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Please stop using the term ''spirit animal''

#1
Leigha Offline
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-...rit-animal

I think the offense is mainly felt when ''spirit animal'' is used as a joke, or thrown around on social media. Do you feel that cultural appropriation is wrong/insensitive, when it comes to the use of certain phrases or words?

(Sorry, after starting this thread, noticed that this same article was posted earlier this year for discussion, here. But, interested in your thoughts to my question if you don't mind discussing it again.) ; )
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#2
Syne Offline
Your own offense is your personal problem, not your right to dictate what others do. People using the phrase keeps it alive. Without such usage, people would just look at you funny if you ever mentioned it, likely thinking you were some loon. But instead, the joking usage softens the blow and likely lends some acceptance to its serious usage.

Or people just need to pull the stick out of their ass.
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#3
C C Offline
(Sep 20, 2021 05:10 AM)Leigha Wrote: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-...rit-animal

I think the offense is mainly felt when ''spirit animal'' is used as a joke, or thrown around on social media. Do you feel that cultural  appropriation is wrong/insensitive, when it comes to the use of certain phrases or words?

(Sorry, after starting this thread, noticed that this same article was posted earlier this year for discussion, here. But, interested in your thoughts to my question if you don't mind discussing it again.) ; )

The New Age movement has considerably vandalized indigenous cultures (that's really what the article below seems primarily about). I recall a spat over an author's erroneous depiction of indigenous beliefs and rituals in a NewAge-ish fantasy novel whose story unfolded in a pre-Columbian North America.

I occasionally wonder if a few tribes have lost so much elder knowledge of their heritage over the decades that they're really just patch-working remnants together in a creative way, like Wiccan or neo-pagan groups.

But as a superficial, card-carrying by blood member of one tribe who at least receives affiliated literature, I've some confidence that many have held onto and outright documented their traditions. 

In another ripple, the Five Civilized Tribes somewhat became colonial-era hybrids that assimilated Christianity early on, but they've retained volumes of their ancestral customs and survival skills. They contribute to projects that everyone who lives within the counties that the Nations map over benefit from. Their arguably lower grievance level (barring Trail of Tears, etc) may not be over-simplistically due to just a heavy interracial and intercultural composition. 

S. J. Dahlman: Christian missionaries, notably from the Moravian Church, lived and worked among the Cherokee and were strong advocates for their rights. The first conversions to Christianity came before the American Revolution, and by the early 1800s a number of prominent leaders were devout Christians.

With respect to the Choctaw, one common claim is that they were among those already monotheistic, so that presumedly would have been an easy adaptation.
- - - - - 

White Americans need to stop assuming Native American culture belongs to them, too
https://qz.com/805704/columbus-day-cultu...-them-too/

James Arthur Ray was at the top of his game in 2009. He’d fashioned himself into a celebrity self-help guru, becoming a darling of the television talk show circuit with appearances on Oprah, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Larry King Live, and frequently Today..

[...] Indian country responded with fury, and Native media pundits pointed out all the ways Ray had gone wrong. He had violated all the protocols that Native spiritual leaders carefully adhere to, including grossly incorrect construction of the lodge, the use of improper herbs and other substances, and not allowing breaks to cool the lodge (known as “rounds”). Navajo journalist Valerie Taliman called it “a bastardized version of a sacred ceremony.” According to American Indian traditions, only spiritual leaders with many years of training are allowed to conduct sweat lodge ceremonies, and it is often a right that is inherited through family or other kinship lineages. James Ray had no such lineage or training. Many in Indian country voiced outrage that Ray received only a two-year sentence for the deaths caused by his charlatanism. And if all of that were not bad enough, Ray’s sweat lodge victims had paid obscene amounts of money to participate in a sacred ceremony that Indian people say should never involve money.

James Ray’s cultural appropriation was hardly an isolated incident.

[...] By the 1960s, young white Americans were transforming themselves into pseudo-Indians and showing up in droves on Indian reservations, looking for a way of life different from the consumer-oriented Christian conformity of their parents. Indian images—however imaginary and distorted—have so infiltrated US American consciousness that they appear in consumer products in everything from butter packaging to recreational vehicles. Business names like Navajo Express (trucking), Mohawk Industries (floor coverings), and Apache Software can be seen. From Rayna Green’s perspective, each era of US history exhibited some form of Indian play. The spiritual appropriation of the New Age movement is thus only one recent manifestation of it.

