What is Cultural Appropriation?

4/23/2017

PEGI EYERS

To understand how cultural appropriation shows up in our environmental movements and spiritual life, we need to look at the backstory, or how cultural appropriation came to be. About 50 years ago a strange phenomena began to happen. In mainstream society young white people were rebelling against the imperialist machine, while in a much less visible sphere, First Nations were just starting to recover from the dark ages of genocide, oppression, residential school displacement and segregation. In the dominant society of the mid-20th century, ties to a genuine spiritual life had been broken, organized religion was on the decline, and all of a sudden young white people were reconnecting with nature. This was a wonderful thing (!) but they had no role models to follow. So they turned to First Nations, freely adopting their cultural tools and spiritual traditions, and some going so far as to create a whole new Indigenous identity for themselves. Without proper boundaries, the whitewashed genre of "Native Spirituality" was born, and cultural appropriation became imbedded in the flourishing New Age Industry.

Of course we owe a huge debt to the original rebellion of the hippies and the counterculture that gave us the alternative choices, sexual freedom, new spiritualities, holistic self-care, and healthy life-sustaining practices we enjoy today. These are features of society we take for granted, but unfortunately within the massive self-help, transformational and New Age marketplace the genres of “Native Spirituality” and “Shamanism” have been normalized. Being exposed to this material for so long, many New Agers and Pagans are shocked to find these genres being questioned, yet an interrogation is exactly what is needed. Not only are the white practitioners of "Native Spirituality" on shaky moral ground, First Nations have made it abundantly clear that they are completely opposed to any theft of their cultural and spiritual property.

Today, cultural appropriation occurs on a continuum from relatively harmless practices, to serious mental disorders such as identity theft found in the worlds of entertainment, literature, self-help and spirituality. Having moccasins, native jewellery, native art, or a drum in the privacy of your own home (acquired from native artisans) can be considered good Allyship by supporting the livelihood of First Nations. But on a larger scale, in mainstream industries like fashion, fine art, entertainment and home décor, items like dreamcatchers and headdresses are big business, and these cultural signifiers are casually and carelessly used by white people for fun and self-expression. Many of these symbols, often products made in China, are the sacred property of First Nations! We can just imagine how deeply hurtful this must be.

It's just fashion, why are you so upset?

Native-themed fabrications in the marketplace and media rely on stereotypes, and infer that First Nations are a thing of the past, or “frozen in time,” whereas the reality is that Indigenous people are part of contemporary, living cultures. Indigenous people are also erased and made invisible by the use of sports team names and mascots, and dehumanized by decorative props used to sell goods, ideas and services. With all this "Columbusing" going on, the genuine voices, cultural markers, and indigenous knowledge of First Nations themselves are lost in the shuffle.

At the far end of the cultural appropriation continuum, identity theft is by far the most serious problem. White people who have a superficial understanding of traditions held by Indigenous people for millennia create a fake native identity for themselves, and then offer spiritual services and ceremonies following the business model of consumer capitalism. Spiritual guidance is not part of the economic structure within traditional First Nation societies, so this is the first boundary (among others) to be breached. The phenomena of the self-styled "Shaman" charging big bucks for ceremonies and other quasi-native experiences, is shockingly reprehensible and morally wrong.

Contemporary Shamanism was first adopted by the early anthropology and New Age communities, and as we unpack these movements today, we see that the contemporary "Shamanism" genre is based on intrusive and homogeneous European interpretations. And yet the title of “Shaman” to describe one’s practice is now so widespread, it is no doubt impossible to send it back to the Pandora’s Box from whence it came. The origins of the term “shaman” first appeared in the 1914 reports of American ethnologists to describe the practices of the Evenki-speaking Tungusian and Samoyedic tribes of eastern Siberia, and it can be argued that only practitioners from those specific societies have the right to use the term.

Why is cultural appropriation such a serious problem, and why is it so harmful to First Nations?

Fabricating a fake native identity is a continuation of Settler-Colonialism, which (1) seeks to eradicate indigenous people, (2) seize the land and resources, and (3), erase the cultural identity of the indigenous people themselves. And when we consider the phenomena of cultural appropriation on a deep level, we see that the activity of white wannabees or pretendians is not harmless or “spiritual” – it is an act of the deepest racism. The cultural markers white folks are drawn to, like drums, pipes and sweatlodges, are the very same things that were outlawed by the colonial powers. What white people freely use in their everyday lives are objects First Nations could be killed for using, not that long ago. What could be more macabre?

Cultural appropriation is an enormous widespread problem that interferes with First Nations resurgence and sovereignty. More than just the lifting of ideas, practices and physical objects, cultural appropriation dominates how oppressed groups present themselves to the world, and undermines their efforts to preserve their own traditions. Not to mention the disempowerment and loss of basic human dignity this suggests, Indigenous people no longer have their own autonomy or control over how they are represented in the public domain, which is a fundamental right for every human being. When white academics, scholars, writers, New Agers and Pagan practitioners (those with advantage and power) appropriate, write or teach about the cultural and spiritual traditions of indigenous societies, they are in fact dominating the original indigenous knowledge (IK). Their versions of IK become the valid narratives, fabrications that are sold back to the white majority, and even to Indigenous peoples themselves.

Fabricated Identities as "White Shamans"

Playing around with one’s personal identity is an indulgence for privileged white folks, and critical responses by First Nations to the appropriation of their spiritual and cultural property is readily available in books, essays, blogs, Facebook groups and pages. Judging from their comments, they are shocked, horrified and insulted by any adoption of native identity in any sphere of popular culture or spiritual life. NDN’s stress over and over that there are absolutely no conditions that make it acceptable for a non-native person to assume a native identity and become a “cultural ambassador” of First Nations IK to other white people. Battling cultural appropriation has been at the forefront of Indigenous resistance in the Americas for many decades now, and has been addressed with legal means, documents from leaders such as Chief Arvol Looking Horse, and up to the highest level with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIPS). White pseudo-shamans are also the object of ridicule and derision. This can easily be witnessed by following the work of indigenous activists and organizations that monitor cultural appropriation such as NAFPS: New Age Frauds & Plastic Shamans; Native Appropriations: Examining Representations of Indigenous Peoples; or F.A.I.R. MEDIA for a couple of days.

In response to the white seeker's claim of having "permission" from one First Nations person to use their spiritual or cultural property, it doesn't follow that the rest of that FN community agrees. By going ahead and using FN spiritual or cultural property as a non-native person, you are (a) still going to look ridiculous, (b) appear to be "tokenizing" by separating out one FN's opinion from their wider community, (c) are still indulging in racist and colonizing behavior, and (d) are showing that you have no clue what your own cultural identity is. Beyond the universal tools found in nature to make fire and shelter, and regional wild foods that are going to be similar whatever culture you belong to, it is best to recover the indigenous practices of your OWN ancestry.

So what is the difference between cultural exchange and cultural appropriation?

There is one simple Rule – ask yourself if the cultures are on a level footing, and if one culture is freely sharing with another, or is there an oppressor/oppressed relationship, and is the oppressor taking from the oppressed? With the history of Settler-Colonialism on Turtle Island, identity theft is the final link in the chain of cultural genocide. Cultural appropriation is made possible by white supremacy and systemic racism.

What does cultural appropriation say about our own identity as white people?

