This just recieved a Daily Deviation today.

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I just can't get over the oozing racism here. This generic Injun couple with their feathers and shit is just so tribal and spiritual! Like, wolves and stuff! Let's all sit cross-legged and raise our right hands and say, "HOW."

I don't understand why the First Nations equivalent of blackface, or buckteethed FLIED LICE FIVE DORRA asians is considered so beautiful it jerks a few tears.
Oh wait, I do, because an oppressed and marginalised culture has been homogenised in the media as a singular group of extinct, exotic animals, whose cultural plumage is just ripe and kitschy enough to amalgamate into whatever art or fashion you feel like.

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"Native American inspired"

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This link is NSFW

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Tiger Lily is AWESOME!

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Who cares?

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Let's not limit this to humans

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Yeah! Feathers 'n Horses 'n shit!

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Or like, real people.

Fuck. It's everywhere.
I suppose this can be the only result of refering thousands of cultures as people from the wrong fucking continent.

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I like to link these people to this blog. Though I admit, at this point, I mostly just pick on the ones that have women in war bonnets, since that's the most obvious ISSUE.

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Yeah, I've always been extremely uncomfortable with the way First Nations' culture is treated in the U.S., mostly by white people with no concept of why what they're doing is offensive. I mostly keep it to myself, because, well, I'm of Czech descent and what do I know? And these people tend to bring out the "I'm 1/8th Cherokee, so I know, etc." Which kind of feels somehow more offensive. Not sure why.

The art you linked is particularly stupid, and I really don't like how this is coming back as the new exotic. These are mostly stupid kids, but I really don't think that excuses them from not knowing the history of their own country, since most of them appear to be from the U.S. This isn't even old history. A good portion of atrocities committed against the First Nations are still in recent memory, and are still going on.

So, what do we do? I mean, do I just link the kids to that blog?

Oh, and it's supposed to be the back part of her dress, fluttering in the wind, I guess.

Well, I've read through that blog more and wow. These are things I never even noticed, or thought about too deeply. I knew a lot of these things were offensive, but I had no idea how deeply offensive they truly were. I love how people try to act like she's the one in the wrong for being offended too. It's only a part of her identity, after all.

Hm. You know, I think I know what it is, the more I read the blog. My family is Czech, but we're not the cool Czech. My particular branch of the family tree is heavily mixed in with the local Roma, to the point it's still recognized. (It is not looked upon in a good light) It's a part of my identity, in a background kind of way. It's not something I think about too much every day.

Except when I see "gypsy" items. Like, Esmeralda from HoND crap. You all know what I'm talking about. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, this feeling like someone is debasing something that's real for my family. Acting like we're all fortune tellers in bright scarves, etc. Not like Roma are stereotyped like whoa in Europe to this day and have a high rate of alcoholism, poverty and drug use. Not like a good chunk of the culture was lost forever in WWII. I imagine this is similar to how Irish people feel about how the rest of the world treats them like magical leprechaun land.

I'm not like this woman though, I'm fourth-generation and have little cultural connections left in the family. We don't even speak Czech anymore. Her anger runs so much deeper and is justified to the nth. I hope her message reaches some people at least. Especially the headdress thing. Even I knew that was offensive, and I cannot believe people think that is okay. It seems to be mostly hipsters, and aren't they supposed to be all about "respecting other cultures"? They certainly talk about it enough.

Okay. No.

I commented on the "Embrace" picture.

Quote:

Okay, where do I start? First, I'm going to link you to this blog: mycultureisnotatrend.tumblr.com/ Do me a favor and read through it. If you're not going to, I am just going to explain my point right here, and I really hope you actually take the time to understand what I am trying to tell you. I am not attacking you, first off. I am explaining. This is racist. This is about as racist as a minstrel show. The feathers, the outfits, all of it. I understand the United States does not do much in the way of education about First Nations cultures, but this current throwback trend of using First Nations as the new "exotic" is not cool. I am sure you had no bad intentions, but that does not make this any less offensive. I hope you read that blog, which explains my point so much better, and I hope you understand why I said these things.