By the 1980s, the hippie counterculture had evolved into the New Age movement. Lisa Aldred wrote in 2000 that this was a consumerist movement, and that while not all New Agers flock to Native American spiritual practices, “a small percentage constructs their essential identity around Native American religion.” Aldred contended that the biggest business for Indigenous appropriation was in book publishing, where “plastic medicine” authors were big sellers. Among the more familiar of them are Carlos Castaneda, with his many best-selling books on the sorcerer Don Juan Matus; Lynn Andrews, who became known as the “Beverly Hills Shaman”; Mary Summer Rain, who purported to record the teachings and prophecies of a blind Indian medicine woman she calls No Eyes; and Brooke Medicine Eagle, with her generic version of “Native American wisdom” drawn from various specific traditions.

[...] Among New Agers’ defenses against charges of appropriating American Indian spirituality, Aldred also found claims that spirituality and truth cannot be owned, and that “spiritual knowledge belongs to all humans equally.” Aside from the contradiction that the consumerist aspect of the New Age movement inevitably entails claims to ownership via products and copyrights, it also implies the universality of “truth.” In this case, it is a claim that all spiritual knowledge held by Indigenous peoples is universally true across the great divide of cultural difference.

[...] For American Indians, however, spirituality is part of a broader cultural context where religion is not separate from culture. As part of the continuum of culture, an Indigenous nation’s spirituality is a reflection of the circumstances of life connected to specific places over vast expanses of time and in the context of particular worldviews and language. The origin stories, language, and worldviews of a people—and thus their spirituality—are what Native people call their “original instructions.” Those original instructions are oriented toward the survival of the people and the perpetuation of their cultures more than they are toward any promises of personal happiness or individual enlightenment (although it could be said that these are natural effects of strong, healthy cultures), and they are certainly not thought to be meant for everybody universally. In short, the frame of reference non-Native people bring to their practice of American Indian spirituality is wholly different—and arguably inconsistent with—those of Indian people.
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#4
Yazata Offline
(Sep 20, 2021 05:10 AM)Leigha Wrote: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-...rit-animal

I think the offense is mainly felt when ''spirit animal'' is used as a joke, or thrown around on social media. Do you feel that cultural  appropriation is wrong/insensitive, when it comes to the use of certain phrases or words?

I'm unmoved by accusations of "cultural appropriation". I eat Chinese one night and Indian the next with no guilt whatsoever.

It's hypocritical to accuse American or European people of appreciating and making use of things from other cultures, when those other cultures drive cars, fly in airplanes, employ modern medicine and turn on electric lights without being accused of committing one of these new-style political/moral crimes so in vogue in universities these days. Why isn't that cultural appropriation?

I'm inclined to think that the best ideas of all cultures are kind of in the common domain for anyone to use.
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#5
Leigha Offline
(Sep 20, 2021 06:01 PM)Yazata Wrote:
(Sep 20, 2021 05:10 AM)Leigha Wrote: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-...rit-animal

I think the offense is mainly felt when ''spirit animal'' is used as a joke, or thrown around on social media. Do you feel that cultural  appropriation is wrong/insensitive, when it comes to the use of certain phrases or words?

I'm unmoved by accusations of "cultural appropriation". I eat Chinese one night and Indian the next with no guilt whatsoever.

It's hypocritical to accuse American or European people of appreciating and making use of things from other cultures, when those other cultures drive cars, fly in airplanes, employ modern medicine and turn on electric lights without being accused of committing one of these new-style political/moral crimes so in vogue in universities these days. Why isn't that cultural appropriation?

I'm inclined to think that the best ideas of all cultures are kind of in the common domain for anyone to use.

From my understanding, cultural appropriation has more to do with ''stealing'' ideas, rituals, etc from other cultures and misusing them, or tagging them with an entirely different meaning, ignoring the origins. So going with that, merely dining at an Indian restaurant in the US isn't cultural appropriation. But, if I decided to start wearing a hijab as a fashion statement here in the US for example, it may offend Muslims in that the hijab is a cultural and/or religious symbol, not to be worn as an ''accessory.''

''Borrowing'' inventions, ethnic recipes, ideas from other cultures to incorporate (properly and not misusing) into your own, isn't cultural appropriation. This is how I understand it, anyway.

