Native American Cultural Appropriation

Cultural appropriation is not seen exclusively in dance but rather a multitude of pop culture. For example in fashion. Fashion is a huge part of today's culture, and many designers created their clothing through the inspiration of other objects and or culture. Appropriation begins to

Racial and cultural appropriation has become increasingly significant in society within the past 30 years. “The idea of “cultural appropriation” has recently entered mainstream

Cultural appropriation is the adoption or use of the elements of one culture by members of another culture. Cultural appropriation is portrayed as rude, called cultural misappropriation, and claims to be a violation of the history of a culture. Often unavoidable when cultures come together, cultural appropriation can include using another culture's traditions, such as fashion, symbols, language, and cultural songs without permission. Even though society consistently uses Native American and African American styles at festivals, in magazines and on celebrities, this form of cultural appropriation is not right because we are not using it for the right reasons.

It is a term that has dominated the media; from Halloween costumes to NFL mascots, headlines across the nation blare the words: “cultural appropriation.” Yet, many still are not quite sure what the term means. To put it simply, cultural appropriation is the exploitation of a culture that is not one’s own.

In this research paper I will be addressing the misappropriation of Native American music in the American popular music. Throughout this course I have learned how Native American music and culture has evolved through the history of the United States, from being taken advantage of by George Washington and being forced to mine for gold, having to fight for equal representation in the film industry and not receiving respect for the music they create. Discussion will include defining and elaborating on Singing Redface, Racial Antipathy, Idealized Sympathy, Cultural Misappropriation, Cultural Confusion, Black Minstrelsy and Playing Indian and analyzing an example of Singing Redface from chapter 6. Building upon the last paragraph, “Most commonly

The authors goal of the text was to discuss cultural appropriation. She uses African American culture as the primary example for inappropriate and misuses of their culture. The paper

Native American culture originated in some parts North America. These countries are known as the United States of America and some parts of Canada. In the United States, there are 6.6 million Native Americans, which form about 2.0 percent of the population (Bureau, 2016). Europe had realized there were about 50 million people already living the “new world” and these people were called Native Americans. Native Americans were originally called Indians, but later through history they formed a new name. These people were called this because of them being native to the “new world” and the American part came after the colonist named the United States. Throughout history, Native Americans believed that using raw material in nature was the best way to provide for their people. Their culture thought no part of an animal should go to waste. They would eat the meat, use the skin for clothing, and make jewelry from the bones. Over the years a lot of their culture and customs were lost due to conforming with society. Their languages were referred to as “Indigenous Languages” because of them being extremely complicated and diverse. Some important factors that help understand the foundation of Native American culture are their rituals/practices, death ceremonies, holidays, family, and stereotypes.

In Western culture, people seldom realize the amount of cultural appropriation that occurs around them. Westerners are blinded by cultural mockery and cultural appropriation without realizing its offensive effects to minority groups. During the Halloween holiday, in Western culture, people of all ages dress up in a variety of costumes such as horror themed, fairy tale themed, job themed, cultural themed and much more. Harvard University members have argued that a cultural themed costume is a form of cultural appropriation. Also in Western culture, in the music industry, white artists have utilized and exploited aspects from minority cultures to boost their fame. Costumes, props, ideas, music, and others considered as cultural appropriation is often overlooked but it is apparent when closely examined.

A man stands proud and tall, an elegant headdress of feathers adorning his head. He is not at a ceremony, nor is he going to war to preserve his way of life. He is not Native American, either, and he is not alone. At the Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival, people like this man gather in throngs to listen to alternative rock and electronic dance music. They often claim to be honoring Native American tradition, but others consider his choices offensive. Cultural borrowing and assimilation have been, and continue to be an integral part of American society, but some think that this diffusion has gone as far as theft. In order to determine that, however, on must cast a discerning eye on both arguments.

At a birthday party there is an African American boy wearing a sombrero while hitting a piñata. Down the street, there is a Russian girl who dances with a Japanese fan that her neighbor gifted. These two children, according to the current media, are displaying cultural appropriation. In America, citizens have the rarity of experiencing what many call the “Melting Pot” of different cultures and ethnicities. To many other countries, the different cultural exposures are not of such a common privilege. Cultural appropriation is what sets us back from connecting to other cultures around the world. I understand that it may bring misunderstanding of what certain clothing items and practices really mean respect and value wise. However, demonstrating

Appropriation is defined as the borrowing of cultural signs. Our current culture is full of appropriation. It has been around for decades, but now the “hillbilly” has “regained the spotlight in American culture” (284) We are able to see this in the media, music, and in performances too. For example, common TV shows such as Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Jersey Shore, and Duck Dynasty reinforce this idea that you can work and if you work hard enough, you can afford the makeup, the stylist, and the entry fees, you have made it and you can also show it. Today, some specific examples of appropriation that we may see in not only our TV shows, but also from some of our favorite entertainers are hairstyles. Some hairstyles that have been appropriated from

Cultural appropriation is the adoption or use of elements in one culture by members of another culture. There has been a lot of cultural appropriation throughout the years. Lately, many people have been noticing it more often. One of the largest issues in the cultural appropriation that has hit the media lately is hair. There have been many white celebrities who have been culturally appropriating Black hairstyles. The most recent have been the Jenner/Kardashian sisters. On the other hand, some believe the same goes for vice versa; African-Americans have been appropriating White culture. One example can be Malcolm X. He even wrote a speech about how he realized that wearing a conk made him look more “White” and he felt he was trying to be exactly that. Recently, that idea has changed. Many people believe that it is only cultural appropriation when a White person does it. This social issue has been a large debate on whether White people are culturally appropriating Black culture by wearing traditionally Black hairstyles.

For years, the natives of Canada have been pushed to the side, mistreated, and abused. As a result, topics relating to the Indigenous community are very sensitive. Recently, a Toronto gallery cancelled artist Amanda PL’s art show, in which she was set to exhibit Aboriginal art (Nasser 1). In my opinion, it was just for the art gallery to cancel PL’s art show since we, as Canadians, have stolen many things from Indigenous people and their culture; therefore we should give them dominion over their artwork, at the very least. Additionally, Amanda is not of an Indigenous background so she will not be able to truly understand the pain and meaning behind the Native art work.

Cultural appropriation is a huge topic, within today’s society, many question what is cultural appropriation and what is not. The definition of cultural appropriation is, “....the use of ideas, symbols, artifacts, images, objects, etc., derived from contact between different cultures. It often implies a negative view towards the minority culture by the dominant one and is often culturally insensitive”(Biron). Examples of cultural appropriation would be portraying a culture through stereotypical depictions of them or wearing a culture as a ‘trend’. Another example would be wearing a headdress to portray a Native American or wearing a sombrero and a poncho to depict a Mexican. Just those words sound degrading and racist each of these ethnicities. Many think it is socially acceptable to be insensitive to a culture, because they classify the appropriation as them appreciating the culture. Cultural appropriation shows only the stereotypical view of culture and has no regards to the actual culture. Many look at the cultures as inspiration for ideas, but that does not mean to steal the ideas completely. Cultural appropriation is not only insensitive, but also racist. Blackface, for example, was used to portray an African American by painting the face of an non-black actor black. The NFL team Redskins uses an offensive and racist word to label their team; their mascot is a “Native American” wearing headdress. First and foremost, not all Native American cultures wear headdresses, these depictions of Native culture show natives as all the same. Minorities have faced appropriation for decades, but why did this problem only recently come about?

Cultural appropriation, on the surface, is when one takes and uses elements from a culture that they do not belong to. But when we go deeper a more insidious problem is revealed.