Cultural Appropriation workshop notes
For folks not on fuuse, I'll post this here too:
So, folks who have been on Fuuse a while know that Cultural Appropriation is, like, one of my topics.
So I just found some notes I took at a Cultural Appropriation workshop a few years ago. I realize it's not the greatest resource, but there's still a lot that seems helpful, so I'm going to write them out here.
Is It Cultural Appropriation? What's Your Stand?
(I think for all of these, the implication is that it is about use by white people)
~Burning white sage and incense?
~Soul, Jazz, Blues Music?
~black gospel songs?
~ying-yangs, ohm signs -wearing/tatoos?
~holding a jewish sader?
~holding a sweat lodge?
~white people leading vision quests
~kwanza
~kimonos and seri's
~traditional Asian and African clothing
~Dia de las mortes
~chopsticks in hair
~celtic tattoos
some FYIs
~Kwanza was created entirely by African Americans to incorporate various African cultures
~when wearing clothing, remember its meaning
~geisha: Americans think it's a prostitute but they are not.
~Egypt onc: people don't know what it means. Muslims mask the indigenous people.
~sweat lodges and pipe ceremonies: doing it when invited vs. taking inherent power dynamic of domination.
$ and Power
~selling art by First Nation People: who sets the value?
~US and Finland: no power dynamic, so is it appropriation to use the sauna.
~natural sharing vs. misuse of power
~10,000 Villages: Meninites try to support other cultures by selling products made by them. It is a passed on craft and people here considere it just another thing to put on their walls.
UU Worship
~Hymn #154 "No More Auction Block For Me"
~Thelemic
~"as above so below" mixed with Native American ideas of the medicine wheel, spirit animals (Seminal and Chactaw)
~"watchtower" and "mother earth, father sky" are neopaegan. Also calling the corners. You can appreciate elements of nature without using traditions we don't understand.
~it is in our principles to appropriate. The question is can you explain the context of it.
~Other religions are not evangelical and only share when (?)
~Hymn #121 "We'll Build A Land" you can't build a land without taking land and you can't free people from their own land. A poorly chosen metaphore. Writeen by Carol McDaid.
~Hermeneutics is the understanding that everybody has a unique point of view and you can consider different contexts.
~some of us didn't know oil is from annointing.
~CONTEXT IS ESSENTIAL
~water communion belongs to us.
~"Between the Lines" book clarifies our hymnal
~#534 "Gloria" Kyrie eleison is from Catholic mass. Baruchata Adanai is Jewish. Om is Tebeten and Hindu and Buddhist. Nam myo-ho reng kyo is from Japanese traditions.
I'll add on the end here that from previous threads on Fuuse, and other recent experiences I have come to the conclusion that (at least) personal education and beliefs are not appropriation. Cultural Appropriation has to do with practices, with social interactions, and with sharing/group worship.
So, folks who have been on Fuuse a while know that Cultural Appropriation is, like, one of my topics.
So I just found some notes I took at a Cultural Appropriation workshop a few years ago. I realize it's not the greatest resource, but there's still a lot that seems helpful, so I'm going to write them out here.
Is It Cultural Appropriation? What's Your Stand?
(I think for all of these, the implication is that it is about use by white people)
~Burning white sage and incense?
~Soul, Jazz, Blues Music?
~black gospel songs?
~ying-yangs, ohm signs -wearing/tatoos?
~holding a jewish sader?
~holding a sweat lodge?
~white people leading vision quests
~kwanza
~kimonos and seri's
~traditional Asian and African clothing
~Dia de las mortes
~chopsticks in hair
~celtic tattoos
some FYIs
~Kwanza was created entirely by African Americans to incorporate various African cultures
~when wearing clothing, remember its meaning
~geisha: Americans think it's a prostitute but they are not.
~Egypt onc: people don't know what it means. Muslims mask the indigenous people.
~sweat lodges and pipe ceremonies: doing it when invited vs. taking inherent power dynamic of domination.
$ and Power
~selling art by First Nation People: who sets the value?
~US and Finland: no power dynamic, so is it appropriation to use the sauna.
~natural sharing vs. misuse of power
~10,000 Villages: Meninites try to support other cultures by selling products made by them. It is a passed on craft and people here considere it just another thing to put on their walls.
UU Worship
~Hymn #154 "No More Auction Block For Me"
~Thelemic
~"as above so below" mixed with Native American ideas of the medicine wheel, spirit animals (Seminal and Chactaw)
~"watchtower" and "mother earth, father sky" are neopaegan. Also calling the corners. You can appreciate elements of nature without using traditions we don't understand.
~it is in our principles to appropriate. The question is can you explain the context of it.
~Other religions are not evangelical and only share when (?)
~Hymn #121 "We'll Build A Land" you can't build a land without taking land and you can't free people from their own land. A poorly chosen metaphore. Writeen by Carol McDaid.
~Hermeneutics is the understanding that everybody has a unique point of view and you can consider different contexts.
~some of us didn't know oil is from annointing.
~CONTEXT IS ESSENTIAL
~water communion belongs to us.
~"Between the Lines" book clarifies our hymnal
~#534 "Gloria" Kyrie eleison is from Catholic mass. Baruchata Adanai is Jewish. Om is Tebeten and Hindu and Buddhist. Nam myo-ho reng kyo is from Japanese traditions.
I'll add on the end here that from previous threads on Fuuse, and other recent experiences I have come to the conclusion that (at least) personal education and beliefs are not appropriation. Cultural Appropriation has to do with practices, with social interactions, and with sharing/group worship.