On appropriation

If I were to describe the culture of the US using only one word, it would be diaspora, which basically means ‘displaced people.’ Most of the people living in this country are not indigenous to this terrain, and those that are indigenous have experienced various levels of displacement. Even after centuries of genocides and imperialism, many indigenous tribes have survived and continue to exist on their ancestral homelands, which has not by any means been easy. Indigenous people have struggled to reclaim their lands, rights, identities and cultures, as well as struggling to preserve language, beliefs, sacred ceremonies and symbols.

Perhaps it is because of indigenous peoples’ persistent survival that mainstream culture has shown a great interest in the traditional indigenous spirituality. And once a person learns the basics of an indigenous ‘religion’, it is no surprise that he or she would want to embrace, incorporate and practice it. Humans have not always been as disconnected from the earth and the spirit world as mainstream reality currently is, and many different indigenous ‘religions’ are centered on that connection. However, every tribe is different, and there is no way to ‘essentialize’ Native American spirituality; each indigenous nation in this country has had to evolve with and beside mainstream culture, and each nation has had its nuances in its evolution. The key idea here is that there is a long and complex history within each tribe that needs to be learned and respected, especially if one wants to extract knowledge on spiritual matters.

So what happens when someone values an indigenous spiritual practice, yet has no connection to the tribe or people that practice it? If you read about something in a book and readily identify with it, is it okay to embrace it and incorporate it into your own world view? If you hear someone speak of a traditional practice, is it all right to give it a new name and a personalized twist? While I would be the first to stand up and say that unity in spiritual development is a wonderful thing, I would say that incorporating one aspect of one culture into a non-traditional context is, simply put, cultural appropriation.

Let’s take shamanism for example, since ‘it’ has been practiced in various ways by many different people. Shamanism is inherently sacred knowledge and it is ‘owned’ by the people to whom it has been gifted or taught. If someone is disgusted with all the mental pollution of mainstream culture, a practice like shamanism could be the connection to the earth and spirit worlds that he or she is looking for. However, since shamanism is a traditional and bio-regionally (locally) specific indigenous practice, it is only reasonable that the local indigenous history, culture, traditions and peoples are consulted, involved and in charge of disseminating that information. To do otherwise is taking a very beautiful aspect of a culture and appropriating it, taking it out of context, and using it in a way that does not respect nor benefit the people. To align oneself with something like shamanism without also taking the responsibility of learning about the culture behind the practice is only perpetuating the effects of imperialism; this is the core of cultural theft and appropriation issues: the genocidal histories, treaty and other legal issues, land claim issues, education and health issues, etc. may not be as glamorous or as spiritual as indigenous shamanism, but these too are real aspects of these cultures that cannot be ignored, especially if it is the “sacred” parts—the gifts--of the culture that one wants to experience

I address this issue in response to the new Shamanism Club that was recently formed at Evergreen. I was appalled when I saw the advertisement for the club, since the icon on the sign was similar to a traditional medicine wheel, except for the colors and the improper orientation. I also questioned who it was that had the authority to share such knowledge and form a club based on an abstract idea of shamanism. Curious and quite concerned, I attended the group’s first meeting last Monday. Several people showed up, and it was clearly a gathering of people who were genuinely concerned with spiritual matters. However, since the spiritual is personal, and the personal is political, I felt that it was appropriate to address my concerns at the meeting before any actual ‘ceremony’ took place, even though such concerns diverted the focus of the entire meeting. We discussed the use of indigenous symbology, ‘ownership’ of indigenous knowledge, the ‘location’ of that knowledge, ‘hybrid’ and ‘universal’ or ‘essential’ shamanism, who may ‘rightfully’ share and teach sacred knowledge, legitimacy and authenticity (and lack thereof) and of course, cultural appropriation. I will not go into detail here, because I was raised to not say anything at all if I have nothing nice to say. The main point is that imperialism, colonization, and extraction of indigenous knowledge has never stopped and that we all have to be responsible for keeping injustice in check. To educate one another respectfully when we see problematic developments such as this new group does not need to be inflammatory; in fact, it can be a mutually beneficial learning experience.

That’s all I got right now, but maybe I’ll be in a bitchier, less democratic and more critically analyzing mood later. Peace.