriginal people, dug up graves and ate them (Aboriginal people) to avoid starvation? All of this may be news to the average laymen (or women) but believe me, it is not to academics. It is well documented. In fact, I have hundreds if not thousands of pages of notes on the subject, having also written the section on Canada within the encyclopedia of genocide and crimes against humanity.
There are over 150 modern medicines listed today that were introduced by north and south American Aboriginal peoples. Many modern day food staples as well, including potatoes (the so-called Irish potato was brought back to Europe by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1588 from Brazil or Peru, most likely Peru), corn, quashes, beans, tomatoes to name a few.
What European’s were best at was acting as the world’s middlemen. The compass, paper, gun powder, all introduced by the Chinese. Most of what is believed by the dominant, white-Canadian society to have originated in Europe was actually appropriated from elsewhere. Take the modern Italian diet, for example. Roman’s considered it barbaric to put something from a cow’s tit on bread (they used olive oil)…dairy was introduced by the Germanic tribes…pasta came from China and Tomatoes came from north and south American.
If I really wanted to, I could provide a presentation, complete with citations, etc., applying today’s values and norms, judging past European society (this in academia is called cultural relativism) that would make even the most ardent ethnocentric white person think their ancestors were the most barbaric, backward people ever to walk the face of the earth. I do not say this to be polemic, as clearly this presenter has been, but rather to make the point….two could easily play that game and I don’t think it would be taken lightly, not to mention it would be offensive.
If you require documentation or further assistance, this can be provided.
As for welfare, lets be honest about this too. This country we call Canada historically has manufactured virtually nothing beyond that small stretch of land along the St. Lawrence sea way from Toronto to Quebec City.
Virtually all European immigrants came to Canada with nothing, escaping poverty and war.
The overwhelming majority of those were not nobles or aristocrats…they were the peasants, the lowest among Europe’s cast systems.
This country became one of the wealthiest in history, not from manufacturing, but from natural resources.
Not one stone of those resources came here on the ships from Europe.
This wealth originates from the treaties.
For which, every single Canadian, dead or alive has benefited. Strangely, Aboriginal people were healthier and wealthier in pre-contact times. And yes, they did use natural resources. If one looks it up, one will find Aboriginal peoples here were mining copper thousands of years prior to Europeans
Rather then stressing how different pre-contact Aboriginal societies were from today, without applying the same standards to pre-contact European societies, Why not teach children the contributions past societies contributed to our modern, hybrid culture that we all live today?
You may forward this to whomever you like.
DK
If war medals are worn to not mock those that sacrificed their life
People can wear them because they look cool
With their camo attire
The key is when asked if they served in war they be honest and say no
If anything it brings light to the context the value of war was
There will come a day war medals don’t exist
People can dress like a farmer and never have heave a bale of hay or straw
So long it is not in a mocking way
To dress as natives have and would do
isn’t wrong unless you are mocking them
If so
Then you have a problem
It’s not a disease called this made up bullshit of “cultural appropriation”
It’s a disease called “I am a fucking asshole for mocking a way of life”
When I was 6 years old I loved Mr. T
, I still do, I would have darkened my skin as a kid or even now to look like him
Why becuase I love him
DOnt throw me with the dirt bag assholes that mock those of darker coloured skin
The tragedy of life is that as we create these things of “cultural appropriation” our minds actually become more narrowed to the truth
It’s not a matter of what is done but why is something done
All you have to do is ask why
The wearing of a headdress the wearing of war medals if worn because they look cool can be a greater education tool of our past so long as the truth is told when someone asks “why”
and shame isn’t thrown in their way if the feelings that the perpetuated actions are with love
Don’t throw away the overlay the overlapping of our societies and cultures because the people didn’t live in those times
Because if you did
You just missed a big opportunity to join us a school one nation of people who were one step closer to loving one another
(And if someone lies to the reason of their attire…Karma comes to us all either good or bad) the ancient spirits of our world aren’t speaking loudly in these times if you look around and listen to your conscience
Cheers
I too, honored and revered the same Mr. T. With every piece of jewelry my grandma would let us play with, we “pitied the fool”.