In the massive Empire-building project on Turtle Island, our ethnocultural identity was stripped from us as we joined the homogeneous nation-states of Canada and USA with whiteness as the default. Colonized for centuries now, white people have forgotten why having an ethnoculture is important, yet we yearn for it at the same time. This collective soul loss is at the root of our attraction to Indigenous societies and the exotic "other." We may exist in the cultural vacuum known as Settler-Colonialism, but Turtle Island Indigenous Knowledge is not our culture!

The popularity of New Age Capitalism has allowed us to use the spiritual property of Indigenous people without realizing that it is cultural appropriation. Boundaries should have been in place years ago, but the timetable of healing from genocide and slavery did not enable people of color to be empowered to speak out on this serious issue until recent times. Now that white people are aware of the problem, we are obligated to educate each other and stop these harmful practices.

Even if the false “shamanic” identity has been perpetuated for years and the practitioner has an established business, they need to stop aligning with the racist policies of colonialism and white knowledge domination. Shifting to the authentic earth-connected wisdom traditions of one’s own ancestors and offering that European Indigenous Knowledge (EIK) to one’s cultural group is not all that difficult, and would be a blessing to all involved. So-called “shamans” have re-created themselves once, and can do it again (!) this time using their own true identity and ethnicity, and their followers will love them for it. In fact, with the millions of spiritually-starved and culturally-alienated diasporans in the Americas, it is inconceivable that those focused on spiritual and cultural renewal would not see the value in offering their own authentic EIK teachings to others!

When First Nations people are telling us over and over that cultural appropriation is demeaning and disempowering (as well as a continuation of Settler-Colonialism), we really need to rearrange our ethical maps and stop this offensive behavior. In grappling for the shiny treasures we lack in our own lives, we have forgotten the basic values of honour and respect.

               Cultural Appropriation
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>link<

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Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for uncolonization, rejecting Empire, social justice, ethnocultural identity, Apocalypse Studies, building land- emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.

Excerpt from Ancient Spirit Rising (Stone Circle Press, 2016).
Sections workshopped on Canadian Ecopsychology Network
(CEN ~ March 23, 2017), and published on
Unsettling America ~ April 26, 2017

90 Comments

Susan

4/26/2017 05:22:58 pm

Thank you for your thoughtful article. As a woman of both Lakota and "British" Isles heritage, who works with many FN people, I appreciate your reminder to non-FN folk who are seeking meaningful connections with a spirit way to which they can relate.

On the other hand, I personally know a few people who the NAFPS group have targeted .who actually ARE FN, and who are NOT selling out the ways of their respective Nations, yet are having people say mean, attacking things about them ... based on hearsay and assumptions.

It's quite the dilemma ... in the old days before money, our people looked after the people who assisted them through healing and ceremony. Nowadays, cash is a much easier commodity than a horse, or buffalo hides or what have you.

I remember one Elder from Vancouver Island, BC saying that he wished he could feed his grandchildren with tobacco because he had a basement full of it!

These are not quick fix issues to be sure, but having respectful conversations can be good medicine toward making meaningful change. Thank you.

Jeffrey Rich

5/3/2017 06:03:20 pm

Susan, thank you for this comment. My own FN teachers in both North and South America say the same.

George Merasty

4/27/2017 12:02:22 pm

EXCELLENT !!!!!!!!!

Larry P. Saltzman

4/27/2017 02:44:41 pm

You have written an absolutely great article. I had a personal experience that really drove home cultural appropriation for me. A friend visited Poland where her ancestors were from. In a Polish town she came upon a 'Jewish restaurant' that served Kosher food. The staff were all dressed as orthodox Jews. I am not conventionally religious, but the idea that the descendants of people that cooperated with the Nazis in the Holocaust appropriating Jewish culture was truly offensive to me.

On the other hand, I have studied Japanese Karate since the 1960s under the tutelage of several leading instructors from Japan. They were teaching non-Japanese because of the explicit request by the founder of Japanese Karate to spread the teachings around the world. The relationship was equal and the training was with the full weight of the largest Japanese Karate Association behind it. So when I put my uniform and black belt on I am comfortable that I am not appropriating their culture. Had I just set myself up as an instructor without their training and seal of approval that would be cultural appropriation.

Tim

4/28/2017 04:14:24 pm

While cultural appropriation is certainly an issue, I have a lot of problems with this article. It attempts to call out "white shamans" for appropriating native american spiritual practice and deeming it shamanism.
Words evolve. "Shamanism," yes, a word that originally comes from the Siberian tribes as mentioned in this article, has come to represent practices from all over the world. There are African shamans, Finnish Shamans, Peruvian Shamans, Japanese Shamans, Hawaiian Shamans, and shamans from North America, as well as many other places, and I've had the pleasure of meeting many of them. These shamans are OVERJOYED that people are interested in learning with them, from them, and sharing in cultural appreciation with them. These practices are not the birthright of any one culture, for we are all indigenous to this earth.
Shamanism is now a word that represents a spiritual practice involving journeying, that has it's roots in the history of every culture in this world - while it is practiced differently in many of these cultures, these tools are the birthright of all of us.
That being said, yes, there ARE people that are practicing extreme cultural appropriation in the manner described in the article. But the article goes way too far and offers no balance.

Pegi Eyers link

4/28/2017 04:27:24 pm

I think you missed the point. "Shaman" and "Shamanism" are words taken out of context and popularized by white ethnologists, anthropologists, academics and New Agers. Out of respect for the originating cultures, what we really need to be doing is use the term for the "person in this kind of role" specific to each First Nation and it that First Nation language, but nobody in our privileged white world thinks of doing that! And in its entirety, the pan-Indian "shamanic" phenomena reminds me of the adage that "millions of people share the same forms of mental pathology does not make those people sane.” (Erich Fromm)

No one is disputing the existence of mystics, seers, medicine people, conjurers, curanderas and shamans in indigenous societies, or the importance of this work in all societies. As for solutions to our dilemma as white people, it would take a few surprisingly simple "tweaks" to move away from this kind of cultural imperialism. Eliminating the cultural signifiers that already belong to Turtle Island First Nations, and using words to denote this kind of work from our own culture would be a good start.

Examples of acceptable alternatives could include Celtic Priestess, Anglo Druidess and Waeccan Green Seer, plus Ban-Filid (Irish Seer), Ban-Draoi (Irish Druidess), Ingheaw Andagha (Irish Priestess and “daughter of fire”), Awenyddion (Welsh oracle and soothsayer), Taibhsear (Scots Gaelic for “vision seeker”), An Dà Shealleadh (Scots Gaelic for “second sight”), Gallicenae (Gaulish Priestess), Senae (Priestess of Brittany and guardian of the sacred cauldron), Seiðkona (Old Norse seer and spirit traveler), Enaree (ancient Scythian Amazon Priestess), Drabarni (Romany Gypsy), Curandero (traditional Spanish or Latin American healer), Animist, Sibyl, Spirit-Worker, Wise Woman, Loremistress, or Woodspriestess.

Pegi Eyers link

4/28/2017 04:29:44 pm

"in that First Nation language"
I meant to say.