(Sep 20, 2021 05:09 PM)Syne Wrote: Your own offense is your personal problem, not your right to dictate what others do. People using the phrase keeps it alive. Without such usage, people would just look at you funny if you ever mentioned it, likely thinking you were some loon. But instead, the joking usage softens the blow and likely lends some acceptance to its serious usage.

Or people just need to pull the stick out of their ass.

Okay. But, it may be that not all cases of ''cultural appropriation'' are equal in offensiveness. I don't think we need to go around looking for ways to be offended, but I'd say my hijab example would definitely be offensive to a devout Muslim, but then again...many non-Christians wear “cross” necklaces as accessories, and no one bats an eye. *shrug*

What do you think about baseball and football teams that have been asked to change their names due to offending certain cultures?

(Sep 20, 2021 05:48 PM)C C Wrote:
(Sep 20, 2021 05:10 AM)Leigha Wrote: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-...rit-animal

I think the offense is mainly felt when ''spirit animal'' is used as a joke, or thrown around on social media. Do you feel that cultural  appropriation is wrong/insensitive, when it comes to the use of certain phrases or words?

(Sorry, after starting this thread, noticed that this same article was posted earlier this year for discussion, here. But, interested in your thoughts to my question if you don't mind discussing it again.) ; )

The New Age movement has considerably vandalized indigenous cultures (that's really what the article below seems primarily about). I recall a spat over an author's erroneous depiction of indigenous beliefs and rituals in a NewAge-ish fantasy novel whose story unfolded in a pre-Columbian North America.

I occasionally wonder if a few tribes have lost so much elder knowledge of their heritage over the decades that they're really just patch-working remnants together in a creative way, like Wiccan or neo-pagan groups.

But as a superficial, card-carrying by blood member of one tribe who at least receives affiliated literature, I've some confidence that many have held onto and outright documented their traditions. 

In another ripple, the Five Civilized Tribes somewhat became colonial-era hybrids that assimilated Christianity early on, but they've retained volumes of their ancestral customs and survival skills. They contribute to projects that everyone who lives within the counties that the Nations map over benefit from. Their arguably lower grievance level (barring Trail of Tears, etc) may not be over-simplistically due to just a heavy interracial and intercultural composition. 

S. J. Dahlman: Christian missionaries, notably from the Moravian Church, lived and worked among the Cherokee and were strong advocates for their rights. The first conversions to Christianity came before the American Revolution, and by the early 1800s a number of prominent leaders were devout Christians.

With respect to the Choctaw, one common claim is that they were among those already monotheistic, so that presumedly would have been an easy adaptation.
- - - - - 

White Americans need to stop assuming Native American culture belongs to them, too
https://qz.com/805704/columbus-day-cultu...-them-too/

James Arthur Ray was at the top of his game in 2009. He’d fashioned himself into a celebrity self-help guru, becoming a darling of the television talk show circuit with appearances on Oprah, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Larry King Live, and frequently Today..

[...] Indian country responded with fury, and Native media pundits pointed out all the ways Ray had gone wrong. He had violated all the protocols that Native spiritual leaders carefully adhere to, including grossly incorrect construction of the lodge, the use of improper herbs and other substances, and not allowing breaks to cool the lodge (known as “rounds”). Navajo journalist Valerie Taliman called it “a bastardized version of a sacred ceremony.” According to American Indian traditions, only spiritual leaders with many years of training are allowed to conduct sweat lodge ceremonies, and it is often a right that is inherited through family or other kinship lineages. James Ray had no such lineage or training. Many in Indian country voiced outrage that Ray received only a two-year sentence for the deaths caused by his charlatanism. And if all of that were not bad enough, Ray’s sweat lodge victims had paid obscene amounts of money to participate in a sacred ceremony that Indian people say should never involve money.

James Ray’s cultural appropriation was hardly an isolated incident.

[...] By the 1960s, young white Americans were transforming themselves into pseudo-Indians and showing up in droves on Indian reservations, looking for a way of life different from the consumer-oriented Christian conformity of their parents. Indian images—however imaginary and distorted—have so infiltrated US American consciousness that they appear in consumer products in everything from butter packaging to recreational vehicles. Business names like Navajo Express (trucking), Mohawk Industries (floor coverings), and Apache Software can be seen. From Rayna Green’s perspective, each era of US history exhibited some form of Indian play. The spiritual appropriation of the New Age movement is thus only one recent manifestation of it.