I also had a “horrific” Indian headdress with one colored construction paper feather for every book I read in 2nd grade, it wrapped around our car twice.
re:
…..It’s not a disease called this made up bullshit of “cultural appropriation”…
Reference:
GREG YOUNG ING
https://www.mycota.ca/pro-d-blog/2017/09/21/greg-younging%E2%80%94indigenous-editorial-issues/
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/how-indigenous-authors-are-claiming-space-in-the-canlit-scene-1.4573996/elements-of-indigenous-style-author-shares-5-common-mistakes-editors-make-1.4577798
https://quillandquire.com/omni/qa-greg-younging-on-editing-indigenous-works-story-ownership-and-canadian-publishing/
Historical context and why this guide is needed
My friend Greg YoungIng said:
For four centuries, non-Indigenous people wrote about Indigenous people in English. For the most part, Indigenous people were not writing about themselves (George Copway and E. Pauline Johnson were notable exceptions), for a variety of reasons. Many Indigenous people didn’t speak English at home, and residential schools often failed to provide Indigenous children with adequate education in English and writing skills. From 1880 to 1948, Indigenous culture was banned: items like masks, regalia, and blankets were confiscated, and anyone caught participating in traditional ceremonies and dances faced jail time.
…Awareness of the problem of cultural appropriation grew in the 1980s and ’90s. Indigenous people argued at that non-Indigenous writers had represented them so poorly that all writing about Indigenous culture should be left to Indigenous people. Landmarks in the movement included the “Telling Our Own Story” conference organized by Margo Kane in 1989 and Indigenous writers speaking out about the issue at the Writers’ Union of Canada in 1993. “By the mid 1990s,” said Younging. “we thought we had gotten through to people. There was public awareness about it.” But the issue re-emerged just this year in June, with the “Cultural Appropriation Prize” controversy in Write magazine.
The attitude within the Indigenous publishing community has shifted since the 1990s: many now recognize that collaborations with non-Indigenous writers, editors, and publishers can be productive, as long as they are approached with care and sensitivity.
Note: I was the AA for his one day conference at Carleton U on this issue with museums & art galleries & he went onto intellectual property at the UN level.. When he left Ottawa ( AFN & Royal Commission) & took over Theytus Books
My other comment is do you know WHY Mr. T wore such a large amount of jewelry,he speaks about the REASON , do some research..
This is honestly where the “aboriginal” cultures actually DO have something to learn from the white culture: The inadequately made argument here is that white culture has “off limits” cultural items as well, which is incorrect. At least in the FREE WEST, we specifically protect the act of mocking, desecrating or speaking in offensive ways about any items, including those held in esteem by others. We teach that one should hold PRACTICAL TOLERANCE above, well above, superstitious offense. We tolerate those who make fake Military medals, and dress in the “honored and revered” cultural dress of “earned esteem”, and only act against them when they use that fakery to commit a crime already on the books, such as fraud. (taking tangible benefit under guise of military service is what the crime of stolen valor actually means, not just the dressing).
The problem here is NOT in the appropriation or use of cultural items, its the control-freak nature of others being offended at all because of it. Its going to go on forever, one side entrenched in a “you must understand my values of my culture”, and the other side entrenched in ours. We value the tolerance. Its a more peaceful standard than intolerance.
I love the way in which colonizers justify their constantly shifting standards by always claiming to be the best. These cultural items and practices you claim it is “intolerance” to protect, were literally made illegal by colonial powers for generations. Our sacred items, even our bodies were stolen and commodified, while we ourselves were unable to legally engage in these practices or hold on to our dead relatives. That is a horrific violence. It was justified at the time in many ways, particularly religious. Our cultures were considered demonic.
