So I am not writing daily like first mentioned....life get's hectic and I find myself unable to get to my laptop to purge my thoughts, but tonight, I am making the time.
I recently discovered another blogger, Adrienne, who's blog; Native Appropriations, made me sit up and scream, "I LOVE HER".
As a mixed native person, who is very aware of my white privilege, I often hold my tongue when I see white girls running around Portland in their feather head bands, moccasin boots, and other various accoutrement......but enough is fucking enough. I am speaking my mind as a native woman. Wearing warbonnets, headbands, feather earrings and other stolen things, is never honoring our people , a fashion statement, or a showing of solidarity. Would you go running around in black face, or say a hijab, or even a tzitzit? How well do you think that would go over at a festival? Not very well I'm guessing, but us natives are invisible right? And we love everyone naturally, so we think it's cool to use our images and culture as school mascots, and as a means for hipster white kids to look hip playing Indian because Ke$ha did it in a video.
"But I'm showing my solidarity"......there are better ways to be an ally and to NOT appropriate the culture of an oppressed people. Volunteer at a native organization, buy native made art, EDUCATE yourself on what is ok and not ok when it comes to appropriation and "borrowing" from cultures. Bottom line, don't be a douche.
The more I research and dig up videos for Ke$ha, I begin to loose faith and hope in young America.
Ugh.....
No comments:
Post a Comment