An Open Letter to Non-Natives in Headdresses
tânisi!
I see you are confused about what constitutes cultural appropriation. I would like to provide you with resources and information on the subject so that you can better understand what our concerns are.
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.
If at all possible, I’d like you to read the statements on this BINGO card. If any of those have started whirling through your head, please lock them in a box while you read this article. They tend to interfere with the ability to have a respectful conversation.
RESTRICTED SYMBOLS
- Some items are restricted items in specific cultures. 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.
- These items cannot be legitimately possessed or imitated by just anyone, as they represent achievements earned according to a specific criteria.
- Yes, some people will mock these symbols. 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. They cannot then claim to be honouring the symbol.
- Some people will pretend to have earned these symbols, but there can be serious sanctions within a culture for doing this. 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.
UNRESTRICTED SYMBOLS/ITEMS
- Other items are non-restricted. Flags, most clothing, food etc. Accessing these things does not signal that you have reached some special achievement, and you are generally free to use these.
- 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.
HEADDRESSES IN NATIVE CULTURES
For the most part, headdresses are restricted items. In particular, the headdress worn by most non-natives imitate those worn by various Plains nations. These headdresses are further restricted within the cultures to men who have done certain things to earn them. It is very rare for women in Plains cultures to wear these headdresses, and their ability to do so is again quite restricted.
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. 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.
Even 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.
TRY REAL CELEBRATION INSTEAD OF APPROPRIATION
It is okay to find our stuff beautiful, because it is. It is okay to admire our cultures. However I think it is reasonable to ask that if you admire a culture, you learn more about it. Particularly when the details are so much more fascinating than say, out-dated stereotypes of Pan-Indian culture.
You do not have to be an expert on our cultures to access aspects of them. If you aren’t sure about whether something is restricted or not, please ask someone who is from that culture. 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 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. Then all the nasty disrespectful stereotyping and denigration of restricted symbols can be avoided, while still allowing you to be decked out in beautiful native-created fashion.
If you are an artist who just loves working with aboriginal images, then please try to ensure your work is authentic and does not incorporate restricted symbols (or perpetuate stereotypes). For example, painting a non-native woman in a Plains culture warbonnet is just as disrespectful as wearing one of these headdresses in real life. Painting a picture from an archival or modern photo of a real native person in a warbonnet, or in regalia, or in ‘street’ clothes is pretty much fine. Acknowledging from which specific nation the images you are using come from is even better. “Native American” or “Indian” is such a vague label.
MIYO-WÎCÊHTOWIN, LIVING TOGETHER IN HARMONY
It’s okay to make mistakes. Maybe you had no idea about any of this stuff. The classiest thing you can do is admit you didn’t know, and maybe even apologise if you find you were doing something disrespectful. A simple acknowledgement of the situation is pure gold, in my opinion. It diffuses tension and makes people feel that they have been heard, respected, and understood.
If you make this kind of acknowledgement conditional on people informing you of these things ‘nicely’ however, that is problematic. The fact is, this issue does get people very upset. It’s okay to get heated about it too on your end and maybe bad words fly back and forth. My hope is that once you cool down, you will accept that you are not being asked to do something unreasonable.
Remember that BINGO card above? It demonstrates how not to go about the issue. You and I both know this issue is not the end of the world. But it is an obstacle on the path to mutual respect and understanding.
Thanks for listening.
êkosi
This article is adapted from a longer article I wrote previously, but I like the changes here enough that I wanted to ensure this version was also available.
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294 Responses to An Open Letter to Non-Natives in Headdresses
Thanks, useful article. It can be inobvious even for natives. As a native male from a Plains nation, my father left me his headdress which he earned and told me I could wear it when he passed. Well he did and I wore it on one special occasion but have kept it put away because I grew up off reservation and wasn’t familiar with all the customs, but I instinctively knew it was something of a sacred object, or restricted as you term it. Eventually during a visit to the reservation I asked about it (among many other things) and of course it turns out the rule in our nation is the headdress is only to be worn by warriors, which generally means veteran status, or other notable service. Now as it happens I am among a very small number of modern persons who participated in a war party as a youth with my father and others when we were attacked by an enemy tribe, so according to traditional rules I am entitled to wear it, but I think it would be considered a grey area by some, so I don’t.
my name is tara and I come from an indian back ground as well my grand father was born a Seminole indian and so was his mom I did not grow up on the reservation but I do know indian customs and traditions very well I did get offended when I saw people wearing the head dress that were non indian to me I thought that was just plain disrerspectuf to the indian. the article I read explaining to that woman from Oklahoma I hope she got the message.
