I know a lot of people are saying, “shut up about headdresses already!” but it’s a great opportunity to talk to people about what else we’re dealing with right now.
I feel like I talked over the dude a little though hahahahaha.
watercolour on paper.
Copyright ⓒ 2012 by Saeyaya.
Hello,
Your art is nice, good lines and use of watercolours. However, it would be nice if you chose different themes. To give you some information on why this image is a problem, please read this article. You can also look at the Hall of Shame to see over 1200 similar images. This stereotypical image has become extremely popular (unoriginal) and many native peoples are trying hard to make it clear that this is not acceptable to us and why. It would be very much appreciated if you read the information I’ve provided, and respect our wishes on this.
My thanks.
rac
Pretty sure this is like my favorite picture in existence…
That’s a damn shame.
Now it’s in the Hall of Shame.
Real indigenous people sort of hang out here on the #native american tag. You might not have known that. In the future, when you want to tag something like this #native american, realise that we’re going to see it, and we’re going to comment. If you don’t like that, reconsider your tags.
I fixed those for you, btw.
Feast your eyes on clueless hipsters, unoriginal photographers and models, shitty tattoos and crappy ‘art’ based on racist stereotypes.
Or you know. Don’t. Because it’s fucking unreal.
1,132 notes on this and not one person has yet explained how utterly inappropriate, inaccurate, and offensive this idiotic picture is? Not to mention wholly unoriginal?
Hundreds of ignorant photographers slap on a headdress on ignorant models and click away and get reblogged over and over again by other ignorant settlers…I wonder if this could possibly in any way impact how non-natives think of us? Oh no, gosh that’s too much of a stretch, isn’t it?
Like expecting you people to do even the bare minimum of research before you pull this shit.
I’m sorr you have issuesThe product of hard work and glue for a week. Purple fingers forever.
no
nononononono
bad
The idiot who made this has issues. Racism and colonialism issues, with a side of ignorance and disrespect.
Hi. When you tagged this #native american, did you understand that native americans are actually on the internet, and that we check the #native american tag pretty often to get news and to share resources? Did you realise that we would see this picture? Di you realise that we’d look at the ‘warpaint’ on your cheeks, the cheesy dream-catcher, the crappy little headdress you’re holding…did you realise we’d see this and have thoughts about it?
Can you guess what thoughts we have about this?
i didn't mean to offend you i have done many reports on native appropriation myself and have talked to many people about it i am native american too and i only think when companies sell the quote image or name is it appropriation but when it is art then it is free will and respect toward the culture
I guess my problem with it being given a pass for being ‘art’ is that I come from a Nation with very close ties to the Cree. In fact, my community is extremely culturally Cree, and the particular headdress Rachel Dashae wears comes from the Plains cultures. I understand its meaning and the way in which it is treated with extreme reverence in our communities. I understand how it restricted and who can wear it. Rachel Dashae has not earned the right to wear it, anymore than any other woman not from our cultures. (in fact, very few women without our cultures have the right to wear it anyway)
To me, her native blood makes no differences in this, because it is disrespectful to take one of our restricted cultural symbols and use it, whether you are native, or non-native. We have not given permission for it to be used in this way.
Now on the other hand…I want to give you an example of someone who uses this headdress in their art, Kent Monkman: http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Meet_Kent_Monkmans_flamboyant_twospirited_alterego_Miss_Chief_Eagle_Testickle-8303.aspx
Kent Monkman is Cree and wears a headdress as part of their performance art as “Miss Chief Eagle Testickle”. Monkman mocks stereotypes of indigenous peoples and turns it around on settlers, creating paintings and performance art that highlight settlers in unauthentic and bizarre ways, much in the way we have been portrayed for centuries. Because of the way Monkman uses the headdress to highlight these stereotypes and comment on them, and because he comes from a Nation where this symbol is used, he is approaching it as an insider, with an insider’s right to comment using it.
Monkman’s approach is very different than the ‘fashionable’ wearing of a headdress by literally thousands of ‘artists’, most of whom are non-native, some of whom are a little native…none of whom actually have the right to do this.
I don’t think anyone can claim to respect our culture when we’ve said many times “we find this disrespectful”. I understand where you’re coming from on this, but I cannot discount the way in which our symbols have been outlawed, stolen, displayed, sold, taken out of context and profited from, all within a wider context of ongoing colonialism. It’s not the worst thing we’re facing, but it’s an important part of the attitude that justifies the continuation of the colonial mindset.
Anyway, my thoughts.
Edit: I notice you mention at one point that she wasn’t wearing a ‘real headdress’. What makes something a ‘real’ headdress is not just how it is made or who makes it, though these things matter…but who wears it. If, by definition, no headdress is ‘real’ unless worn by someone who has earned it, then heck, anyone could wear one no problem.
But that isn’t true. The symbol itself is being appropriated here, we’re not discussing a headdress that was snatched from the head of someone who’d earned it.
