Respecting the Cultures of others : Native American Trends

Politics do not get me excited. More than that, politics usually give me headaches. I don't do confrontation, and when I do, I don't handle it well. I like to be liked by everyone. I believe in keeping your opinions to yourself to avoid conflict. But I also believe in standing up for what's right. I believe in under-dogs and I believe in teaching my daughter to be brave and stand up for your beliefs as well as the beliefs of others. Defending what's right regardless of the things that make us different.

In this case, the latter wins out over the fear of confrontation & politics. 

I've drafted posts about cultural appropriation before, but in the end chose not to post them in hopes that it would all blow over, as most trends do. Recently something happened that made me realize I can't just sit around and wait for it to blow over. I realized that people will be totally ignorant to hurting others if they aren't educated on the situations at hand. 

As most of you know I closed the shoppe down several months ago. This was in part due to needing to study and the rebranding of everything, but also because several items in my shop represented native american culture, which I now feel is inappropriate and could be offensive to people of native american heritage. I'm currently re-vamping the shop & have discontinued the dreamcatchers and tipis. 

I'm well aware that "native trends" are on the rise. The majority of this trend seem to be hitting the music festivals and nurseries. I really have no platform for talking about music festivals, as the last concert I went to was New Found Glory about 4 years ago. Being a shoppe owner who specifically had native inspired wares for nurseries- and also having a daughter and being totally obsessed with anything involving toddler fashion: now... I can relate to that. (hastag momprobs hastag outoftouchwithanythingnotinvolvingchildren.) I can't deny that I find many of the native inspired accessories made for babies and kids to be completely adorable. But upon discovering how much these things personally affect and offend an entire race of people, I just can't justify it. The "cuteness" of it all seems to fade off quite a bit when you understand what these things represent to the culture they originate from.

The first time I encountered "native appropriations", I was actually a little bit on the defensive. I, after all, didn't mean ANY harm by my shoppe items and unfortunately, I was very uneducated on native cultures and cultural appropriation. AND I'M FROM OKLAHOMA. This is the whole purpose of this post. To educate in a respectful way. To put a more personal view on it for you, I've asked one of my oldest and best friends Tesia Zientek, to explain a little about WHY these trends are upsetting to her and her family history.

Full disclosure: as this is my first foray into the blogosphere, I have to admit I’m more nervous than I expected I would be. Beyond the obvious fear of putting myself out there, there’s something else as well. I identify as Native American, but I fully understand and appreciate that I do not represent all Native Americans. There are 566 federally recognized tribes in the United States, and that number leaves out several tribes who are currently fighting for federal recognition. Each of those tribes has a distinct culture and history, and each individual within each of those tribes holds a unique opinion. Even if I wanted to speak for all Natives—and I don’t—I wouldn’t dare because I wouldn’t even know where to start. Please keep in mind, then, that I speak here simply and personally as Tesia Zientek, a single member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

So that you understand why the issue of Native appropriation matters to me, let me tell you a little about myself. As I mentioned, I am a proud tribal member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Given to me by my mother, my Potawatomi name is Jejakwi, which means “Like a Crane,” referring to my particular Native dance style as well as my penchant for travel and migration. I have danced the traditional dance in Southern Cloth regalia for as long as I can remember. I am a member of De Wegen Kwek, our tribal ladies hand drum group, and I am in the process of learning how to lead tribal ceremonies. In short, being Potawatomi is an inextricable piece of my identity.

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal headquarters is located in Shawnee, Oklahoma, where both Shayla and I grew up. After traveling for college and career opportunities, I returned to Shawnee last year and now work for my tribe in its Office of Self-Governance. Throughout both of my college experiences, I was often one of few Native Americans on campus. I met many people who had never encountered any Native people in their lives who, mainly as a result of grossly stereotypical media representations, had completely false notions of what a Native American was. This realization led me to focus both my undergraduate Honors thesis and my Master’s capstone project on Native issues, and that passion for tribal advocacy still drives me today.

Now that I’ve introduction-ed you to death, let me start with a simple claim: at its core, cultural appropriation is about power.

A brief history lesson illustrates my point. Stay with me here for a moment. When European settlers first arrived in the United States, they used their power to eradicate Native Americans in order to seize their land. Seen as primitive savages, indigenous people were to be violently eliminated through sickness and warfare. Fast-forward a couple of generations, and the effort shifted away from war tactics to political power. In the 1830s, Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act made it a federal policy to force Natives to give up their homelands and relocate. For my own ancestors, this legislation led to the Trail of Death, in which 859 Potawatomi tribal members were forcibly removed from their Great Lakes region homes and marched to Kansas. Along the way, 40 people, mostly children, died due to the harsh conditions. Later federal policies favored assimilation, and as a result, the boarding school era was born. In the late nineteenth century and into the 20th century, Native Americans were forced to attend schools where their cultures were stripped from them. Upon arrival, students’ long hair was chopped off, their indigenous clothing was replaced with Euro-American wear, and they were forbidden to speak in their Native tongues or participate in traditional ceremonies. If any Native student violated these rules, they were harshly punished. This disgusting practice reached its peak in the 1970s. Let me repeat, this was happening when most of our parents were children. Native people today are still reeling from the effects of this history. Languages are dying out, and cultural customs are on the verge of being lost. I am now working to relearn the language and culture my great-grandparents lost as children. Beyond culture, Native Americans, especially those who were forcibly removed to isolated reservations, suffer other consequences by having the lowest educational rates and the highest poverty rates of any ethnic group.

