Pop Cultural Fashion Statement: Native American Culture

This video is about a man named Morgan Spurlock, who spent 30 days on a Native American reservation. The reservation that Spurlock lived on was the biggest Indian reservation called the Navajo Indian reservation. Just before Spurlock got to the reservation his thoughts of how the Navajo people looked and lived were similar to mine. Looking back on all of the images and how the Native American culture is showcased on TV, kind of planted this image in our minds. We both thought that Native Americans wore these huge headpieces made of large colorful feathers, beads, and face paint. The people living in Navajo did not look like that unless preforming some type of ritual.

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

The American Psychological Association had found that using representation of the mascots “undermines the educational experiences of members of all communities- especially those who have had little or no contact with Indigenous peoples” (APA). When people view a culture being paraded as a mascot, it can become their singular view and knowledge on the ethnic group. There is nothing to stop the formulation of what students know about Native Americans when there are few natives around. With the allowance of mascots to represent Native American in a way as they do now, wearing headdresses or war paint and using “peace pipes” has become a trend and something “cool” to do. Headdresses are traditionally a part of the Plains tribes and are considered sacred. Only revered warriors or significant people could wear war bonnets or headdresses. Feathers, especially eagle feathers, are very sacred to Native Americans. These appropriations continue to be a negative and demeaning aspect of using Native Americans as

The identity of the modern Native American is not found in simple language or description. Neither does a badge or collection of eagle feathers determine Native American identity. As Alexie demonstrates through the character of Dr. Mather and Wilson, pony-tails and store bought drums are mere materialistic symbols and stereotypes: they have no real value

Throughout the semester, we have looked at the long history of non-natives playing Indian and white people performing Indian identity for their own benefit. This is evident in Deloria’s discussion of Morgan and his followers dressing up in Indian costumes, and Barbour’s discussion of Marvel appropriating Indianness to emphasize the heroic masculinity of Captain America. I decided I wanted to learn more about pow wows because they are a performance by natives and for natives to celebrate their culture and customs. Pow wows are a time when Native identity and culture can truly be celebrated and not be tinged with misrepresentation or appropriation. In order to do this, I examined a 1995 documentary called Wacipi – Pow Wow. I thought that the

Even the name “Indian,” as used in Kewaskum, is inaccurate. While not negative, it is the result of Christopher Columbus’ lack of knowledge of geography. Native Americans are not Indians - they are native to this country, and to be called another ethnicity just because subsequent generations could not bother to fix this mistake is somewhat insulting. The use of a headdress as often seen on mascots, notably used throughout the Kewaskum School District, is usually largely inaccurate as well. It is often placed where it is not historically or culturally accurate because it is “recognizable,” but Natives are not tokens that are all the same, and their individual customs should be respected. Chief Kewaskum did not wear a full headdress and neither did his tribe of the Potawatomi, so to put one in the Indians logo when it is inaccurate is cheap and

Native Americans value and cherish their culture. It is something that has been learned and passed down from generation to generation in the Native American community. Using Native American mascots creates a misinterpretation of the Native American culture. Many Native American tribes are offended by the use of Native American mascots because, “The symbols connected with NA mascots (tomahawks, war paint, leather loin cloths, and feathered head dress) represent a collective image of Native Americans”, that, “inaccurately portrays the diverse natures of ritual, ceremony, and culture of the many and varied NA tribes” (Arthur 2012). These symbols are important to the Native American culture, and by using them to represent a mascot for a school, college, or some other association is disrespectful to the tribe and culture. Cummings (2008) believes many people think they have a right to use Native Americans as mascots because, “To some, American Indian mascots represent strength, power, reverence, and dignity”. People need to look at the perspective

Here is a video comparing what Native American fashion is vs. how it should be- Navajo Style

The Asian Indian-American population increases dramatically every year. In 2010, a total number of 2,843,391 Asian Indian-American live in the United States. According to The U.S. Census Bureau, the Asian Indian-American population has grown to 130%, which is 10 times of the national average of 3% within 1990 to 2000. Particularly in 2010, Maryland’s Asian Indians population is 25.2%. They are the largest group among the Asian American population in Maryland. The ever-increasing migration of Asian Indian-American in the United States, especially in Maryland, increases the demand for Indian traditional clothing, especially among the Indian women.

Today, the public would see that as a derogatory and disrespectful action, but there are still some of those who would inherit Native American symbols, such as clothing, jewelry, trinkets, and even tools such as theater masks, into their own culture, all in an attempt to act more “Native American.” Dressing up and paint and feathers, some people do this to “honor” Native Americans from a long time ago. These actions can be insulting and demeaning, using symbols that mean so much to a people and are so important to them, only to be used as a costume to wear during a sporting event or a holiday such as Halloween. These types of depictions are still rampant in popular culture today. Native Americans are dehumanized, used as tools and representations of the wilderness, violence, and the untamed land, all reducing Native Americans to

The Native Americans seldom receive recognition when aspects of their culture are appropriated by famous celebrities and well-known brands. This essay will examine the ways in which Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams and Spur Steak Ranches appropriate the Native American culture, as well as explore their intentions to do so. The term cultural appropriation is defined to be “the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture.” Cultural appropriation harms the appropriated community, and wrongly allows one to benefit material detriment from others such as benefiting financially. Jonathan Hart states in his book Translating and Resisting Empire: Cultural Appropriation and Postcolonial Studies that the debate over

In a campaign called “My culture is not a costume”, people from different ethnicities denunciate the use of their traditional clothing as a Halloween costume. For example, aboriginal complained that non-aboriginal wore loincloth and feathers. First Nation wears those kinds of outfits during Pow Wow. Pow Wow is an important celebration for Natives and understanding their origin is important.

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

Pop culture has had a huge impact regarding this problem, whether it be in the music industry or fashion industry. Many ‘fashion’ designers find it okay to take designs from indigenous culture. Examples, are Junya Watanabe, a Japanese, designer created a collection that included African prints, hair styles, and Maasai beadwork (Gant). Maasai beadwork signifies different meanings to the African culture, having it displayed in a fashion show degrades the symbolic meaning it holds. Dsquared2, owned by two white men, were ‘inspired’ by Native American culture

Cultural appropriation is when someone adopts aspects of a culture that’s not their own. That's only the icing on the cake. It’s particularly a power dynamic in which members of a dominant culture take elements from a culture of people who have been systematically oppressed by that dominant group. Cultural appropriation is not the same as cultural appreciation, (when people share mutually with each other, because cultural exchange lacks that systemic power dynamic). When it comes to wearing fashion based on other cultures, it’s hard to know if you’re being tacky, cool, or offensive. Practicing appropriating culture let’s people show love for the culture,