While I understand the headdress is important to traditional ceremonies, I feel there is a certain hypocrisy about the situation. Allow me to explain… there are many statuses across the world from every culture that are considered an honor. And yet no one blinks an eye when people that aren’t really entitled to wear attire for those statuses, do. In example, King, Queen, Knight, Priest, Pope, Pharaoh, Doctor, Soldiers, Emperor/ess,, these are a few of countless examples. So if it offends you that people trespass on your culture, and you want people to feel the same way about it as you do, perhaps you should also be offended for other cultures who are trespassed against.
Hello everyone, I am looking for the opinion of any of you guys. I recently posted a picture wearing a headdress but it isn’t what you might picture as a Native American headdress. It has pink and purple feathers as well as beads (it’s not even mine). I was wondering what you thought about this commercialized version of the headdress, does it offend you? Do you mean that non-Indians should never wear anything resembling this? Additionally, I might add, I had no idea that it was a restricted item, and I am truly sorry if this offended you. I really need your opinion.
As the title says “An Open Letter to Non-Native’s in Headdresses”, I would like to expand on the above post…I’ve seen trendy photoshoots of NATIVE women in short dresses or tube tops wearing them and I shake my head at the lack of respect and understanding, just the same as when I see a non-native person wearing one. I often hear “but I’m native…!!” when approaching the topic of appropriation. I wish some of my peers would understand you don’t have to be non-native to appropriate. Lack of respect for sacred items within the native circle is a sad reminder that there has been some success in the assimilation efforts of colonialists, the church, the government, and society.
Miigwetch, anishnaabek anii!
Well put!
~ Jessica Tipisk Kahkakiw Northern & Plains Cree
Trackback www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/18/native-americans-cultural-misappropriation
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Thank you for this informative and well explained article. Since I am from Europe it is understandably nearly impossible to achieve this kind of cultural awareness unless you intend to inform yourself. It is for example absolutely traditional for children here to imitate the looks of foreign cultures such as american natives on certain occasions like carnival.
Although I’m certain that no German would be offended if you wore a “Bundesverdienstkreuz”, which is kind of the highest national decoration for remarkable achievements or actions or any other military stuff, because it would be known that you probably had no idea of it’s meaning anyway, I am aware that it is again emotionally different when the act of imitation is related to somebody who is directly involved in your cultural issues.
Or in other words, it is harder to smile over the ignoramus when they nearly extinct your culture.
I encourage you to keep up your work on grooming your culture. I hope it will grow strong and healthy again, because cultural diversity is unutterably important for our planet, as the modern civilization is far away from being progressive and collected many design defects on the way.
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Thank you for this post. I whole-heartedly agree.
It bothers me to see cultural appropriation that happens without any regard for the original purpose or culture. What comes to mind is a Tim Horton’s coffee shop in Nipigon Ontario that has a totem pole in its parking lot. As far as I know this location is not owned by a First Nations person from the Pacific Northwest. And while I am aware that a totem pole is not a spiritual object, it does have cultural significance that should not be taken out of context.
I feel likewise about inuksuit … part of Inuit and Dene heritage that have turned into airport giftshop earrings or tourist rock-piles at the side of the road. Dreamcatchers are similarily produced for retail sales by a wide range of tourist sites that assume it echoes a sense of native “Canadiana”.
I respect the craftwork of First Nations peoples, as I do that of any culture. I do not support trinket-buying or misappropriation of cultural identity, instead opting to enjoy other cultures as shared with me by those who have the right to do so.
Concerns of these symbols remind me of indigenizing trends in pop culture particularly churned out of Hollywood (e.g. Ke$ha). Other than that are slowly-growing Amerindian cultural-fashion memes (e.g. patterns, feathers and beads, “Indian chief in headdress” Warholesque designs) among new generations of non-Aboriginal/mixed girls.
