[Dance Spree] Cultural Appropriation

[Joanna Hamlin]

To those who responded-
There is nothing wrong with learning from our Native American brothers
and sisters, and integrating what we learn into our own personal belief
system.  But assuming what we think is a "traditional name" is deceitful
and disrespectful.  Taking money to teach "Native American" spirituality
is cultural appropriation and contributes to cultural genocide.  Also, if
you are not "learning" from a true Native person, but a white person who
found out that his great-great grandfather (probably) raped a native
woman, or won her in a card game, does not make a person Native American.
  Generations ago, when some mixing occurred, it was usually not by
consent.   And, the culture from which the person came from was generally
not respected and certainly not celebrated.  Native "wives" were usually
forced to dress like the Europeans and to act like a European.  

I too have learned a lot from my many true Native American friends.  My
best friend growing up was 1/2 Cherokee.  Her father taught me a lot.  He
taught me that if you put a bunny rabbit near a Beagle-the Beagle will
kill it!  He taught me that when I got on my horse-I became part of her
and she became part of me, and so I learned to ride like the wind and
loved it.  I learned to respect the earth and to tread lightly upon it. 
It was MR. Wood who taught me that if I walked quietly in the woods, I'd
meet wild animals.  He was so right, as I have had more encounters with
Black bears, Moose, deer, fox etc., than anyone I know.  Most of these
encounters have been on trails in the Mountains, on my solo trips and
every encounter has provided an important lesson-or message.  Most
importantly, I learned to question corporations that exploit the
resources of Native American's and of indigenous folks around the world. 
And so he set me on my path to questioning the US government and
Corporate actions against in this regard.  He also introduced me to the
work of the American Indian Movement and explained their mission and how
it's members and other tribal folks were being systematically murdered by
the FBI-In what is now called the Co-Intelpro atrocities.    What I
learned from him was not all pretty.   His family photos accompanied by
horrific stories about what the white people did to those family members
will be forever etched in my mind.

If we look to our own indigenous roots we will find the same teachings-if
we listen to our elders we will hear the same wisdom.  My Italian elders
taught me to be honest, to help others less fortunate than myself and to
work to make community a welcoming place for everyone.  They taught me to
work hard and to take pride in my work-not to work for a dollar but to
work for peace of mind for myself and those around me.  My grandfather
was passionate about recycling, reusing and used to challenge me to make
less garbage.  He would reward me for everything that I learned to reuse
or to make into something else that could be used.  It was a game in my
home, to see how many things you could avoid putting in a landfill.  He
taught me that food is sacred and that we must be thankful for every bit
of it-never over-fill our plates and never throw it away.  What comes
from the earth must go back to the earth, if it doesn't go into our
bellies first.

It is good to learn from each other.  It is important.  And lord knows
that if we Europeans assimilated into Native American culture upon
landing here, instead of raping and killing and forcing people to conform
to our needs, we would all be better off.  But we are not talking about
assimilation here, we are talking about appropriation, exploitation and
just plain dishonesty.   So go and learn from "real" Native elders who
grew up in their own culture, integrate it into your life,  but don't
sell what you learn.  That is just plain wrong.   And don't be a
messenger-your information is second hand at best and is bound to be
inaccurate.  Even Christians who have been such for generations, can't
accurately teach the message of Jesus.  I'm not going to count on them to
teach me about Native beliefs!  I have never met a native elder who
charged for a sweat lodge-and I have done many.  Spirituality is not for
sale-Nobody's tradition beliefs should be sold.  

Respectfully,
jo

 
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