Amy Marsh

4/30/2017 05:41:29 pm

Thanks for this article and for the clarifying comment here! Helps!

mary hartman link

5/31/2017 11:48:00 pm

One major point missing here is that a true shaman is a "channel" into the spirit realm from a human body. in this realm is the connection to the power and/or connection to the power of the shaman. I'm from German and English ancestry, but the natural forces that come through me to heal people are not concerned with anything indigenous. I don't follow a tradition only the Mysteries instructions on how to let the energy come through to bring transformation to people in need. I can understand its wrong to commit identity theft against ethnic groups, but from my understanding at the root meaning of "shaman" is to say this is a person with power within and in relationship to power in the spirit realm. How each "shaman" works is and should be completely unique. I honestly would rather not struggle with labels, but if I had to name myself because of my ancestral heritage i'd be at a loss for words. A channeler who channels Jesus doesn't call themselves Jesus, they refer to themselves as a channeler that channels Jesus. I believe its the same situation. However, there are some worthy points in the article, but I also agree names evolve. ancestral blessings.

Maggie Lewis

5/3/2017 01:27:52 am

I so agree with this comment. I am white and have spent most of quite a long life studying with and learning from many indigenous people for whom I have a deep respect. It was there deep desire to share their knowledge and I believe this sharing is part of an evolving humanity, one which has inclusiveness at its heart. I find this article sadly divisive and it's opinions certainly not shared with the many First Nation people I value as friends. We are moving toward a global community where what we have in common is greater than that which separates us.

Charlotte Wright

5/3/2017 02:35:49 pm

Good one. Cultural appreciation:)
I was introduced a few years ago to Native American ceremonies, and it has touched me in the deepest way...a remembering that connects me to everything. We all need this to survive and thrive at this time.

Patience H.

4/28/2017 09:13:15 pm

This issue comes up in my life due to a type of bodywork I do. But I wanted to comment that one of the women in the pic that has the caption White Shamans, is actually part Salish Indian & very in touch w/that part of her heritage. Her hair is now white.

Pegi Eyers link

4/30/2017 08:17:51 pm

Thank you for your comment Patience! I am going to go against my rule of not critiquing First Nations here, to say that turning one's indigenous knowledge into products tailored for white New Age consumption is not in agreement with the majority of First Nations activists, academics, Elders, visionaries and community peoples.

Jeffrey Rich

5/3/2017 06:07:18 pm

I study with the woman in question and she does not do this. It is clear from some of the things she says that she is initiated into some teachings that don't go out into the world at large. What she teaches are things she has been given permission to share, and also the fruits of her many decades of her own practice and study.

Since you don't know her and have never met her, you might think twice about casting this aspersion.

christopher o'brien

5/10/2017 01:32:54 pm

The white woman who claims to be Salish calls herself "Little Grandmother." Her name is Kiesha Crowther and she is NOT Salish. She is a Morman from the San Luis Valley CO. The Salish have sent her a feast and desist order, and emphatically refuted her claim, but she continues to go around the world promoting herself as "White Buffalo Calf Woman," and charging people up to $6000 for pvt audiences. What a sad, perfect example of cultural appropriation!.

Moses Mora

4/29/2017 01:06:26 am

Consider this, the word "shaman" is a european and was imposed on indigenious people and it was not intended to be accurate or any kind of a compliment. The root word of shaman is sham. New Agers are shams and the word should be applied only to them if it's going to be used at all.

stephen udry

5/2/2017 01:35:28 pm

Sorry, but you are wrong here. The word "shaman" is actually a real manchu-tungusic word. The root is the verb sambi, meaning "to know."

pete

4/29/2017 05:31:12 am

spot..on..white people have no right to watch firsts be attacked then steal at a time of weakness...its called theft...and its bull shit..

Jeffrey Hotchkiss

4/29/2017 07:05:51 am

Good read and will study further. Have shared with a group interested in right relationship with indigenous peoples.

Note on one typo: Timothy Egan's book on Edward Curtis has the word "Immortal" in the title, not "Immoral". Fascinating read; I recommend it.

Pegi Eyers link

4/29/2017 10:22:45 am

Oops! Thank you so much Jeffrey Hotchkiss :)

4/29/2017 04:26:55 pm

When creator gifted Anishinaabe the teachings and ceremonies he told Anishnaabe he was to carry them for all the colors of man...

This Article depicts our loss of balance... Yes. There are those that carry this knowledge in a hard way. Carrying this knowledge in a hard way is not exclusive to non-natives.

To make such grand arguments of wrongness... We need to be more careful when we tell creator... Creator... You're wrong...

Just something to think upon.

Pegi Eyers link

4/30/2017 08:36:21 pm

Thank you so much for your wisdom MW. I appreciate your comment very much. As you say this conversation is only one side of the story, and has a focus on seeking to undo the harm caused by white people. Then, after learning how to respect First Nations instead of stealing from them, the other side of the story is for all people to reclaim our knowledge of the sacred. My book "Ancient Spirit Rising" covers many of these pathways, which include re-learning the earth-emergent Old Ways of thought and action in contemporary times. Many Blessings ~

5/1/2017 12:02:12 am

No matter the path the journey is inner balance. Without inner balance we are unable to walk without in balance with creation it self.
This is the responsibility creator gifted all. Non other then self can be held responsible our own imbalance.

Laure Porche

4/29/2017 04:59:57 pm

While this article does a great job of pointing out the cultural appropriation that can happen in the shamanic community, careful who you log into it. Betsy Bergstrom, whose picture you have up there as "fabricated white shaman", is actually half Native American (Salish people) and uses all parts of her ancestry in her work (Native American and Nordic). Let's not throw the baby with the bath water. :)

Pegi Eyers link

4/30/2017 08:27:07 pm

Thank you for your comment Laure! I am going to go against my rule of not critiquing First Nations here, to say that turning one's indigenous knowledge into products tailored for white New Age consumption is not in agreement with the majority of First Nations activists, academics, Elders, visionaries and community peoples.

Sheryl

5/3/2017 07:37:01 am

Nowhere does it say she is "half Native American" . This is the only reference in her about that I can find and nothing is specific. "Like many of us, her family heritage is diverse, with roots in Norse, Scottish and Native American cultures.."

Jeffrey Rich

5/3/2017 05:56:48 pm

I study with her. She has personally told her students that her father was Salish.

Daniel Mirante

4/30/2017 03:38:51 am

Whites arn't allowed to be shamanistic because we have associated the figure of the shaman exclusively with 'people of colour' or 'indians', so don't put feathers in your hair, thats not culturally sensitive.
Cultural appropriation assumes cultures exist in isolation, but the storytellers, musicians, pilgrims and artists have always sought wisdom from other tribes and other peoples.

The point is : respect. Don't cartoon make believe with the sacred core of tradition, either your own or another peoples. Question your spiritual materialism and seek the authentic. However that ends up looking.

Renna Shesso

5/2/2017 06:43:09 pm

Thanks for your clarity, Daniel.

Steve Davey

4/30/2017 08:52:19 am

Whilst I loathe spiritual traditions being cheapened by commercialism, I feel I must point out that Shamanism is a tradition in every tribe of humanity.
Many Nordic, Asian, African, South American & European peoples still practice Shamanism in many different forms.
Educating people about the lies of commercial "Shamanism" is of the same importance as educating people about the lies of Religion.
No one owns Shamanism, it is part of our ancestral make-up & of the journey home to true awareness.

