Appropiation of Culture

This paper will explain the misappropriation of aboriginal culture. Language is the first part of misunderstanding of Native culture. English language misinterprets the language therefore the history has distorted translation.

Elders insist that to get the real meaning of traditional teachings, they must come from the language. Elders insist the original sounds of languages are the key to understand to understand the original and source of original native teachings.

To protect First Nations knowledge and heritage we must understand the original teaching of First Nations.

This misunderstanding of language is the basic reason why there is an appropriation of Native culture in a bias way. It is only the English perspective that explains Native teachings.

This misunderstanding of language provides the non-aboriginal people to use their own thinking and understanding of traditions and values. It is this reason why non first nations use traditions and culture as economic reasons and profit. For example, dream catchers are to represent traditional teachings but the mass production of dream catchers represents money interests. Another example is sacred sites like the Thunderbirds nest at the Narrows and the sacred rocks at the Whiteshell are used for tourism rather than original teaching of first nations.

The sacred and ceremonial objects like pipes, medicine bundles, and drums amongst other things, are put in museums as public objects rather than spiritual objects.

Traditional medicines like tobacco and birch tree (aspirin) are used as commodities. Therefore it misrepresents the true meaning of medicines. This is a classic example of stealing and fraud for business and profit. These medicines are patent and copyright to belong to the individual who rights it rather than the source coming from first nations.

In the Riding Mountain National Park area, a non-aboriginal person was doing research on traditional lands and use of medicine. This person gathered elders to provide traditional names of places of land and plants. This land and plants were sacred for ceremonial purposes. This person wrote a book and copyrighted it. This copyright gives the knowledge of traditional plants and land to the author rather than to the source which are first nations. This is another example of stealing knowledge and heritage through existing law that does not represent First Nations perspective. Also in Riding Mountain National Park, world renowned conversationalist Grey Owl, who was a white person, misrepresented traditional knowledge of the area. Another example is Sun Bear, and Wabung, who were white people who for many years claimed they were traditional people and stole traditional teaching for profit.

The book Seven Arrows (by Hyemeyohsts Storm, Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., New York, 1972), promoted the concept of the medicine wheel. The author also claims to have introduced the medicine wheel to the world, but is ridiculed by the Cheyenne. This person was not Cheyenne as he claimed but a white person who stole traditional teaching to write a book. There is a lot of argument about this topic online.

This appropriation of culture creates a problem for first nations because they lose their ownership of knowledge and heritage. Legislation, like copyrights and patents, discriminates first nations.

In conclusion First Nations history and teaching are done in the English language therefore misses the real meaning and origins of the teachings. The language is important, for example, my First Nations reserve is named after the chief who signed the treaty. The English word perspective is written as Keeseekoowenin. But the real meaning of the name is pronounced differently and written as “Giizhigoowining”, this mispronunciation misses the original meaning of the reserve. That is the reason why elders tell us to understand the source and origin of teaching, the original words of these teaching must be understood. Culture of first nations is totally misrepresented by using the English language.