{"id":52649,"date":"2016-11-14T14:04:10","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T20:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=52649"},"modified":"2016-11-14T14:04:10","modified_gmt":"2016-11-14T20:04:10","slug":"im-just-honoring-your-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2016\/11\/14\/im-just-honoring-your-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m Just Honoring Your Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Painted faces, feathers, moccasins, war cries, and dances; all symbols that are used to represent the Indigenous people through mascots, costumes, and cartoons.<\/span><\/p>\n

In American society, the Native American image has been played with for hundreds of years. Some attempt to disguise appropriation with appreciation, using the common argument, \u201cI\u2019m just honoring your culture.\u201d Many don\u2019t understand Native people’s concerns with their image being taken and corrupted, nor do they realize the effects it has on the people.<\/span><\/p>\n

A panel of Indigenous artists and educational leaders in the community came together to discuss the controversial use of the Native image. The panel was lead by Charlene Teters\u00a0alongside Norman Akers, Robert Warrior, and Joshua Falleaf; all of whom had different opinions on the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being an artist, Teters spoke about the power of a symbol in art and culture. When an important symbol is taken by another and stripped of its meaning and appreciation, the symbol becomes an object. Teters states a symbolic object not being seen as important can lead to the dehumanization of the people.\"chicagoblackhawkslogo-svg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, many in the Indigenous community, like Falleaf, do not find the use of these symbols offensive. Native people have been forced into invisibility throughout history. For some, the only conceptualization of the people is through the stereotyped Indian image commonly promoted in the media. In Falleaf\u2019s opinion, the image\u2019s use forces those to acknowledgement that Natives still exists.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indigenous Americans are all different people, from different tribes, and with different traditions and symbols. Falleaf states there is no way to put a single face to the community, proven by the inaccuracy and generalization of the attempted representations.<\/span><\/p>\n

The complexities of the issue will continue the\u00a0disagreement within the community, and Charlene stresses that the people are not monolithic. Despite the disputes, consent of the people comes before the claimed\u00a0integrity behind their representation. Akers concludes that permission for the use of these images and representation of the people should come from within the community.<\/span><\/p>\n