Cultural Appropriation: Do It Right If You Are Going to Steal

Another Indian identity theft seems to have taken place.  Like Ward Churchill, Jospeh Boyden,  William Wages, Elizabeth Warren, and others;  Michelle Latimer has been found out. Latimer has for years claimed to be Indigenous and has made a career with her Ingenious background. Just recently produced a television entitled the Trickster.  The show was well received in its first season, but the Network CBC has decided not to renew, most likely because of the stealing Latimer did with the whole Indian thing. It has gotten so out of hand (they want to be Indian) a list has been made of who is not a "real Indian", the Pretendian list. Indians are getting sick of all this stealing. It started with the Land, to the clothes off their backs, their art, their songs, their Ceremonies and their identity. No wonder the Indian gets a little peeved when they see "Indian Art, Indian clothing, Indian crafts" being made by non-Indian folk (just so the Indians don't get their underwear wedged too tight, I am well aware of the better terms used to  categorize us, like Indigenous and the old one Aboriginal but for non-Anishinaabe folks I use the moniker Indian for simplicity purposes). 

In general, everyone can agree that stealing is bad. No one wants to be robbed of something which is theirs. No one wants their stuff taken, even stuff like their homes, their household items, their families, their stories, jokes and their ideas. I wonder if there is anyone who has not had something stolen or "borrowed" without their permission? So why is it so easy to steal from people? It is done without any regard it seems.  I guess some stealing is acceptable? It becomes so easy and normal the original ownership of an item, an idea, is lost. 

We live in a world where Jack Black is your Judo master. You are being taught Yoga by Gwyneth Paltrow. The original ownership of these arts is unknown but it must be of some European origin as we are assured all things come from there. I think the Samurai has its origin from there as well. Yoga has similar origins with everything leading back to the coming of Jesus. Steven Seagal has developed a martial art of his own, Aikido. Even when we eat pizza we know the tomato is Italian as the mob is to making "people swim with the fishes." I jest about Judo, Yoda, and Aikido of course, but we do live in times where many things have been borrowed and have become owned elsewhere and by someone else. But does it matter? If stealing didn't matter there would be no questioning it, but it does matter. If you advertise for a trained proctologist and I come in and look into your arsehole, that wouldn't be right. After all I am not a trained proctologist, I am not what I say I am, I'm an amateur at best. Being authentic is just the right thing. But do all things need to be authentic? Maybe there is room for borrowing? I just don't know where the line is to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.

There are of course the obvious stealing, borrowing and appropriations we recognize as wrong. We know not to dress up like a Rastafarian, a Geisha, a Sikh just so you wear a turban and a Kirpan (except if you are Justin Trudeau, the PM of Canada). But... if it's for Halloween then fine, you are excused. In fact you can be anything you want as you can go to any Halloween store and find every type diverse peoples on the planet. However, if you dress up in someone's cultural identity make sure to pick one where you won't get the piss beat out of you. A white person dressing up in Native Regalia or "costume" in my Reserve and you will end up dressed up as a mummy at the nearest hospital. I imagine if you show up dressed to mimic a member of a certain community, your presence may not be appreciated. I mean if I dress up as a Saudi prince in their community,  I could be given a stern talking to (or be treated like Jamal Khashoggi). 

I do wonder why some things appropriated are accepted? There is a fashion where women like to wear headdresses mimicking the Traditional Eagle Headdress of Indigenous people. I guess it is attractive to these women. People should understand when you mimic someone's heritage you are not being respectful, regardless of what they say. I mean the Football club the Chiefs have taken "our tomahawk chop" and cheapened it. They use it as a taunt to the opposing football clubs. For me the Tomahawk chop doesn't belong in the football stadium or the Rasslin' Arena. It is to be used only when you are chopping the head off the big Salmon, or chopping the legs off the Deer you shot. I mean come on man, that's no way to use the Tomahawk chop, sitting in the cheap plastic seats of a football game! At least have someone's head on the end of your tomahawk chop for heck sakes. 

For me I don't know what is okay and what is not okay to be borrowed, appropriated. I leave that to the folks who are aware of the impact, the costs (not money costs but more the cost to the psyche of the community), and the message of the appropriation. For example I am a fan of artworks, all kinds. So when people argue about appropriation on Native artworks, styles I wait. I look and think about the situation and listen. There are some Native folk who don't like white artists copying the styles of Native artists: Norval Morrisseau-Woodland style, Native West-Coast style. There is a difference between copying a style and passing off a painting as some else's painting; a forgery. It is easy to say it is wrong because it is lying and theft. But what happens if you don't try to do a forgery but rather do the style and admit you are borrowing the style, is it wrong? With the Norval Morrisseau situation it got so ugly, a fortune made by white people on forgeries. There are people who passed paintings off as his, while there are some people who copy his style but don't try and say it is a Norval painting, just his style. 

This is where I am not sure about where the line is; can other artists, copy the style and not steal the image? We know it is wrong to steal. We know copying something exactly is wrong. We know saying something is real but knowing it's not, is wrong. There is also painting a subject matter and this seems to be acceptable. Just like Beverlys Doolittle and her Guardian Spirits painting; very beautiful Indians on horse back. Still can someone copy not the actual piece but use the style in their own works. Like in music, art work, clothing, and of course an Identity. I see many Native artists incorporating different artists' styles in their own work, and I don't believe it is wrong. 

Picasso Style by Indigenous Artist

There are very knowledgeable people who know where the line is when it comes to appropriation.  I will of course listen and go from there. I may not agree but I know when to listen and when to think. There are so many elements of colonialism imprinted on our daily lives. We just accept it as normal life. It is necessary to have people challenge what we have become accustomed to. We are living with so much pushed on us and taken from us.