In her 2015 work, The White Possessive: Property, Power, and Indigenous Sovereignty, Aileen Moreton-Robinson (Goenpul from Minjerribah, Quandamooka FN) explores the way in which white nation-states (Australia, Canada, the United States, New Zealand) use racial logics to disrupt Indigenous territorial sovereignty explicitly through structures of colonial territorial possession. “The white Read more…
I have delved into the issue of cultural appropriation/misappropriation before, attempting to explain where I think the line should be drawn, and I’ve also discussed the need to ensure authenticity when approaching stories and resources attributed to Native Americans. To briefly (and inadequately) sum up those arguments (really, read the Read more…
Back in March of this year, I came across an online store called Ruby Love Joy. Based in Australia, this site featured (as you can see in this picture) a lot of men and women in face paint and “warrior inspired” headdresses. You will likely recognise a number of the Read more…
Stories and sayings attributed to Native Americans have been floating around probably since settlers stopped spending all of their time and energy on not dying. I am not entirely certain why stories that never originated in any indigenous nation are passed around as “Native American Legends”, but listener beware. You’ve Read more…
Cultural appropriation is a seriously hot-button topic. It ranges from the aggressively entitled stance of, “I can do whatever I want!” to the perpetually angry approach of “everything is cultural appropriation!”. Of course, the former is a much larger portion of the debate, and the latter is almost always a Read more…