Pegi Eyers link

4/30/2017 08:43:58 pm

Thank you for your comment Steve. What we need to be doing then is name these practices in the language of each culture, what they would call the the mystics, seers, medicine people, conjurers, curanderas and shamans in their own language(s). To lump all these practices under the popularized modern genre of "shamanism" is to perpetuate a concept created by, and made possible by, the dominance and privilege of white people.

Birdie

4/30/2017 03:07:50 pm

I received a gift from a dreamwork client of mine. She is from Peru, but not indigenous as her parents migrated from eastern Europe to escape persecution. The gift is a dream catcher made by indigenous peoples of peru which they sell to support themselves. I have the dreamcatcher and value it as a gift. Is it cultural appropriation if I keep and use this or make it visible in my home?

Pegi Eyers link

4/30/2017 08:54:03 pm

No Birdie, supporting the work of indigenous artisans is NOT cultural appropriation, as I cover in the blog. (Although in many instances colonization has forced indigenous people to adopt these forms of artistic production for economic compliance, but that is a whole other trajectory.) But commercializing these products yourself, or making them part of your own self-identity, is most certainly cultural appropriation.

Laura

4/30/2017 03:15:41 pm

I work with dreams and have made several paintings based on images and symbols that have appeared in my dreams. A young person who was visiting my home and saw some of the paintings state they were culturally appropriating. Two of the paintings were of black boys who came in a dream playing musical instruments and singing in a band. One was of a black girl who was being initiated in some way by what appeared to be elders. She has white ash covering her skin and black paint near her eyes. I felt that the young woman made an assumption without understanding where these paintings came from and why they are hanging on my wall. I am a white anglo (of British Isle descent...Irish/English based on family history). I don't feel that I am culturally appropriating, but curious what your thoughts are.

Pegi Eyers link

4/30/2017 09:13:34 pm

Thank you for your comment Laura! This is a very layered issue, and I personally witnessed the same critique in art school back in the day. As artists we are supposed to have the full freedom to express anything that we desire, but depending on the narrative, painting people of colour when the artist is a white person can be interpreted as "exotification" - which says more about our need as white people for the "special" and "unique" (that is to say non-white). The debate on cultural appropriation in fine art practice is far from resolved, and I cannot provide the definitive answer. But IMO copying indigenous styles and symbols directly (i.e. Norval Morrisseau and the Woodland School) IS cultural theft, while by creating narratives depicting POC we need to seriously avoid stereotypes, interpreting through "a white lens" or any hint of microaggression or condescension. We are so ingrained to feel superior it can easily come through in our art, and considering all the pitfalls, creating art depicting POC could easily be avoided, or if we must, kept private in our own collection (?). Respecting the wishes of other cultures is part of taking responsibility for our white privilege.

Jane Addison

4/30/2017 04:03:38 pm

of course Andrea Smith and Ward Churchill, whose work is listed in the works cited, are known frauds of Native identity.

Pegi Eyers link

4/30/2017 09:16:38 pm

Thank you Jane, for pointing out that dark contradiction. I have removed them from the list.

Lily link

4/30/2017 07:11:19 pm

This article makes me have a lot of questions:
1. this article heavily targets white people. what about other races in america who are also subject to this very broad definition of indigenous appropriation? Is it any worse or better? why?
2. identity theft is listed as a mental disorder. Can that be paralleled with gender identity, and if so, how is it the same or different? (kind of off topic but just wondering)
3. can there be interest and support for first nations that is not through a colonialist perspective-? what does that look like (other than buying handmade native goods which is what this article says- it also draws a confusing line when the author talks about fashion) How would you differ or define that perspective from assimilation or appropriation? Can it be different? For example black lives matter movement. (which is different, but the only comparison I can think of) This article doesn't seem to approach that ideology-
4. Does this kind of support (from nations or non-natives) validify the uprise of indigenous ideologies into mainstream culture? Mostly wondering what it would look like for americans to recognize the importance of indigenous culture and sovereignty of first nations and if this would mean a dilution of culture (native or american) or a larger understanding and acceptance of it? Would this be a way to reverse or at least rectify colonialism?

Jaz link

4/30/2017 08:32:47 pm

Great article, a lot of what my intuition was telling me has been expressed.

Sha comes from Persia and was adopted into both Islam and Hindism. It means person of high status and in community medicine man is always looked up to. I believe the word was an adaptation in Shamanism by western culture to create a separate identity.

Terry bond

4/30/2017 09:02:58 pm

I think it's ok to adopt any practices from any culture/religion/region. It is not ok to self proclaim yourself or say and/or have a benefactor saying it's ok for you to call yourself an authority on someone else's culture/religion/region.

Terry bond

4/30/2017 09:08:08 pm

Beverly Hills ninja comes to mind,
Sensai: Twenty five years ago, an ancient legend of this sacred art came alive. It spoke of a foreign child who would come among us and become a Ninja master unlike any other. How he arrived on our shores will forever remain a mystery. We Ninjas thought that this child would be the great white Ninja of the legend. We were wrong. We were very wrong.

Haru: The blackness of my belt is like the inside of a coffin on a moonless night.
Joey: That's pretty black, Man.
Haru: It is a black art, and I, Haru, am the blackest of the black. Or rather the great white black art... Blackest... Master.

Inga

5/1/2017 02:33:41 pm

I noticed you posted a photo of Brooke Medicine Eagke as a non-native cashing in on traditions when in fact she has native ancestry. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooke_Medicine_Eagle

Pegi Eyers link

5/1/2017 04:22:40 pm

Thank you for your comment Inga! I am sorry to burst your bubble but Brooke Medicine Eagle is a known fraud who has been fooling people for a very long time. https://blog.psiram.com/2015/04/brooke-medicine-eagle-edwards-plastic-shaman-with-some-40-years-of-experience-in-fleecing/

Laura

5/1/2017 04:56:58 pm

Perhaps Brooke Edwards would take a DNA test to prove her claims? Follow the Wiki and you will see entries that indicate indigenous peoples repudiation of her claims to FN heritage. If true, it's terrible! Since there are laws against that, why can't she be compelled to take a DNA test?

Sally

5/1/2017 05:30:24 pm

Is there any way a Native American can share their teachings and allow others to offer ceremony in exchange for payment with non native people and not be called plastic or a fraud ?

Elizabeth

5/2/2017 01:56:15 am

Ah, thank you Sally. How can we possibly come together if this is not possible?

Pegi Eyers link

5/2/2017 11:39:35 am

No one is suggesting that white people NOT learn about the true history of First Nations in the Americas, or the traditions of the First Nations in the lands where we are living. In fact, learning about the magnificence of indigenous reality, plus contemporary issues affecting indigenous people, is integral for intercultural competency, restitution, and working as good allies. What IS objectionable is when white people create self-identities for themselves based on tokenization, fabrication or some fantasy of what a First Nation person is, and then offer those (so-called) teachings to other white people through New Age Capitalism.

If white people want to learn about First Nations (and we should), there are thousands of reputable books and articles available, and conferences happening in academic institutions on a regular basis. Avoiding and boycotting "native spirituality" and "shamanic" events and publications in New Age Capitalism would be a great start. And instead of focusing on the "spiritual" learn about social justice work! In the long run grassroots activism will be of more benefit to both First Nations and ourselves.

