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. 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 aren’t sure about whether something is restricted or not, please ask someone who is from that culture. You do not have to be an expert on our cultures to access aspects of them. Particularly when the details are so much more fascinating than say, out-dated stereotypes of Pan-Indian culture. However I think it is reasonable to ask that if you admire a culture, you learn more about it. It is okay to find our stuff beautiful, because it is. TRY REAL CELEBRATION INSTEAD OF APPROPRIATION 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.Įven 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. 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. It is very rare for women in Plains cultures to wear these headdresses, and their ability to do so is again quite restricted. These headdresses are further restricted within the cultures to men who have done certain things to earn them. In particular, the headdress worn by most non-natives imitate those worn by various Plains nations. 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.įor the most part, headdresses are restricted items.
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Accessing these things does not signal that you have reached some special achievement, and you are generally free to use these.
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. Some people will pretend to have earned these symbols, but there can be serious sanctions within a culture for doing this.They cannot then claim to be honouring the symbol. 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. Yes, some people will mock these symbols.These items cannot be legitimately possessed or imitated by just anyone, as they represent achievements earned according to a specific criteria.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. Some items are restricted items in specific cultures.They tend to interfere with the ability to have a respectful conversation. If any of those have started whirling through your head, please lock them in a box while you read this article. If at all possible, I’d like you to read the statements on this BINGO card. 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. I would also like to provide you with this stellar guide from Simon Fraser University called “ Think Before You Appropriate“. I would like to provide you with resources and information on the subject so that you can better understand what our concerns are. I see you are confused about what constitutes cultural appropriation.
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