How this settler gets it wrong.
so…
here is the story behind this one sense i’m getting scorned on the internet for shooting a white woman in a native headdress.just because this image has become a trend hardly means in disrespectful, i have been to many pow-wow and have collected many hand crafted items. the culture continues to fascinate and impress me. even when i was 5 i was listening to WOJB radio connecting me with the sounds of the reservation i grew up by.
i have been enthused with the cultures work ethic and morals on life. i have collected books and studied the beliefs. i respect and hope to adopt this way of life into my own lifestyle.
i’m very aware that this culture may feel inclined to speak up about the booming “trend” of young woman wearing the traditional material, but there are positives to this….if you would like to look at this and scorn, i am sorry you are offended.
try to look at it as a positive, the trend is booming because of the beauty in hand craft, and if this is the case then more power to this culture for sticking to tradition. i admire and truly wanted to reflect that beauty in these photos.http://spinmearoundagain.tumblr.com/post/26852023589/featured-photo-of-the-day-so-here-is-the#notes
This settler woman is upset that I called her out on this photo, and indicated to her that the model and photographer should reconsider the wearing of a headdress. The quote above is her ‘explanation’ and complete lack of apology on the matter.
I initially linked her to an article I wrote on precisely why it is disrespectful to wear a headdress. There is no indication she read it, as she certainly does not address any of the points raised. To help her, and others like her, who are afraid of links, here is an excerpt on where the headdress comes from:
HEADDRESSES IN NATIVE CULTURES
For the most part, headdresses are restricted items. In particular, the headdress worn by most non-natives imitate those worn by various Plains nations. These headdresses are further restricted within the cultures to men who have done certain things to earn them. It is very rare for women in Plains cultures to wear these headdresses, and their ability to do so is again quite restricted.
So unless you are a native male from a Plains nation who has earned a headdress, or you have been given permission to wear one (sort of like being presented with an honorary degree), then you will have a very difficult time making a case for how wearing one is anything other than disrespectful, now that you know these things. If you choose to be disrespectful, please do not be surprised when people are offended… regardless of why you think you are entitled to do this.
Even if you have ‘native friends’ or are part native yourself, individual choices to “not be offended” do not trump our collective rights as peoples to define our symbols.
If you want to pretend that this is sexism and that it’s super feminist to buck ‘the native patriarchy’, please check your privilege and read this.
There are natives who don’t care that you are wearing a headdress…(although I doubt you’ll find many among the Plains nations from whence the okimâwastotin originates), but do not conflate that with being happy that settlers are ‘celebrating this trend’. They don’t care that you’re doing something ridiculous…but they aren’t cheering you on, either.
What else did she get wrong?
This woman seems to think that attending powwows entitles her to the headdress, or is proof that she ‘appreciates’ our ‘culture’.
We are over 600 nations throughout the US and Canada. Our cultures (plural) are incredibly diverse, and going to a powwow doesn’t entitle you to anything. If you actually think of Native American ‘culture’ as a monolithic thing you can appreciate via the generic ‘native-themed’ shit so in fashion right now, you are deluded. Scarily so.
Powwows are not traditional cultural events. They are modern events, open to ‘tourists’ like this, with a smattering of ‘tradition’ related solely to specific dances and regalia. Regalia by the way is what you call what we wear when we dance. Not costumes or cultural wear.
And you cannot claim on one side of your mouth to be respecting native americans while the other side of your mouth screams at them for telling you specifically why what you are doing is disrespectful.
I mean you can…but it’s ridiculous.
Educate yourself…before you wreck yourself
Here is another excerpt from my Open-Letter To Non-Natives in Headdresses that this woman didn’t bother to read:
TRY REAL CELEBRATION INSTEAD OF APPROPRIATION
It is okay to find our stuff beautiful, because it is. It is okay to admire our cultures. However I think it is reasonable to ask that if you admire a culture, you learn more about it. Particularly when the details are so much more fascinating than say, out-dated stereotypes of Pan-Indian culture.
You do not have to be an expert on our cultures to access aspects of them. If you aren’t sure about whether something is restricted or not, please ask someone who is from that culture. If people from within that culture tell you that what you are doing is disrespectful, dismissing their concerns because you just don’t agree, is not indicative of admiration.
If you really, really want to wear beaded moccasins or mukluks or buy beautiful native art, then please do! There are legitimate and unrestricted items crafted and sold by aboriginal peoples that we would be more than happy to see you with. Then all the nasty disrespectful stereotyping and denigration of restricted symbols can be avoided, while still allowing you to be decked out in beautiful native-created fashion.
I’d like to add Beyond Buckskin’s Boutique to these links as well. Please! Go on and wear our stuff, it is awesome! But when we ask you not to wear something, please respect that.
One last thing
MIYO-WÎCÊHTOWIN, LIVING TOGETHER IN HARMONY
It’s okay to make mistakes. Maybe you had no idea about any of this stuff. The classiest thing you can do is admit you didn’t know, and maybe even apologise if you find you were doing something disrespectful. A simple acknowledgement of the situation is pure gold, in my opinion. It diffuses tension and makes people feel that they have been heard, respected, and understood.
If you make this kind of acknowledgement conditional on people informing you of these things ‘nicely’ however, that is problematic. The fact is, this issue does get people very upset. It’s okay to get heated about it too on your end and maybe bad words fly back and forth. My hope is that once you cool down, you will accept that you are not being asked to do something unreasonable.
And now you know.
Don’t be like this woman. Don’t get it so wrong.
PS: for a look at how grossly unoriginal this trend is, take a look at my Hall of Shame, featuring nearly 1000 images of people who thought they were unique too. And if you’d like to actually learn more about the issues we face as peoples today, in an age where so many settlers want to pretend racism and colonialism is a thing of the past, please peruse my Aboriginal Issue Primers. You can show your appreciation and respect of our cultures by becoming more education on the subject.