Once it became untenable to morally continue to deny us access to our own cultures, settlers engineered a little switcharoo. Now, suddenly you are interested in being secular! So before, our “demonic cultures” were an affront to Christianity and civilization. Now, they are too “religious” and our practices such as smudging, are considered a violation of your newfound secularism. Funny that.
In every iteration, settlers have ensured for themselves absolute access to our cultures (denying it to us however) in the name of profit and desire. Now you wag your little finger at us and tell us that trying to have any say in who can access OUR cultural objects and practices is “intolerant.” It’s amusing, and sad. No matter the situation or the age we speak of, settlers will always tell themselves what they need to hear to feel superior about whatever position they take.
The fact is, we cannot legally prevent anyone from doing these things. All we can do is point out the history of violence, refuse to allow you to hide or deny your history, and tell you to fuck off. Being spoken back to is SO offensive that you feel this need to chastise us and once again say we have things to learn from colonizers, ha. Poor you, being told no, when you can just go ahead and do it anyway. Completely comparable to having something outlawed, with state-sanctioned punishments (insert eye roll here).
You aren’t actually oppressed, and when you want to steal our cultures, we can now make very public noises about it. You will have to learn how to deal with peoples whose voices are not silenced. Cry about it, colonizer.
The “practical tolerance” the OP is talking about is premised on a presumption of equality, which is false. Once we achieve a legitimate level of equality in the “free west”, then we can have the discussion about who tolerates how much of what. Applying this Enlightenment thinking (Voltaire was an active participant in a violently racist and misogynist culture while philosophizing about freedom, equality and the right to say whatever the fuck one wants, and while he was willing to die for a man’s right to say offensive things, he was not as concerned with the roles of non-whites or non-males in that conversation – plus ça change) to such an immediate and contemporary circumstance that is still fraught with violence is also premised on a false assumption that colonial violence is a question of history. It is ongoing.
Read about an hours worth. Have some questions.
Our school sports team is the Red Jacket Indians (Sagoyawatha). The teams play to win with dignity sportsmanship and pride. The logo is a profile of a male with a headdress and 3 feathers. The term “Red Jacket Indian” represents more the people currently living here than a native American who never lived here. We think it is complementary (accept when we loose). Is this offensive to you, complementary or other? If it is offensive, why? I can see if they called them Indian only after they lost, but not as a team name?
Next: Can someone actually “steal” a culture? If the “original” culture still has its culture and the other culture has aspects of the original, the original is still intact, right?
If a native American culture adopts portions of a different culture, are they stealing culture?
What is the DNA definition of Native American? My wife is 2% and her great great grandfather was a chief in Pittsford NY (have pics of him, lived to 100; 17 kids) before the tribe moved to Minnesota-Wisconsin area.
I just read somewhere that Native Americans do not accept DNA as proof. If so, what do they use for proof?
Native Americans originated from Siberia. Why are they called native Americans? Are they called Native Americans in Canada and Chile, too?
Thanks (don’t like the swearing though).
There’s honestly no need for you to share your unsolicited opinion on the language I use.
1. None of this is about what is offensive to me personally, you should be speaking to the Indigenous people of the area you are talking about in regards to the team name. That reaching out is what folks need to do, not asking someone far away to sanction or not sanction something like this.
2. When the culture of a people is repressed, legislated against, beaten out of them, forbidden, or used as a justification for oppressing and terrorizing them, and then the group doing all of this turns around and begins using bits and pieces of that culture in ways that reinforce dehumanizing stereotypes, gains them popularity or material gains, without acknowledging the history of cultural repression, it’s bad. Call it stealing. Call it appropriation. Call it being a giant fucking asshole – it’s not okay. What culture Indigenous peoples continue to have exists in SPITE of all that violence, and yeah, we get to tell colonizers to back away from it. Colonizers still have the power to take what they want anyway.
3. Cultural sharing is something that happens between people who are on relatively equal terms. We have protocols about adopting and integrating other Indigenous nations cultures into our own practices, and a major part of that is always acknowledging where a teaching or practice originated. That’s basically the opposite of stealing. Can Indigenous people appropriate cultural symbols and practices? Sure. Anyone can; it involves not doing what I just outlined.
