i-haz-a-rezervation:bitterbitchclubpresident:jigmegyatso:fatcrybabie:bitterbitchclubpresident:therea
i-haz-a-rezervation:bitterbitchclubpresident:jigmegyatso:fatcrybabie:bitterbitchclubpresident:therealloganslaundry:Had an awesome weekend at @ozcomiccon, half working, half having fun with @jacquismduckie. Also I’m Native American. Byeeee! (at Sydney Exhibition Centre at Glebe Island)Yikesbut it’s not redface when ur grandma was 1/16th Cherokee princess!!!!I’m gonna second that yikes. If you were actually Native, OP, you would know better. Being native means everyday. Not “just” for a shitty photo.“Thereare 565 historically, culturally, and linguistically distinct, federally recognizedNative American tribes in the United States. 565 cultures routinely boiled downto a fake feather headdress or fringed t-shirt.The fashion industry isnotorious for profiting from the co-option and reproductionof cultural dress from across the globe.No culture is safe from being repackaged and sold as the latest thing. Noremuneration or benefits are afforded to the communities who provide“inspiration” – communities who are often scorned for wearing ethnicitems, and whose artisans struggle to make a living from authentic products.…Themarketing of inauthentic products using Native American tribal names isoutlawed under the Indian Arts And Crafts Act….…Writingfrom Dakota on the Racialiciouswebsite, Sasha Houston Brown, of the Santee SiouxNation described the problem: [Cultural Appropriation] has taken Indigenouslife ways and artistic expressions and trivialized and sexualized them for thesake of corporate profit … Just as our traditional homelands were stolen andexpropriated without regard, so too has our very cultural identity.“……Culturalappropriation remains a serious problem. It is so prevalent because itreplicates colonial relationships. This means that there is no space given toNative artists to counteract racist and demeaning stereotypes that substitutefor their real identity.Farfrom being harmless, fake feathered headdresses represent the theft of culturalidentity and lost homelands. Whilst diversity at the top levels of the fashionindustry is desperately needed, it will take more than this to bring about realchange. Ending cultural appropriation means overturning the power structuresthat it mirrors.”-The Guardian: Fake Native Americanclothing ranges show the darker side of fashion“Doesthe photographic image impact our lives and the lives of those around us and ifit does, can we use that image to encourage and inspire one another? Dosomething for me, try to remember the last time you saw a Native American inmassive media? Is this what you saw? If it is, I wouldn’t be surprised, becausebetween 1990 and 2000 there 5,868 blockbuster released films, 12 included, ofAmerican NDNs, ALL of them showed NDNs as: spiritual or in-tuned with nature,10 of them as impoverished and/or beaten down by society, 10 as continuallyin-conflict with whites. However, the IMAGE of the professional Photographer,the Musician, the Teacher, The Doctor, they were LARGELY absent. What’sInteresting is HOW THIS image manifests itself into our psyche. You see, whenthis image is shown to a young Native person, they report feeling lowerself-esteem and depressed about what they are able to become or would like tobecome. Shockingly, when shown to the white counterpart, their self-esteem israised. If society only sees us as these images it means that our MODERN ISSUESdon’t exist, nor do our efforts like schooling or economic development, throughsovereignty and Nation building. How can we been seen as modern successfulpeople if we our continually represented as the leather and feather vanishingrace?-Matika Wilbur, Swinomish and Tulalip, Pacific Northwest’s leadingphotographers, unique as an artistand social documentarian in Indian Country. The insight, depth, and passionwith which she explores the contemporary Native identity and experience arecommunicated through the impeccable artistry of each of her silver gelating photographs.TEDxSeattle“Thesefictions create confusion when they meet reality, these fictions can also causeharm when they replace reality. Today, there are 4.1 Million American Indiansin this country, and many of them [like me] are urban. In fact, New York Cityhas 100,000 American Indian people, while here in Albuquerque there are 33,000American Indians. Now, we do not look, act, behave or believe in the samethings, in fact, there is no one way to look or act, or to be Indian. We arediverse as the five-hundred and sixty-two sovereign nations.” – ProfessorNancy Marie Mithlo, Chiricahua Apache,at the TEDxABQ Women Conference speaking about Cultural Appropriation andHyper-sexualization of American Indian Women “NativeAmericans have fought hard to be allowed to have cultural identity — a basicright that was outlawed by the government until relatively recently. So yes,seeing a spray-tan sexy Pocahontas raising her hand in “hau” is more than anannoyance. It trivializes the fight that my parents and grandparents devotedtheir lives to. It trivializes my life and my sense of self. And I refuse tobelieve that any decent person would tell me to move on, to get over it, or tobe flattered by it. My great-grandmother is not a Halloween costume. Thisshouldn’t be so hard to understand.”—Itacawin“Theproblem with cultural appropriation is that it replaces the original with acopy created by the dominant culture. It dilutes the original, removes allsymbolic value from it and replaces it with a ready to consume product devoidof context and meaning. Cultural appropriation, at its most extreme, is aviolent form of colonization because it removes the original group behind theculture and reinforces stereotypes about that group (i.e. ALL First Nationfolks are reduced to “war bonnets”, whether their culture uses them or not; allLatin@s are reduced to a stylized version of Catholicism regardless of theirspirituality; etc.). The mechanism of “commodifying” a culture ends up being atool to re-enforce [sic] racism as it reduces the people behind those culturesto a mere cartoon like representation of their realities. It’s a great way toultimately Other and objectify entire groups of people by taking something thatis dynamic and ever evolving and freezing it for a marketing photoopportunity.”- FlaviaDzodan,mycultureisnotatrendWhat’sthe real issue?“Prestonand Metcalfe offer nearly identical qualifiers for what they think the rulesare for art and fashion to be considered authentic: They have to be made byNative Americans who are involved in their communities.“Theyparticipate in ceremonies, they know their traditions, they know the corevalues of their tribe, of their nation,” Metcalfe said.Asmany Native American designers see it, the issues go beyond the aesthetic orthe commercial and more broadly encompass concerns about identity, culturalappropriation and institutionalized racism.Culturalappropriation is any time one culture uses something from another, such as anartifact (a Catholic crucifix), a word (sombrero) or a style of music (rap).Most of the time the conversation is about “something that’s more likestealing,” said Richard Rogers, an intercultural-communications expert andprofessor at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.“Cultureshave always borrowed, stolen, adapted, exchanged ideas,” Rogers said. “Thedifference is looking at the power relationships that exist between thosecultures.”Therelationship between Native Americans and mainstream Americans is one ofcolonization and forced assimilation, he said. Now, many Native Americans feeltheir customs, designs and sacred objects are being compromised anddisrespected anew — both chain-store retailer Urban Outfitters and high-enddesigner Ralph Lauren have used Native American design elements for a profitwithout consulting Native American people, he pointed out.” - Nativestyle: Keeping it realMy Identity Is Not A Costume for You To Wear! Redface - The history of racist Indian stereotypes -- source link