Greg

5/2/2017 03:13:30 pm

So your saying an Asian-American person can create a self identity of shamanic healer because they aren't white? Do you think a white person is capable of carrying and spreading teachings they have learned from an Native in a respectable way?

Jessie

5/1/2017 11:40:09 pm

I have Cherokee, Lakota, Scottish, English and Dutch in my bloodline. I would not call myself Shaman, but that is my path. To not follow my own intuition and do what Spirit calls me to do would be worse. There are many that look white, but are actually mixed blood and follow the ways of their ancestors.
The are also many prophesies that speak of the time of many natives returning in white bodies but are still native, and there are those that will judge and not understand. Perhaps we are here. This article is very harsh and discriminative against those of us pulled to the path in right relations to Mother Earth and all who live upon her. I stand in my own truth.

Pegi Eyers link

5/2/2017 11:59:15 am

First of all, there is no such thing as being "discriminatory" against white people, in the same way as there is no such thing as "reverse racism."

No one is denying that we should not re-land ourselves and practice nature spirituality. In fact, that is what is required right now to shift the paradigm and build resilience in times of massive change. What is objectionable is creating identities based on the cultural or spiritual property of Turtle Island First Nations (you know, the people the Scottish, English and Dutch tried to eradicate).

It sounds like you are doing good work Jessie! Out of respect for First Nations, sometimes it is shifts in attitude and language that are required. You could find terms from your own heritage(s) to describe what you do, and the term "Animist" is an excellent substitute for "shaman" !!!!

Julie

5/2/2017 03:21:01 am

I can appreciate your suggestion for white people with "mystical abilities" (or however we want to coin the abilities that some associate with contemporary shamanism) who now reside on Turtle Island to look to their own ethocultural roots for a more fitting term than shaman. However, as earthbased spirituality is tied to land and our relationship to it, so will these ethocultural practices be. As a Scandinavian immigrant to Canada it doesn't make sense for me to practice Asetru (paying tribute to the Norse gods) on the west coast of Canada where I now reside. The practices and pantheon of supernatural beings connected to those practices were developed over long period of times by the people living in a particular region. There is a symbiotic relationships that developed between the elementals/spirits/supernatural etc and the people of that land that cannot be replicated and moved to a different land, just because you no longer reside in the lands of your ancestors. It doesnt work that way. It would be problematic if I were to practice my Scandinavian practices where I now live, including calling upon certain energies/beings as they do not belong here and have no place interfering with the ancestral powers/beings that are Indigenous to the land that I now reside upon (coast salish).
And speaking of cultural appropriation, I would personally have a hard time with someone in, for instance North Dakota, who claims some distant Danish ancestry to lay claim to the term "Volva or Spåkone" to describe their personal earthbased spiritual practices. Just as much as a coast salish healer, or a Lakota medicin person would require distinct training from within their own culture, and would practice their medicine work indifferent ways, so is be the case with any of the ethocultural terms you are suggesting should be used instead on "Shaman". To practice for instance any practices derived from Scandinavian cosmology without some deep roots in the Scandinavian landscape and language ends up being pretty nonsensical.
We need to come into a deep sense of belonging as non-indigneous people - right where we are. to truly fall in love with the land we reside in and develop a deep and meaningful relationship to it and to the non-physical beings that have resided in that land for eons. Everything else is man made.

5/2/2017 07:48:54 am

Yes and more yes.

Pegi Eyers link

5/2/2017 12:24:05 pm

I understand your objections Julie, and it is a debate being well covered today in many different spaces of theory and practice. (See my blog "Are White People Indigenous? here: http://www.stonecirclepress.com/blog-9658-ancient-spirit-rising/are-white-people-indigenous)

The truth is, it takes more than a couple of generations to become "indigenous to place" which is what you are suggesting. First Nations experts use various timelines of belonging, with Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo) quantifying indigeneity by having a thousand-year presence in a specific place. And please do NOT argue the point with First Nations! How insulting for the original peoples with millennia of history on Turtle Island, to hear these debates coming from interlopers, Settlers and recent newcomers.

Let's face it, your DNA is NOT American, but holds an unbroken line to your Scandinavian ancestors. That is who you are, and contrary to what you believe, the Nordic deities have made the crossing here to North America with the Nordic people who revere them. The Nordic revival is booming right now in North America, and I have no idea why you would not want to be part of it.

We need to be aware of, and respect the spirits of the land in the Americas that have been claimed by First Nations epistomologies, but in the end, they are NOT our traditions. We can love the land as an earth-connected human being, or through our own ancestral lens, and the land will love us back, which is all that matters.

Sandra

5/2/2017 02:23:53 pm

This conversation is essential but we need better tools and a bigger table. Telling someone you have no idea why they don't want to be part of a Nordic revival is horribly tone deaf. We must draw attention to ignorance around appropriation but does anyone have the right to police others religious choices? I have some Norse ancestry but I have no interest in worshipping that pantheon. Bioregional animism is deeply important to me. I don't agree with you that I have no right to that path. I work for civil rights and decolonization as well. But I have ancestry over the past 4 centuries on 5 continents and I am literally a cultural orphan. I choose to build relationship with the land I live on. I don't have a single ancestry to look back to. Proto Indo European patriarchy needs to be dismantled. We need a new way forward.

Kristen

5/3/2017 07:46:11 pm

I agree with Sandra's comment above that it was not very conducive to intellectual debate and inclusive discussion to dismiss Julie's comments so harshly. I think that we need to all pause and think about what we're going to say, and how we're going to say it. Writing "I have no idea why you wouldn't want to..." or "I don't know how you could think that..." is a sure way to cut down a conversation.

Pegi, I have a very well-loved copy of your book, which has deeply inspired me, and is helping me a lot with my Master's thesis. (I have also very much appreciated some of your comments on Tad Hargrave's Facebook group.) I agree with a lot (probably most) of what you write. I also agree with a lot of what Julie said above.

As a person of mixed European heritage, whose family has been on this continent for 400 years, I struggle very much with questions of cultural loss, colonial violence, and the feeling of not belonging to anyone or to any place. (I'm writing my thesis about ancestral grief and reconnecting with Mother Earth.)

Julie, I too struggle with the question of how to honor my ancestral cultures and spiritualities when I know that I do not belong to that land. Pegi puts forth the idea that deities, spirits, saints, ancestors, etc. follow a people when they migrate, and I can see the logic in that. I also hesitate, though, when it comes to honoring my ancestral spirits in a place other than where they came from. Cultural tradition, religion, language, LIFE arises from a specific place, and I worry about what happens when you try to take that precious tradition out of its context. I feel grief for all of the place-based stories that were lost when my ancestors left Europe and came here. If I were to go visit Ireland, I wouldn't have a clue about the "dindsenchas," or "lore of places", as I walk across the land. Does it make sense to pray to Danu, the Mother Goddess of Ireland, where I live in Maine, when her very body is the Irish land? I don't know. I'm still working those questions out.

Thank you, Pegi, for this conversation. Thank you, Julie, for speaking your truth from your heart.

