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Appropriation vs Misappropriation<\/h2>\n
Cultural Appropriation is the taking of a cultures undefined \u201cthing\u201d and using it for yourself.\u00a0 The taking of the \u201cthing\u201d is not in and of itself a bad action.\u00a0 It\u2019s what you do with the \u201cthing\u201d or how you take the \u201cthing\u201d that matters.\u00a0 Which leads me to the term I prefer.<\/p>\n
Cultural Misappropriation is like the above appropriation, but it specifically refers to how the \u201cthing\u201d is treated.\u00a0 And that is badly.\u00a0 Cultural misappropriation is when you take a \u201cthing\u201d and abuse it, use it wrong, use it in a way that it harms the original owners, use it in a way that disrespects the original owners, or in some other bad way.<\/p>\n
The best kind of cultural appropriation will be to take the thing, understand the way the thing is meant to be used, why, what meaning it has attached to it \u2013 and then using it correctly and with respect.\u00a0 An example could be creating your own dreamcatcher at home, learning about dreamcatchers, what they mean, how they are used etc.<\/p>\n
Cultural misappropriation would then be mass making cheap dreamcatchers, not understanding them beyond the surface basics, selling them for cheap and undercutting the original owners who might be trying to sell the real deal.<\/p>\n
Appropriation would be taking karma and placing it into an eclectic religious belief system, leaving it mostly exactly as it was but attaching actions and behaviour from a different religion to the karmic\u00a0debt system.\u00a0 Misappropriation would be what we currently have in the western world regarding karma, ie. \u201cKarma is a bitch\u201d and \u201cKarma will get them\u201d and \u201cWhat goes around comes around\u201d.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t expect anyone to use these terms in the same way I do, I am merely explaining how I classify this sort thing.\u00a0 But also to explain why I don\u2019t see all appropriation as bad.<\/p>\n
Avoiding Appropriation can Lead to Misappropriation<\/h2>\n
An interesting thing I realised recently is that sometimes in an effort to avoid being the bad appropriator, you can accidentally end up being a bad misappropriator.\u00a0 This may seem like an odd idea, but bear with me.<\/p>\n
Last year I did a blog series called 180 Degrees of Separation<\/a>, and in that I discussed mostly the differences between the southern and northern hemisphere in Paganism and Witchcraft.\u00a0 They were also about how different one region can be from another, even within the same country or state.\u00a0 But in that series (and in other posts) I discussed the seasons<\/a> and how they don\u2019t really match most places in the world<\/a>, and Australian Paganism really makes this obvious<\/a>.\u00a0 I spoke about looking at the traditional Aboriginal seasons of my area for help in learning about the real seasons of my region \u2013 but, I made sure to add, I wouldn\u2019t do anything like steal the names of their seasons or anything.\u00a0 It was just for learning about my area.\u00a0 I am not an appropriator!<\/p>\n In doing this I would be looking at another cultures system, beliefs and more and partially incorporating that into my practice and system.\u00a0 Simultaneously I would be completely omitting that culture from my system, by omitting the names and words they used.\u00a0 Essentially I would be taking from them, but not even acknowledging that they are who I am taking from.\u00a0 Not the most harmful type of misappropriation, but still not a good thing to do.<\/p>\n Now you could say, well then don\u2019t take any of their information and you won\u2019t be appropriating or misappropriating. Free and clear you will be.\u00a0 But I can\u2019t really agree to that either.\u00a0 It\u2019s a thought, sure, but it\u2019s not a good one because it ignores the very obvious truth staring me in the face.\u00a0 I live on this land, my land their land.\u00a0 I can\u2019t take back what has physically been appropriated, I can\u2019t take back the fact the local Aboriginal tribe has all died out because of white people.\u00a0 I live here, benefit from the land we stole from them.\u00a0 Who am I to deny their culture to this land?<\/p>\n Because that is what I would be doing by ignoring their culture while I live here \u2013 I would be denying their culture to this land.\u00a0 They don\u2019t live here, they give nothing any more.\u00a0 But I am here and my religion is uniquely suited to being a placeholder for them, at least in some small way.<\/p>\n Is it not my responsibility to learn everything I can<\/a> and give it back to the land it came from? Is it not my job to learn about the local seasons and honour them, if not in their way, at least in a relevant way? Should I not remember their language and use it, when using their \u201cthings\u201d?\u00a0 Am I not beholden to the land around me, and the things on this land? Is it not my place to honour the land, as it was and as it is now?<\/p>\n To not appropriate is to disrespect this land and the people who once held it sacred.\u00a0 I should learn the local seasonal information and use the correct names and terms<\/a>.\u00a0 I should learn the names and words for the local land features (mountains<\/a>, lakes, streams etc).\u00a0 I should learn, where I can, about the spirits and entities attached to this land and its features, and not just from my religion but theirs too.\u00a0 I should learn where we slaughtered them by the hundreds, and how I might best honour them and when \u2013 in their way and mine.<\/p>\n I descend from several different Aboriginal tribes, but I was raised as a white Aussie, with white Aussie agnostic, new age, bogan culture.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t raised Aboriginal, I have no right to claim the culture unless I immerse myself in it properly.<\/p>\n But I cannot sit here and pretend I honour my land, honour the dead, by ignoring and bypassing the culture that came before.\u00a0 I cannot sit here and say it\u2019s okay that four seasons from a foreign land are forced upon this land, like it belongs.\u00a0 And to call our local landforms by their Aboriginal names (Aussie places often have Aboriginal words for names), without understanding those names, where they came from, what they mean and why they are\/were used \u2013 how is that in any way okay?<\/p>\n And I have to wonder what is more wrong: appropriating some things from the indigenous culture in order to preserve some of the things they believed and practiced, or allowing the culture of the conquerors to dominate and take over the land, while erasing the culture of the people they\/we slaughtered.<\/p>\n So I began this journey thinking that it was wrong to use anything of theirs, it was wrong to appropriate from Aboriginal culture.\u00a0 But now, I have to say different \u2013 it is wrong to not appropriate from them.\u00a0 And so, I will do the right thing, no matter how much everyone else tries to tell me it is wrong.<\/p>\n I will culturally appropriate.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As with so many things, I find myself falling into a centrist position when it comes to the issue of cultural appropriation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2764,"featured_media":1324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,46,39],"tags":[63,18,34,20,32,19,16,25,64],"class_list":["post-1323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-personal","category-religious-philosophy","tag-australian-paganism","tag-debates","tag-history","tag-opinion","tag-paganism","tag-personal","tag-politics","tag-religion","tag-southern-hemisphere"],"yoast_head":"\nSometimes We Need to Appropriate<\/h2>\n
To Culturally Appropriate or Not?<\/h2>\n