4. Every Indigenous nation has its own criteria for who belongs to them and who they claim.
5. I’m so sick of the “you originated in Siberia” crap. No. Indigenous people became the peoples they are today HERE, not elsewhere. A People are humans who share a culture, a history, a geography. All humans originated in Africa, does that make everyone African? Just such a ridiculous argument to even pose.
Thanks.
Yes, there is a need to share my opinion with you, because it is not just an opinion, its a Native American norm not to use curse words and your words are negatively impacting the message instead of conveying it appropriately. Perhaps you have never heard the saying, “Foul mouth, foul meat, foul soul,”
So what is your definition of “far away?” Everyone can read about anything worldwide now? If the Natives no longer live in the region (multi-county area land mass) and there is no one to ask, does that mean its should be neither offensive or complimentary only because they are not seeing it firsthand?
I do not see how naming something viewed as positive after a native american is “repressive” or repressing a culture? It seems more like they are trying to highlight a culture or a memory so it is not completely lost?
If a “native American” marries a “colonizer” is the native now a colonizer? are their children? I am not following your generalizations but am trying to understand your view as a human.
If there is different criteria for being classified as “indigenous,” than what are the former indigenous people called once they are no longer “claimed” by the group?
I have become the person I am HERE. I do not speak Irish, Gall, French, German, Egyptian, Somalian, Menomonie, My education was from here. My government is here. I serve my neighbors and community here. The people that raised me are from here. When do Siberians stop being Siberians? When they left Canada? the US, Mexico, Central America, Bolivia?
First, you have absolutely no right to police my tone and attempt to apply some pan-Indigenous stereotype of how we speak. Trust, there are in fact swear words and insults in nêhiyawêwin and every other Indigenous language, and right now you’ve earned a healthy dose of them. You will not be posting here again with your stereotypes and shitty attitude.
I answered your questions, please feel free to fuck off. You and I have no relationship, I owe you zero, and I have in fact very generously provided you and others with a wealth of information in my blog, and my other public writings. To demand I hold your hand through it is typical colonizer bullshit and I’d rather scrape dog shit off my shoes than waste more time on you. I’ve got an entire piece on this website about how exactly settler colonialism is defined, enjoy reading it, wînt.
Hi! I have a question concerning the usage of feathers in a character’s design. You see, I am on an art discord server. A new rule was added on the server relating to indiginous appropriation that I don’t fully agree with. The rule states that people are not allowed to put feathers on their characters’ heads, because they claim that that would be offensive to the Native Indian community. However, I dont agree with this sentiment because the act of putting feathers on a character’s head has a multitude of reasons behind it that have nothing to do with indiginous culture. For example, I made art of a cat named Shreweye who has pheasant feathers on his head. The reason for this is because he was a member of a cat colony that was starving. One day, he managed to hunt down a large pheasant that fed his whole colony. To commemorate his great contribution, he gained the feathers of the pheasant in his head in reference to how he got his name. Given my reasoning, would this still be considered offensive?
Hello 🙂
In the article you say “If you really, really want to wear beaded moccasins or mukluks or buy beautiful native art, then please do! There are legitimate and unrestricted items crafted and sold by aboriginal peoples that we would be more than happy to see you with.”
This makes sense when reading your article.
What do you make of other indigenous people (or white people getting offended on their behalf) who would disagree and call wearing these beaded occasins or mukluks cultural appropriation as well, rather than discerning between ‘restricted’ and ‘non-restricted’ items?
Thank you!
I don’t care what non-Indigenous folks have to say on the matter, but if Indigenous folks in the area you are in are telling you not to do a thing, it makes sense to listen. Relationality is specific, and too many people approach this issue as a transaction. This is not a cut and dry issue, it is a complex and nuanced one, and folks need to not look for bright line rules, but rather try to behave more relationally.