I tried to be nice damn it. I tried. Look at the lovely response I received:

Quote:

Where do *I* start? You need to be very careful throwing around strong words you don't know the meaning to. Do me a favor and look up the definitions of the words you use before you start applying them to people with this "holier than thou" attitude of yours: "Let me educated you, you poor racist [American] bastard!" First off, racism is defined as "a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others." Let me break that down for you - just in case you don't understand. Racism is the belief that the inherent difference (i.e. skin color, body shape, etc) between human races define the superiority of one race over the other. Do me a favor and look at her illustration again and tell me that is what you see. Would you still have posted this if you didn't know Cellertria is white? Second, you may not have realized it, but you just made yourself appear that you have some deep-seated prejudices against Americans. You say how you *understand* how us American's aren't as smart as you because our education system is supposedly not as good as yours. Makes you look hypocritical. Amusing. Third. I read the blog you linked to, and it seems you have missed the author's point entirely. Since you seem to love making generalizations, I'm not surprised you glossed over the fine details. The author is saying how they don't appreciate how other cultures are trying to exploit their culture and turn it into a trend. In other words, popular [white people] dressing up as "Indians." (Read the blog's introduction). So, what *exactly* are you trying to say here. White people aren't allowed to create illustrations of other cultures because we're all supposedly racist? What do you want her to paint? A bunch of fat Americans driving a giant SUV through a McDonald's drive through? I bet you wouldn't have objected then.

You want to play? I can play. This isn't even the artist. I don't know who this is, and Lord knows I shouldn't have responded, but I kept a civil tongue in my head.

Quote:

To address the first part: I have no idea what race the artist belongs to. These supposed magic powers of mine to detect whiteness through a computer monitor sound a little too unbelievable. My dislike at this comes from the artist using a rather distasteful stereotype. To use a stereotype of a culture, especially one as diverse and varied as First Nations, is disrespectful and yes, racist. I'm sorry you do not see that. To address the second part: I'm glad I amused you by speaking knowledgeably about the system that educated me. "Deep-seated prejudices against Americans". Funny how I have deep-seated prejudices against my own country of origin, the country I've served well and love deeply. Because of how deeply I love my country, I can acknowledge its flaws without insulting it. To address the third part: The blogger doesn't like how her culture is treated as "exotic", "other", or how her entire culture is glossed with the same brush. Neither do I. I did not say in any way that white people are not allowed to draw other cultures. Do not put words in my mouth. If you are going to draw another culture though, depict it correctly. Do not lean on widely-perpetuated and disrespectful stereotypes. Research is not difficult in this day and age. There are many helpful websites that depict actual First Nations outfits and hairstyles, and provide helpful information about what is appropriate. To conclude, I do not like how you automatically assumed when I criticized the United States educational system that I was criticizing the whole of the U.S. I do not like how you assumed I was an arrogant foreigner. I do not like that you felt the need to attack me when I have said nor done nothing to you. My comment was addressed to the artist, not you, and I do not like that you felt the need to insert yourself in a conversation that had nothing to do with you. You also made the assumption that I was attacking her, despite my specifically stating I wasn't. Criticism does not equal hatred. You would do well to learn that.

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You just scored a: G, probably an N, and an O!

You've almost won!

It would have been a trip to participate in the harvest festivals of diverse cultures around the world. Unfortunately, the prize has since been appropriated. Sorry.

Damn. I'm still waiting for the smug feeling. Mostly I feel irritation right now and the desire to make her cry like a bitch. Which I'm repressing. Still haven't gotten a response back. Maybe she's done with me.

I'd really like to hear from the artist though.

One time, I was out driving with a friend and we drove through an Indian reservation. She was looking around, hoping to see a real Indian. She was less than amused when I laughed and pointed out that she's probably met quite a few of them and not realized it, since they're people like anybody else, and in this day and age few wear native attire for daily living, most live in houses/apartments/condos/etc., and most speak English. This includes Native Americans living on reservations.

Even if you did see someone living in a pre-colonization way, in this region they wouldn't live in a teepee, hunt buffalo, or wear a war bonnet. This is California, and there haven't been any bison here in thousands of years, hence no buffalo hunting. There weren't enough large hides to make teepees here, and they wouldn't have been terribly practical in this climate anyway. Around here, native houses were made of local brush, grass, and wood. Feathers were used in ceremonial attire, but not as war bonnets (and warfare was pretty uncommon in this area anyway). Oh, and horses were a European introduction, since the American horses died out thousands of years ago.

I've heard people talk about respecting the Native American culture, and it always makes me want to ask, "Which one?" (When I've asked that question of white people, I often get confused looks; when I've asked it of Native Americans, there's a lot more understanding of the question.)