Cultural appropriation
Apr. 21st, 2009 08:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
julietIt occurred to me after ConFest last weekend that I didn't see anywhere (on the tickets, on the programme thingy, anywhere else) any acknowledgement to the traditional owners of the land. This struck me (although I confess to not noticing it at the time), because that acknowledgement is something I have seen at most official/governmental establishments (including museums and suchlike), and also something I saw at Exodus, the other festival I've been to in Australia (psytrancery). There wasn't (as, again, there was at Exodus) as far as I could see (and I did look for this) any explicit involvement of the traditional owners. Given the hippy/alternative/etc background of ConFest, the omission surprises (and saddens) me.
This also links to my discomfort with what felt like not just cultural appropriation, but fairly incompetent cultural appropriation, at one of the workshops I went to[0]. Lots of banging on about 'traditional medicine wheels' and 'tribes' and 'Father Sun' and a whole lot of similar stuff. Now, I am aware that making assumptions about people's cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds based on appearance is very dodgy, so yes, it's possible that the two leaders of the workshop were screwing around with their own cultural background. They didn't make any claim to that, though, and if that was the case, I still think they were doing it in a very dubious fashion. (It *sounded* very like random mix-&-match wet liberal hippy nonsense, with which I am depressingly familiar, and it didn't match up with anything I have learnt about the way the culture of the Indigneous peoples here works.)
Unfortunately, of course, this isn't that unusual; liberal/alternative/etc != aware of this shit. And when chatting to a couple of people involved with the organising co-op (about totally unrelated matters), I was struck by what seemed like a fairly aggressive attitude, and not all that much self- or other-awareness :-/ (Some of which I tried to challenge a bit, but, hm. With I think maybe limited success, and I'm not good at pushing, especially given the social context of the conversation.)
[0] I should note that I did actually get some useful stuff from the workshops; but I was uncomfortable with the way they packaged it up.
This also links to my discomfort with what felt like not just cultural appropriation, but fairly incompetent cultural appropriation, at one of the workshops I went to[0]. Lots of banging on about 'traditional medicine wheels' and 'tribes' and 'Father Sun' and a whole lot of similar stuff. Now, I am aware that making assumptions about people's cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds based on appearance is very dodgy, so yes, it's possible that the two leaders of the workshop were screwing around with their own cultural background. They didn't make any claim to that, though, and if that was the case, I still think they were doing it in a very dubious fashion. (It *sounded* very like random mix-&-match wet liberal hippy nonsense, with which I am depressingly familiar, and it didn't match up with anything I have learnt about the way the culture of the Indigneous peoples here works.)
Unfortunately, of course, this isn't that unusual; liberal/alternative/etc != aware of this shit. And when chatting to a couple of people involved with the organising co-op (about totally unrelated matters), I was struck by what seemed like a fairly aggressive attitude, and not all that much self- or other-awareness :-/ (Some of which I tried to challenge a bit, but, hm. With I think maybe limited success, and I'm not good at pushing, especially given the social context of the conversation.)
[0] I should note that I did actually get some useful stuff from the workshops; but I was uncomfortable with the way they packaged it up.
Aussie cultural appropriation
Date: 2009-04-23 02:52 am (UTC)Acknowledgement of the traditional owners is very rare in my experience outside government/university circles.
And while I don't hang out much with hippies, I do get a very strong sense of, as you say, mix-&-match wet liberal hippy nonsense (I must remember that!). I'm shocked at how rarely even the fact that Australia is in the southern hemisphere is considered, and that for example traditional paganism and feng shui are intended for the northern hemisphere. Let alone the Australian landscape and biology, and you can just forget about Indigenous peoples.
I think there's a cultural embarrassment both about their existence and the state of that existence, and I think some of the stuff taken from NorAm Natives is taken precisely because the white Australians involved are completely oblivious to the fact that in fact the situations are quite comparable - they think NorAm Natives are magical fairytale humans deeply in touch with the earth blah blah blah. And I saw some of the same treatment of Indigenous Australian peoples when I lived in NorAm, and I found it fascinating how other continents' indigeneous legacy is more attractive, because no-one can call you on the bullshit I guess.
Re: Aussie cultural appropriation
Date: 2009-04-23 09:49 am (UTC)Acknowledgement of the traditional owners is very rare in my experience outside government/university circles.
Yeah; I'm aware that my experience is probably weighted by the fact that I've spent more time in that sort of establishment (cos I've been doing the touristy thing!) than average. Although as I say, I did see it at Exodus, implying that at least *some* sorts of hippy types are aware of these things.
Interestingly, the pagan types I was talking to at ConFest mentioned the fact that they move Beltane & Samhain to the appropriate time of the year for the S hemisphere (thus causing much confusion, until I just asked, on my part as I tried to work out whether I'd got my terminology confused or whether they'd done the Sensible Thing & moved them). I don't know whether this is normal/standard.
Hm, now you mention it, what the workshop ppl were on about sounds much more like it arose from NorAm culture (based on my extremely poor knowledge of that). Except that they were also trying to add in bits that were definitely Aussie (refs to goannas, the fact that the sun is north not south, etc etc). So, um, yeah. This is reinforcing my impression, basically!
[nods] re your point about pinching legacies from other places - that's interesting, thank you!
(I should note that to at least some extent I probably *am* a wet liberal hippy type; but I try and be up-front and responsible about it :-) )
Re: Aussie cultural appropriation
Date: 2009-04-23 10:00 am (UTC)Re: Aussie cultural appropriation
Date: 2009-04-23 10:07 am (UTC)Re: Aussie cultural appropriation
Date: 2009-04-25 03:48 am (UTC)<headdesk> Argh, fail on the goannas tacked on to more NorAm cultural appropriation. Because all indigeneous cultures are really The Same only modified for the local environment, and you can probably take any NorAm traditional story and search and replace the "bear" and "wolf" to "goanna" and "dingo" and get a genuine Australian story! <headdesk>
I have slight hippy tendencies myself, and yes, the thing is to be responsible and aware and, well, polite to the human beings whose culture you're so fascinated by.