I agree, however I was more thinking about ‘online’ interactions which are by default not really relational since we are interacting with anynonymous strangers.
Would you say that considering some people ‘online’ would have a broader understanding of cultural appropriation one should try to be ‘as safe as possible’ and not wear any ‘cultural clothing’ at all (without trying to decipher between item categories), or would you argue with these people for a value/purpose in letting people wear non-restricted cultural clothing? What argument would you make?
I am a mixed-race Brazilian – black and white with some Indigenous ancestry, one of my great-grandfathers was a Native South American. History was erased and we are not sure of his tribe – he was adopted by outsiders because he was ill, if I recall correctly, and my mother was too young when she met him.
At this point in time, I am wary of the idea of “appropriation” as it seems to be a mostly North American phenomenon and it is often overblown (to the extent that it is said that a specific hairstyle should only be worn by a particular ethnicity, or that you are not allowed to eat food from another country).
Here in Brazil, we have a long history of appreciating other cultures because we are a mixed people, and we have welcomed immigrants for centuries. I have also used the Internet since I was a child (I am now a young adult), and the web has allowed me to meet people from all over. So to me it is natural to be curious about other cultures. I was classmates with a sansei (third gen Japanese descent), and a Peruvian girl who had obvious indigenous features.
I have appreciated the Inuit cultures since I was a child, along with other ones (e.g. Japanese, Indian, Cantonese, etc).
I try to learn as much as I can and show respect. Especially, but not only in regards to Inuit traditions, I want to learn about them, partake in them and spread knowledge to others so that their history is preserved, because it is so beautiful. If possible, I also want to fight for indigenous rights. The organisations in Brazil seem mostly closed off and I don’t know how to contact them, but I would love to help other aboriginals from around the world, even the ones located in the African continent. I have read about some tribes in Africa, examples are Dogon, Chokwe, etc. In fact, here in Brazil we even practice Afro-Brazilian religions and things like that. They are mostly based on Yoruba beliefs.
Indigenous land rights, the Inuit seal hunt, stealing of resources by outsiders, the problem of missing and murdered Native women are all concerning to me. Of course, there are other issues that need to be discussed and dealt with, but I won’t list them all.
I know very well about the effects of colonialism and imperialism, as our country has suffered greatly from it, and so have my ancestors. We had forced miscigenation here in Brazil. The Portuguese settlers tried to dilute the Native and African blood. They stole our resources, especially our gold, and of course we also had to deal with slavery for centuries.
I used to be resentful at the Portuguese because a lot of them are xenophobic and racist against us, but I’ve met some that weren’t rude, and I even made friends for life. And besides, whether I like it or not, I have Portuguese ancestry.
Headdresses are not only worn by Native North Americans, but indigenous peoples of South America, as well as other places on Earth. I wonder what people from my side of the American continent think about this matter.
I don’t know if they would find if offensive, although indigenous representation is so minimal that we do not hear their voices. Most tribes stay in their reservations (which is their right).
I believe that context matters, and that oftentimes, those people who wear headdresses are not trying to be disrespectful. But I also understand that erasure exists. I wish it didn’t.
thank you for this article. My question is simple. Do you feel it to be offensive if someone were to have a war bonnet but not wear it? say hang it on a wall in a show of honoring and respecting it’s tradition and symbolism?
Better if that someone research whose nations war bonnet they have & return it…just saying..hanging a sacred, stolen or confiscated personal item on a wall is the height of settler privilege..