By the 1980s, the hippie counterculture had evolved into the New Age movement. Lisa Aldred wrote in 2000 that this was a consumerist movement, and that while not all New Agers flock to Native American spiritual practices, “a small percentage constructs their essential identity around Native American religion.” Aldred contended that the biggest business for Indigenous appropriation was in book publishing, where “plastic medicine” authors were big sellers. Among the more familiar of them are Carlos Castaneda, with his many best-selling books on the sorcerer Don Juan Matus; Lynn Andrews, who became known as the “Beverly Hills Shaman”; Mary Summer Rain, who purported to record the teachings and prophecies of a blind Indian medicine woman she calls No Eyes; and Brooke Medicine Eagle, with her generic version of “Native American wisdom” drawn from various specific traditions.

[...] Among New Agers’ defenses against charges of appropriating American Indian spirituality, Aldred also found claims that spirituality and truth cannot be owned, and that “spiritual knowledge belongs to all humans equally.” Aside from the contradiction that the consumerist aspect of the New Age movement inevitably entails claims to ownership via products and copyrights, it also implies the universality of “truth.” In this case, it is a claim that all spiritual knowledge held by Indigenous peoples is universally true across the great divide of cultural difference.

[...] For American Indians, however, spirituality is part of a broader cultural context where religion is not separate from culture. As part of the continuum of culture, an Indigenous nation’s spirituality is a reflection of the circumstances of life connected to specific places over vast expanses of time and in the context of particular worldviews and language. The origin stories, language, and worldviews of a people—and thus their spirituality—are what Native people call their “original instructions.” Those original instructions are oriented toward the survival of the people and the perpetuation of their cultures more than they are toward any promises of personal happiness or individual enlightenment (although it could be said that these are natural effects of strong, healthy cultures), and they are certainly not thought to be meant for everybody universally. In short, the frame of reference non-Native people bring to their practice of American Indian spirituality is wholly different—and arguably inconsistent with—those of Indian people.

That's interesting (and true) that ''spiritual knowledge belongs to all human beings.'' But, it's when that ''knowledge'' is spun into something else, for another use altogether - like using the term ''spirit animal'' as part of a whimsical social media quiz, and everyone gets a good laugh.
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#6
Syne Offline
(Sep 20, 2021 06:57 PM)Leigha Wrote: But, if I decided to start wearing a hijab as a fashion statement here in the US for example, it may offend Muslims in that the hijab is a cultural and/or religious symbol, not to be worn as an ''accessory.''

(Sep 20, 2021 05:09 PM)Syne Wrote: Your own offense is your personal problem, not your right to dictate what others do. People using the phrase keeps it alive. Without such usage, people would just look at you funny if you ever mentioned it, likely thinking you were some loon. But instead, the joking usage softens the blow and likely lends some acceptance to its serious usage.

Or people just need to pull the stick out of their ass.

Okay. But, it may be that not all cases of ''cultural appropriation'' are equal in offensiveness. I don't think we need to go around looking for ways to be offended, but I'd say my hijab example would definitely be offensive to a devout Muslim, but then again...many non-Christians wear “cross” necklaces as accessories, and no one bats an eye. *shrug*

What do you think about baseball and football teams that have been asked to change their names due to offending certain cultures?
The hijab being a primary way for Muslims to minimize women, I suspect they'd enjoy seeing free, Western women voluntarily donning them. The hijab is not like a priest's robes. It doesn't have any religious significance beyond its function of covering women. You also have atheists putting crucifixes in jars of urine. So if offense is the primary factor, there's a double-standard on who gets accused of misappropriating/misusing things. The same people whining about Native American culture didn't say boo about the misuse of Christian symbols.

Most Native Americans don't care about the Chiefs, Redskins, Indians, etc.. Like most leftist outrage, it's a small but vocal minority. But just like "spirit animal," we can erase all those, and generations from now, no one will remember them outside of a boring history class. They'll all become culturally insignificant.

Let's face it. All this talk of cultural appropriation is just a way to attack white people.
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#7
Leigha Offline
You could be right about the hijab and that might even be seen as ''cultural appreciation.'' But, culture appropriation, even if it is a ''small, vocal minority,'' can be offensive. I can see that.

It's something I've mainly run across on Twitter, to be honest...the outrage. (and often times, it's NOT an example of cultural appropriation that they're protesting)
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#8
Syne Offline
Twitter artificially amplifies the few, loud voices. "Cultural appropriation," as they define it, isn't offensive in any way. It's how cultures have always blended and absorbed each other, with old things taking on new uses and meanings.
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