Pegi Eyers link

5/4/2017 05:22:43 pm

Thank you for your comments Julie, Sandra and Kristen ~ and my apologies to Julie for my comment re: Nordic revival, as it was rather harsh. Yet it breaks my heart that people of European descent have lost our connectivity to our ancestors, our ancestral ways, our specific ethnoculture, or any sense of why these connections are important.

Why do we feel the need to jump around from culture to culture, and why do we not see the value in the incredible treasures in our own heritage(s)? How did our own traditions get lost along the way? How did we learn to ignore and discount our own traditions? What makes us consumers of other people's traditions anyway? Why is our own heritage just another "genre" among other spiritual choices?

For me, the heart of the matter is the loss of our own identity.

Anne

5/15/2017 11:42:21 pm

You said "Why do we feel the need to jump around from culture to culture, and why do we not see the value in the incredible treasures in our own heritage(s)?"

As someone whose roots include FN, English, French, German, and Lithuanian ancestors, perhaps it's because we are not homogeneous. "White" doesn't precisely define someone like me unless you go solely by appearance. It is the very fact of that that prompted me, when I wanted to know more about my various ethnicities, to seek guidance from elders in those cultures. Cultural appropriation is possible when people self-identify as something they aren't, and less likely if they ask how they should act. I've found my indigenous brothers and sisters to be quite helpful when their cultures are respected and honored. Interestingly, none of the elders I've spoken to has ever described themselves as a "shaman" - wisdom is often imparted when they see a need, and they don't sell ceremony. That was one of the first things I learned. So, if you're paying hundreds of dollars to sit in an inipi, chances are the person collecting the cash is not genuine.

Attila

5/2/2017 10:16:30 am

There were replies above saying this "article offers no balance". For me it seems hatred toward "white people" is overflowing here.

I am living in Europe, and have just no clue who are the white people?
The Irish, the English,the Ujgurs in China,or Cossacks or the Persian Arya etc.

I am a hungarian. The pope and the german Christians sent an crusade army in 907 to exterminate my nation. We were overpowerded but won, and ever since our culture is fighting for survival. In the past thousand year there was always someone to blame. We had many "white people" coming and going.

When you write "supremacy and racism of white people" is that not a mirror for yourself? It sounds like Native Americans want to convince everyone that spirituality comes from them, or that drums, pipes, and sweatlodges are only their birth right. 'We natives are the true protectors of Earth, and we know the right way.'

How can you steal something that is given by mother nature?
Example patterns on clothes are also so similar worldwide. I found exact same symbols on clothes we have in Transylvania as in Amazonia, in Polynasia, in Mexico. So we shall start a fight over the ownership who did the embrodery first?

Roots and traditions are important. However one of our teacher says:
"We shall not follow our ancestors, we shall follow what our ancestor's have followed."

Pegi Eyers link

5/2/2017 12:32:55 pm

Thank you for your comments Attila, but this blog is a treatise on cultural studies in North America. "What is Cultural Appropriation?" does not provide discourse on related issues in Europe, nor does it claim to.

If you wish to learn about contemporary issues affecting indigenous people in Canada and the USA, you will find this blog informative.

Who Decides

5/2/2017 04:50:43 pm

The interesting thing too is that many of these "shamans" were initiated into the lineage by Native elders... so then what? Like Alberto Villoldo who studied with indigenous people for decades and now trains folks in these teachings. When I was a training with him there were actual Q'ero elders there from Peru sharing the teachings and I was also "initiated" into this lineage. So am I appropriating that culture or am I "ok" to claim a shamanic title since I was given that permission by an elder native Peruvian Shaman. Who decides???

Violet

5/2/2017 06:17:49 pm

Agreed. I have met numerous Native American elders teaching and initiated white people (gasp) because ultimately they feel the earth needs this medicine no matter the race. But most likely they would be dismissed as plastic frauds with is unfortunate when they are the real deal. What "who decides" stated is often unacknowledged and dismissed from self righteous inflexible thinking.

Pegi Eyers link

5/3/2017 11:04:11 pm

In terms of "who decides" white people need to step aside for a change and listen to the voices of First Nations. This blog is based entirely on FN objections - from first-hand accounts I received from FN Elders, books, articles, online sources and other personal conversations during my years of research. Did you see the voluminous "Mega-Resources from A-Z" listing First Nations' objections, or did you somehow miss that part?

Jeffrey Rich

5/4/2017 12:02:21 am

In sacred space, every voice is worthy of being heard.

Curly Moses

5/2/2017 06:12:00 pm

Do you really believe we can put the genie back in the bottle? I don't disagree that there is harm being done with cultural erasure, but I still do stuff on Wednesdays even though I don't worship Odin. All action creates harm. An organism can't grow unless it consumes other organisms. This is how humanity evolves as a species, something that I would argue transcends culture entirely. We are bombing the middle east to death right now. If the recipe for an end to that includes a Siberian word inaccurately describing native/indigenous spiritual practices, then I think we need to look at the total balance of harm when we consider all paths forward.

Renna Shesso

5/2/2017 07:21:43 pm

There may be useful ways to measure the degree of cultural appropriation someone commits (% of a ceremony mimicked, adaptation of costuming/articles of dress, et. al.), but how does one measure the energies and spirits of the land itself?
Who decides who the land speaks to? Can one be gatekeeper to customs, traditions, spiritual teaching and sacred sites - and I don't question the legitimacy of that role and the need for it - without inadvertently usurping the voice and power of the land- and nature spirits to speak as THEY choose to each other and *any* of us?

Maria

5/3/2017 12:17:24 am

Just wanted to say: Thank You!

Rob Hughes link

5/3/2017 06:16:36 am

Well thought out and articulated article; however, I wonder if using the phrase "turtle island" is also an example of cultural appropriation? And if not, why not?

Pegi Eyers link

5/3/2017 05:02:14 pm

Thank you for your comment Rob! Cultural appropriation falls on a continuum, with the fabrication of a native identity by white people being the most extreme, and the subject of this blog. Yet your inquiry does need to be addressed. Turtle Island is the ancient Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe term locating present-day North America from Baffin Island in the north to the tip of Central America in the south. It is an effective way to describe one land mass instead of the many artificial nation-states and current divisions. I use ‘Turtle Island” in respect to the original peoples, and as a way to Reject Empire (decolonize). I am am also in agreement with this Wikipedia entry.

“Referring to North America as Turtle Island suggests a view of North America not merely as a land ‘discovered’ and colonized by Europeans, but as a land inhabited and stewarded by a collection of rich and diverse peoples, a collection that may have room for both indigenous and colonizer cultures. The re-framing of the continent's identity is intended to bring about a better cohabitation of these two groups of people. Finally, the term suggests a more holistic relationship between the continent's ecology and its human inhabitants, visualizing Turtle Island as an amalgamation of bioregions.” (Wikipedia, 2012)

Jeffrey Rich

5/3/2017 05:55:23 pm

Interesting article. One of my teachers is among the people in your picture labelled "fabricated identities as White Shamans". She is a First Nation person and does use some of the teachings that her father, a Salish man, taught her. She does not share forbidden teachings.

I claim no native heritage. My DNA tells me that I have no North American Native blood. Nor do I aspire to that.

My teacher in the Andes comes from a culture that freely shares their spiritual practices, because their belief is that it is universal -- therefore it is available to all who study, and there can be no appropriation. Unless you're masquerading.