A couple of ways to go about the return is:
approach your local Indian Center ( in USA) or Friendship Centre ( in CAN) for help
call your nearest reservation & ask for help
My friend Greg Young Ing ( we were at AFN together & I helped him with his conference at Carleton U with the museums after the Lubicon Cree successful OLYMPIC boycott of SHELL GAS SPIRIT SINGS collection
https://museums.in1touch.org/uploaded/web/docs/Task_Force_Report_1994.pdf
https://www.academia.edu/10851317/After_the_Spirit_Sang_Aboriginal_Canadians_and_Museum_Policy_in_the_New_Millennium
speaks about the issues:
https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/june-2017/who-owns-indigenous-cultural-and-intellectual-property/
& generally
https://www.brusheducation.ca/books/elements-of-indigenous-style
Last time I saw him was at a conference in Toronto, he died in 2019.
https://windspeaker.com/news/footprints/greg-younging-forged-distinguished-career-publishing
I miss him terribly…sigh
When I was 16 years old I left my home in New Mexico and started school in an all-girls Catholic boarding school in Kentucky.
My first day I wore my hair in brown braids with a red bandana headband in what I believed was showing my support for indigenous people. This was 1981. I was shy and quiet and when I was approached by a girl my age who asked if I was Native American and then criticized me for wearing it even though I was not Native American crushed me and I went back to my room and cried. I thought I was just starting at that school and she was incredibly mean and unwelcoming but eventually I moved on and realized she may have had a point.
amazing post!! you’re very articulate and i love the way you write ^_^ it’s just a shame that the colonisers found it lmao, i’m sorry you have to deal with their racist nonsense. the caucasity! you could explain cultural appropriation in the plainest language possible and these freaks would still misconstrue it. someone needs to cuff em on the head and firmly inform them that they are Not the victims here.
Stfu .I hope you die of covid. People can do what they want. Stop being a fucking Nazi you cunt.
Big bold words from IP address 70.77.193.230 in Calgary, Alberta. Boy you sure told me!
Hi, i’m a grade 12 student and i am thinking of an art project for class. i wanted to make a headdress or war bonnet made from eagle feathers with tassels and beads laid on a bison skull (made from clay). i am not indigenous but would like to learn more about the culture and before i start i wanted to know if this was ok and respectful. if not i will not continue with the project, im just curious. and thank you for the helpful article 🙂
tânisi, if you don’t have a really clear idea of what this is representing, or why it needs to be a headdress, I’d suggest against it. War bonnets are a specific artform, and there are a lot of details and specific materials that are used when creating them properly, so is an approximation without being aware of that material culture something that needs to be made? Nothing wrong with learning more about the specific techniques used, it’s pretty fascinating stuff, but for your project perhaps something a little closer to you?
Thank you for still being here.
Ok. I underrstand your Point.
And at the same time your culture seems to be really sexist to me. Why are only men allowed to wear a headdress? Why don’t women get equal rights? Isn’t this oppression of women?
More and more, women are wearing the headdress, but they are never doing it half-clothed and for sexy photoshoots. They are doing it because they are leaders in their communities. We are still seeing “history being made” with some First Nations having their first women chief ever, since the Indian Act imposed the band council system. The sexism you’re looking for is baked into the Indian Act, which specifically targeted the political power of women and required only men to become leaders of governments that were set up by the Federal government. Traditional matriarchies, traditional governance entirely, was undermined and outlawed in favour of a patriarchal system that literally erased Indigenous women’s identities if they married a non-Indigenous person, while ensuring that Indigenous men who married non-Indigenous women passed on their status to those women. The oppression of women is a crucial part of settler colonialism and has impacted Indigenous nations in terrible ways – so if you want to address that, you absolutely must address settler colonialism. You’re not going to solve it by pointing fingers at nations whose legal orders were never organized around the oppression of women.
Planet Earth is four billion years old. Nobody is indigenous to anywhere. There was always someone here before the last guy, and there will always be someone here after they’re gone. The world and culture is constantly in flux. Stop pretending like you own any part of it.
You are confusing Indigenous with endemic in an attempt to undermine Indigenous claims to land, which is very colonizer of you. “Endemic” means only occurring in a specific place, like the platypus is endemic to to eastern Australia and Tasmania. “Indigenous” means the first to arrive in a place, so yeah. People ARE Indigenous to places on this Earth, Ed.