Carlisle Boarding School | source

With all of that in mind, imagine this. For generations, your culture has been denigrated. Those of your ancestors who survived were forced to give up cultural artifacts that meant so much to them or face the severe consequences. And now, not even a complete four decades later, imitations of these artifacts are gaining popularity. So many elements of culture were literally stripped away and assigned new meaning by non-Natives who are now profiting from it. I’ve come to think that the idea that items with huge cultural and spiritual significance have become costumes, fashion symbols, and decorative pieces is just another way for society to assert power and say, “We’ve taken control of what is important to you and made it trivial, and you can’t do anything to stop us.”

The sad thing is that it really does seem impossible to stop. When someone raises their voice against cultural appropriation, Native or not, they’re often dismissed as being overly politically correct or sensitive. I have repeatedly heard the argument that you don’t see cowboys claiming offense when someone wears a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. While that’s true, the difference between this group and Native Americans is a matter of the historical context. Cowboys have not suffered through hundreds of years of power plays designed to wipe out their entire existence and culture. Any marginalized group can certainly face cultural appropriation (for a recent, non-Native example, see the portrayal of Rayon in the film Dallas Buyer’s Club by non-transgender actor Jared Leto), but power and context will always matter in the discussion.

It’s important to remember that in general, cultural appropriation is perpetuated by society, not by a few evil individuals. I’d hazard a guess that most of you reading this have never intentionally appropriated someone else’s culture with any degree of malice. You may have worn a piece of clothing with a Native design or bought a home decoration item because you appreciated the style. It was pretty, and it was on-trend, and hey, why not? The thought of power likely never crossed your mind, and you certainly never intended to offend anyone. I understand that perspective completely and have fallen victim to it myself. Honestly, it’s logical because the implied power is so ingrained in our society that unless someone has actively pointed it out to you, it’s unnoticeable. Systemic issues are sneaky like that.

So, what do we do about it? Here are a few ideas:

• Share the Message. Shayla has demonstrated one admirable course of action right here by removing some items from her shoppe and sharing her thoughts on the issue. Using her example, we can take opportunities to have meaningful discussions with people about cultural appropriation so that they can form their own opinions and act accordingly. 
•  Be Thoughtful. Does this mean that you can never buy Native-inspired clothing? Unfortunately, the answer is not black and white, and everyone will probably have a different answer on what is and isn’t okay. The best guide I’ve ever seen on the topic is on this Reddit thread: http://www.reddit.com/r/femalefashionadvice/comments/1vuaz5/native_fashion_101_not_doing_it_wrong_at_least/. However, each person will ultimately have to consider the issue and decide how far he or she feels comfortable going. 
• Buy Native. When it comes to Native American cultural appropriation, consider how Natives are involved in the creating and selling. For clothing, jewelry, or other items, it’s a good idea to buy Native American items from Native sellers rather than non-affiliated stores such as Forever 21 or Urban Outfitters. My favorite example is the website www.beyondbuckskin.com, which profiles Native designers and artisans and even sells their wares in the Beyond Buckskin Boutique. 
•  Keep It Going. Make it a daily exercise to fight against stereotypes and ingrained assumptions. Someone once told me that if you aren’t actively fighting against such things, they have a way of creeping into your thoughts and actions. Admittedly, it’s a battle I often lose. My main goal is to try to be as deliberate and critical as possible. When I fail and say or do something unintentionally offensive, I try to admit defeat and learn from it.

 It’s caveat time. That list is in any no way comprehensive. If you have other ideas, please share them. Furthermore, the issue of cultural appropriation is so hugely complex that there’s no way that I could tackle it fully in one blog post. If you’re interested in learning more, I suggest reading Stephanie Fryberg’s research (you can find one example here: http://www.indianmascots.com/ex_15_-_fryberg_brown_v.pdf) or Adrienne Keene’s blog www.nativeappropriations.com. Or, if you want to discuss it with me further, please feel free to email me at tesia.zientek@gmail.com.
 Migwetch (thank you) for taking the time to read my perspective, and a big hug to Shayla for the opportunity to share my thoughts!