My ancestry is English, Irish, and with significant chunks of Finnish and Scandinavian DNA according to tests I've had done. I even have a smidge of Mongolian and Yakut DNA according to 23&Me reports. Since that resides in my own body, my heritage includes those spiritual lineages.

I do practice shamanic work myself, and it came to me rather than me going to it. I believe that we ALL have some form of luminous spirituality practice in our lineages in one form or another, and I don't feel that it is appropriation to seek it out and learn about it and practice it if we have been given permission from the elders and from the holders of those lineages.

Gary link

5/4/2017 01:24:27 am

Overall it appears that people in this feed have a variety of experiences where FN have given them permission to participate and pass the teachings yet the author is defensive and telling white people what they should do. All in all everyone has their own path. The thinking would benefit to expand out of "all the FN are saying this-look at the research!" To yes it is possible to work with FN in a respectful and humble way that honors their medicine and isn't appropriation. And yes appropriation is still happening. Both exist honor the shadow and the light is thenintegrated balance

Pegi Eyers link

5/4/2017 09:51:23 am

Heaven forbid anyone tell the privileged and entitled people who make up the dominant society and run the world what to do. After all, "white is always right" isn't it? LOL

Gary

5/4/2017 11:55:58 am

Seems like you're really unwilling to see that FN can teach and initiate white people.

Tony H

5/4/2017 11:04:46 am

Hello Pegi,

I think this is a great article that lifts the problems in a rational and straight way. Good work!

I'm from Sweden with a mix of Scandinavian genes. 10 years ago when I was 17 years old I traveled to the north of Sweden to attend to a "shamanic" meeting with other white people (all Scandinavians) to exchange knowledge within spiritual practice of Norse traditions.
What struck me later when I met cultural appropriation is that we have no name for our kind because Christianity wiped away our history and there's almost no artifacts or oral traditions left to learn from.
"Norse" is the name of our old culture, not the name of spiritual practitioners within it.
We lost almost everything that brought us back to our roots.
Some parts of the Sami's root were able to survive because strong resistance, but me and many others who are not of Sami heritage lost a lot of connection to our past.

The closest name for us is "Seidkarl/Seidkvinna", but it's a label when our practices was heavily affected by Crusaders.

As far as I know, drumming for spiritual journeying is not from our old spiritual culture. We have borrowed it from the Sami traditions, because of the highly effective method of spiritual practice but also, and mostly, because we don't have anything similar in our that is left.

What I want to ask you is do you think it is acceptable for us to use spiritual practices from other cultures to fill in the blanks of our own?
If not, what should we do to find our roots what's been cut off?

Tony H

1/13/2021 04:14:25 am

Pegi Eyers, if you're still out there I would be happy to get an answer to my comment!

Pegi Eyers link

1/13/2021 01:51:19 pm

I'm so sorry I missed your comment Tony~!! Yes, I think the most important thing, is to actually DO the work of re-indigenizing and re-landing in the places we call home, and it can be extremely challenging if a cultural tradition has been completely lost due to the erosion of time, or the forces of colonialization. In the case of lost culture, we can still stay authentic to ourselves and not lift the cultural property of First Nations by doing solid research, activating deep time and cellular (DNA) memories, and being informed by our landbase - all woven in with our own imagination and creativity. Even if only a few fragments remain of our ancestral tradition, we can hopefully re-build some kind of framework for our work going forward. I think it is very important to just be transparent about your cultural practices i.e. "I am grateful to the Sami for informing and inspiring my journey to re-create my own ancestral knowledge." But above all, be authentic to yourself, and develop your animist "skill set" to take your cues from the natural world, and form interconnected relationships with all the beings in Earth Community. In the end, this is how cultures have always developed from the beginning of time, and will continue to coalesce, into a post-colonial cosmovision. Wishing you many blessings on your path of Earth Connection. <3

Frankieinla@live.com link

5/4/2017 11:18:19 am

Great life changing article. I can see now after reading your article that rather than trying to include all of humanities' contributions in a united experience as so many modern whites try to do now days, white people need to stop trying to play nice and, as your article articulately points out how they no longer know their own culure, they need to get back to their long standing culture of conquest and control of this planet. This whole spiritual path many whites have taken has distracted them from their true culture of world domination and oppression of everything that's non-white. I say forget trying to heal others for a fee, white people need to get back to basics of oppressing all non-whites where the real money and true earthly power awaits. I was personally considering a path of healing others, but I would just look ridiculous doing it since white men can't heal unless we are wearing khakis and a polo shirt and waiving an iPhone in the air while burning a copy of Forbes to ward off down swings in the market. I'm getting back into the business world. Thank you for this wake up call.

Pegi Eyers link

5/4/2017 05:12:01 pm

HA HA HA thank you for your comment Frankie! Yet you have taken the narrative arc in a completely wrong direction. When First Nations Elders are telling Settlers to "return to our own indigenous knowledge" this work is already being done right now in countless different progressive and earth-connected movements.

Social justice combined with the huge revival of pagan traditions from Old Europe, including Celtic Reconstructionism (CR), Sinnsreachd, Druidry, Wicca, the Avalon Tradition, Nordic Paganism, Ásatrú and Heathenry (among many others) are happening, not to mention Rewilding, Ecopsychology, Ecomysticism, Animism, Matriarchal Studies, Post-Peak Living and sustainable communities of all kinds.

All this work is being done right now to recover our European or land-based earth-emergent Ancient Ways ~ good work white people!! (Big Cheers)

Frankie I really enjoyed your ironic description of Empire - too funny!

frankieinla@live.com link

5/4/2017 11:23:15 pm

I’m always happy to make people laugh - my sense of comedy was developed while I grew up in a black neighborhood (Inglewood, CA). Now I'm thinking being funny may be a cultural misappropriation of black comedy since I make white people laugh just as hard as most black people make them laugh. However, the black people I grew up and learned comedy from would be happy I was bringing joy into people's lives regardless of my skin color.

Let's be honest, this is a fairly racist article unless one sees white people as transcendent of race itself being positioned by Nature above and beyond all other races. If that's the premise, I say be honest and own the fact that you see unjust conduct, power and control as what disqualifies a section of all similar looking human beings from being seen as human beings, but rather, such a disqualification renders all human beings who happen to have pale skin as an abstraction - and nothing more than a abstraction, no longer a human being in the mind of those who see race before humanity.

And when we transform a human being into an abstraction (e.g. white, black, FN Elder), we ourselves lose our own humanity and start lashing out, with fierce hatred, against those abstractions because let’s face it, it’s really hard to be overly critical, hateful and unforgiving with human beings. All human beings are basically just like us - some even believe human beings share a “oneness” that goes well beyond skin pigmentation.

And we should probably keep in mind that the concept of race is a very modern abstraction of human beings. A little over 500 years ago, someone pulled the abstract concept of race out of thin air and applied it to human beings. Now people are hating and judging each other over a blatant fictional human-made story. So many ego created stories like this one plague our minds to the point many don't feel alive and present as they once did as children.

When First Nations Elders are telling Settlers to "return to [y]our own indigenous knowledge", all I hear is FN Elders telling white people to proverbially "go back to Africa". White people probably deserve to hear that coming at them for once so they know how it feels to be on the receiving end of racism.