Indigenous Peoples today are the descendants of the first humans to people these lands, no matter how much you want to twist that around and deny it. Telling Indigenous Peoples “you don’t have any claim to these lands” while you sit there as a beneficiary of colonizers who claim lands, is hypocritical nonsense. No, Ed, not every human is or wants to be a colonizer, and colonizer violence is a universal and immutable characteristic of being human, so please do fuck all the way off.
Well to be pedantic what you are calling indigenous cultures are all not indigenous probably, as settlement into the Americas probably took place in at least two waves from Asia. We are not really sure which tribes are actually indigenous and which tribes were just there before Europeans arrived. Although most have a long storied history there is no guarantee a Native culture is actually indigenous. So to calling that person out for using endemic is kind stupid. It is kind of naive to look at native cultures as not colonizing many did and they used warfare to take lands from other tribes the reason western colonialism worked is because of underlying distaste and hatred between the different peoples of different regions that they took advantage of. Honestly calling people colonizers is kind of ignorant. Most regions in America were colonized by Europeans a couple hundred years ago at least, bad deals were signed in modern history but people living today have nothing to do with it. Now are people bigoted now sure but people who are benefitting from colonialism are actually benefitting from a hard and long process of changing an area from war, trade, agriculture and betrayal much in the way indigenous cultures were dealing with each other before hand. Just because one tribe of people was white doesn’t make them any better or worse. How did the Commanche, Apache and Navajo treat the losers of those battles. Honestly some tribes, not all, got off easier dealing with Europeans then they would have if a predominant indigenous culture would have formed. Which without diseases and settlers from Europe was a likely eventual outcome. I am fine with not wearing a headress as a sign of respect for another culture but man you are just as bad as the people you are judging âpihtawikosisân.
To quote my reply to Ed, “You are confusing Indigenous with endemic in an attempt to undermine Indigenous claims to land, which is very colonizer of you. “Endemic” means only occurring in a specific place, like the platypus is endemic to to eastern Australia and Tasmania. “Indigenous” means the first to arrive in a place, so yeah.”
Colonizers always want to justify themselves by claiming that colonization is universal, and something all human beings to or want to do or will do if given the chance, thus, we can’t critique it because blah blah blah. Better us than some more evil colonizer, amirite?
Yes, definitely Michael. Discussing colonization, cultural appropriation, and respect does in fact make me just as bad as the people I am judging, the architects of the reserve systems, the Indian Act, those who withheld or poisoned rations to force compliance, those who created the residential school systems, those who wrote legislation to involuntarily sterilize Indigenous women (and others) and who continue to do this despite the fact it’s no longer legal, etc etc etc. Exactly the same thing, tit for tat, thank you so much for enlightening me as to just how violent I am being by saying “we can’t stop you from doing this thing, but here’s why some folks are going to think you’re being an asshole if you do.” Stellar analysis, absolutely changed my life.
There are many things that, as an outsider to all of the peoples in Canada, I do not understand. So, first, thank you for putting this post out there.
All cultures have things that are sacred to them. Understanding why or how something is sacred to a different culture or person is not always straightforward, but it is also not necessary in order to behave as if we were human. What kind of brute would destroy something that is meaningful to somebody else and, after seeing them deeply hurt answer with: “Well, I don’t know why you are upset”? Destruction takes many forms, and someone is telling us that the imitation of a design is a desecration of something deeply meaningful. I do not need for them to tell me exactly why or how that is meaningful because that would require a personal connection that I unfortunately do not have. We teach our children this in a daily basis. “Do not pull my hair” “Why?” “Because if you pull my hair it hurts.” You do not need to pull my hair, it hurts, and so we do not do it. Think of something sacred to you, think of what desecration would be for you with respect to it. Now think of how you would feel if someone else repeatedly desecrated that something despite having been warned that you get hurt, if they tried to argue with you about the meaninglessness of it, or if everyone kept asking you to define the exact boundaries of what you would be willing to tolerate. Further action in this front is not ignorance or curiosity, it is an attack, something that children may do while testing boundaries but perhaps something in which grown ups should know better.