“Don’t say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story. You’ve heard it now.” Thomas King
<3
I am going to try to build my own feathered head bonnet. I really like the concept and it is one I have always wanted to bring to life without relying on anybody but myself. It is often said that great artists borrow from one another – the bonnets are inspiring, but I cannot borrow the spiritual and cultural meaning that they bring to and develop, and highlight within the native communities.
If I build my own, using materials sourced from planet Earth without harming planet earth, I will wear it and it will be joyful and meaningful to me.
But if someone says to me “Hey, that’s cultural appropriation” I will say “No, I built this myself, it has my own personal meaning”. It’s ok that they made a mistake, and I’m glad that they are aware of cultural appropriation. They didn’t know that I crafted it myself – and sure – it will look similar to other bonnets they have seen from TV, documentaries, or real life experiences, but I will have purposely used my inspiration to make it suitably different by using dark green colour palette.
This is all hypothetical by the way – but, as you are very intelligent and knowledgeable about these matters, I think I would benefit greatly from your insight here – and I’d really appreciate it
All the best,
Rex from Australia.
Apparently anything I’ve said or would say to you would be met with “No, I built this myself, it has my own personal meaning.”
So enjoy your privilege, and enjoy the fact that you get to speak over and ignore indigenous peoples. You certainly won’t be getting a pat on the back for it from us.
I am interested in this aspect of the conversation because it appeals to me as an artist, and what it means to draw inspiration from something without abusing your sources, if that makes sense. I draw, sculpt and work in film and in textiles. I am currently working on a series of artworks that mix images from movies and “fashions” that are deemed commemorative, or designed to honour something, as a commentary on how we misdirect our concepts of what is “honourable”, and we commemorate relatively meaningless things. My intentions are not actually that important as far as this conversation goes, but I wonder (and forgive me if this gets a little long winded): I remember reading about the auction of Hopi artifacts in France last year (and again, more recently), and being so disappointed that it turned out that despite the involvement of the Hopi, and the Smithsonian, and a lot of voices internationally that the value of these objects as commodities was considered by the buyers/sellers/auction houses to be greater than their value as both current and historical cultural objects to living people from whom they were taken unjustly. The objects were beautiful and the story was powerful. I did some drawings from the photos, and aspects of some of these images have found their way into many different aspects of my work, because they were so resonant. I have been influenced by lots of other things though, and so one detail from a piece of woven fabric from Northern Canada might smash up against some beaded headgear from Nigeria, or a pair of ski boots in the same image/drawing/textile piece (all of which i make myself – I don’t use “cultural objects” in my work unless I am collaborating with someone from that culture who makes them), and I wonder if what I am doing is disrespectful? I have always sort of assumed (and please, correct me if I am approaching this from an ignorant place) that to see something, and to be inspired by it, and to allow it to echo in your work was ok. If I were to take/buy/steal an actual object of value to someone, and cut it up or wear it, or make it into something else, or even just keep it, I could see that that would be devastatingly insensitive at best, and at worst kind of violent. I can understand based on what you said in your (very clear and insightful – thank you so much for that) article that a headdress is a merit of high achievement, and to see someone wearing it is disrespectful to the value of the achievement of the legitimate wearer – but if it is clearly a counterfeit, does it carry the same weight? If I draw a facsimile of a Harvard degree, it doesn’t come with the honour or the recognition the real one does, and anyone looking at it would see that (I have used fake and real travel papers in my work as well – which is not quite the same thing, but similar I think). Again, please excuse my ignorance, this is an honest question – where does it stop being an affront, and begin to be acceptable to be wearing/working with things that echo the aesthetics of the sacred object (in this case the headdress)? Like, if I were to wear a hat that had a ring of feathers around the band, or if I were to make something that resembled a headdress using torn denim and metal as a part of my work, is that still treading on sensitive ground in an insensitive way? It would never be confused with the real thing (like your suggestion about the medical degree), but is obviously inspired by it on some level. I’m sorry about the long winded reply, and I hope you’re still checking in here, I would love to hear your thoughts. Emily
hello rex.did any thing you read on the internet about the indian head dress register in your head. my grand father was a Seminole indian and so was his mom how could you be so dam stupid