I am disheartened to hear FN Elders are so disconnected from the planet that they feel humans with pale skin doing what they do too is the real threat to their people today. The real threat comes from those white people who could care less about native healing practices. The dangerous white people who are actually harming the world at large are wearing Stefano Ricci suits and Prada shoes, not moon crystals and deer skin moccasins.

These FN Elders who are having such a hard time with other human beings of pale appearance making the same or similar mouth sounds, body movements, and using similar or the same kind of bone/feather/rock/wood/flesh artifacts are no different in my mind than pharmaceutical companies arguing over patent infringement. Let's be honest, FN Elders are taking a capitalistic position with the issue being dilution of their brand, trade dress, logos, and market presence/goodwill in the healing industry. From the looks of it, FN Elders would probably sue all infringing white people in court to stop the ridiculous looking white people from healing if they could.

On a human note, if the healing techniques that FN Elders are performing is actually healing fellow human beings even when ridiculous looking white people are using the same healing techniques on those who otherwise wouldn’t be healed by a FN Elder, why wouldn't FN Elders want their methods to be freely shared with all of humanity?

Maja G.

5/4/2017 01:55:46 pm

Hello! Thank you for the article highlighting a very, very real issue.

However, I feel like it is actually playing on another issue, and that is "whiteness" and what white people are and are not allowed to do. Why is this an issue? For one, there are white indigenous peoples (as well as European 'folk practice' that contain "Shamanism" even though they are not legally counted as a folk minority and therefore are not legally "indigenous". One example from where I live are the many local faiths of 'Allmogen faith', some of which are currently trying for indigenous rights). Second, there are also, thanks to mixed-race, members that pass as "white" belonging to peoples and tribes that are typically darker-skinned. Third, there are a lot of white people that really don't get why they should not touch a certain practice based on their skin color - because they think the issue is ACTUALLY their skin color, and not the fact that they weren't born into a tribe. (Yeah, it might sound thick to you because it kind of is, but it's really not obvious to someone who are raised in a culture where religion is actually pretty homogeneous and needs to be brought up the way it is for some people to get why it's offensive.)

Now, I'm not legally native to anywhere. But I'm also not going to put down my own cultural heritage because I'm white and because the EU says I don't belong to a tribe, because I certainly have a heritage and I'm sticking with it for a reason. I have zero interest what so ever in native American spirituality and while I recognize that you guys over the pond really have a problem going on with this, you're kind of glossing over a lot of nuance to the discussion by saying "white people should not". And actual indigenous people are going to suffer from that for various reasons. You're not incorrect in what you are writing, cultural appropriation isn't really ok. But far from every white "Shaman" (in a lack of better words) is practicing cultural appropriation in their practices.

Thank you.

Pegi Eyers link

5/4/2017 05:28:42 pm

Thank you for your comments Maja, such an interesting perspective! Yet this blog is a treatise on cultural studies in North America. "What is Cultural Appropriation?" does not provide discourse on related issues in Europe, nor does it claim to.

If you wish to learn about contemporary issues affecting indigenous people in Canada and the USA, you may find this blog informative.

Maja G.

5/5/2017 02:56:19 am

However, your article brings up European faiths. Most of the modean Neo--Pagan paths do originate in Europe, and they are going to drum and spirit journey and blot and whatever else they are up to in America as well.

The idea that for example a Norse or Baltic neo-shaman is automatically going to culturally appropriate the native Americans just because they live on the same continent is... interesting to say the least.

And, again, there are now native Americans who pass as white. Should they not have the right to be raised in the culture of their native parent/s due to their skin or eye color?

LMS

5/4/2017 02:00:30 pm

What is funny here is that Pegi appears to just be another white voice attempting to "speak" for indigenous peoples as if she is the authority. People commenting here are giving her an authority that she doesn't have in terms of being the expert of what is right and good for FN people. Better to let the elders and true keepers of the traditions speak and allow their voice to come forward rather than give so much credence to another white voice.

Enrique

5/4/2017 02:11:45 pm

Exactly!!!

Pegi Eyers link

5/4/2017 05:40:49 pm

Thank you for your comment LMS, yet I would point out your error. ANYONE who understands white supremacy, racism, the intersectional oppressions and cultural appropriation can speak out on these issues to educate other white people. In fact, "whiteness speaking back to whiteness" is what indigenous people are asking us to do, as social justice activists and within the framework of Allyship Theory. Your comment is known as a "derailment" from the real issue, which is dismantling the racism and white privilege that make cultural appropriation possible.

If your look through the "Mega-Resources A-Z" you will see that the split between First Nations authors and Settler authors is approximately 50/50. Lots from the Elders to delve into, that's for sure!!

Garland Headley link

5/4/2017 02:51:32 pm

Unfortunately this is the exact same thing experienced by Black shamans the world over...the larger issue being that the unbecome always lack a depth of understanding of our ways, why things are done in the ways in which they are done, and to that end we the ones who are legit have to fix what they have done! That is the most frustrating aspect. It gives a horrendous name to the practice which has always been pure!

Maia

5/4/2017 04:12:55 pm

Say these culture vultures learn their own traditions humbly. It might bring them into contact with (gasp!) poor people! A scandal, I say.

DANIEL HERNANDEZ

5/5/2017 02:51:36 am

i am syncretic and i don't give a f*** about 'cultural appropriation'. humans are born to mimic.
neither do i have any longings towards being 'authentic'. we are here to play!
each is in their process and often we get there by making mistakes and by copying. that is how we learn music and everything else. we are porous and absorbent creatures, and life is a but a dream.
hallelujah. i don't think any truly wise person would waste their energy on guilt tripping opportunistic egos who make false claims. we see what we need to see and often totally idiotic people are our best teachers.

i am not racist, i am, like many, lost. we are all lost indigenous people, and all of europe was forest until the Romans came in and started pagan genocides finished off by the witch hunts. i don't quite know what privilege is, but, just for one second putting aside the whole messed up system of money, i don't believe we any of us have a true freedom to really listen to the land and to know who we are in the big scheme of nature. we do lack and do need our precious elders from every tradition.

i believe this is a time to activate, to be curious, unite all surviving traditions, and search for similarities, not cripple ourselves with guilt and create a false separation. dabbling in things we don't really understand or appropriating practices from ancient traditions is a fucking awesome and necessary thing to do.

especially in the field of medicine. it is SO important to take back responsibility for self-healing. even some of these quacks hold fragments and keys of medicine traditions and help us on to the path of listening to the plant and animal teachers and of course our tuning into our own hard-wired frequencies that are clearly screaming for attention. if someone is doing it for reasons that don't align with my own, fine, i don't have to give them energy or judge them. especially i am allowed to judge for myself my own workings, and even to carry and own my own denials and projections. in terms of honouring and tracing lineages, it is important but I am not sure it is more important than practical magical(/medical) workings and experience. earth is the teacher, and mother earth isn't known for being PC

bring on the carnival! enjoy the masquerade!
xxx love

Satya MedicineBaba

5/10/2017 06:46:03 am

Tis a topic worthy of inner consideration without judgement that we may each feel into where we fit in the big jigsaw.

Shadowolf

11/14/2017 04:11:18 pm

We are all children of the same earth under the same sun.

Carson Reed link

1/12/2021 10:35:12 pm

Thanks for the postt

What is Cultural Appropriation?

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