Cultural Appropriation

Steam you are absolutely right. Gifts are accepted, but they are not required. I wouldn't be standing there at the entrance not letting anyone through to ceremony until they ponied up.

Usually gifts do not show up either until after the fact and money is NEVER acceptable. Usually things such as tobacco, food (wild rice, maple syrup/maple sugar, wild rice, venison, etc) blankets, rattles, those are all fine. Maybe even because I invited the Jedi folks I was gifted robes as well. (Gotta get a Jedi connection in there)

But here is where it takes another interesting cultural turn. So that blanket I was given I turn around and gift to the elder who blessed the grounds as a thank you. I give the robes to my teacher Phortis as a way to honor him for the teachings he has shared with me (sorry to call you out Master). I give the food all to the drummers, the stone keepers and the rattles to the flute players.

I might keep some sugar/venison for the next time I host a sweat. Nothing that was given stays with me, it continues, that is the way of the community. Everyone shares in the bounty.

New age folks will never understand this cycle, it's beautiful and allows us all to be part of the community.

Jedi_Roz wrote: But here is where it takes another interesting cultural turn. So that blanket I was given I turn around and gift to the elder who blessed the grounds as a thank you. I give the robes to my teacher Phortis as a way to honor him for the teachings he has shared with me (sorry to call you out Master). I give the food all to the drummers, the stone keepers and the rattles to the flute players.

That's very interesting. I didn't know that. We (my friends and i, as individuals) tend to see the gifts as the livelihood of the priest/oracle/etc. because they typically don't have another form of income (doing this sort of thing full-time), and their entire "job" is to give back to the community already. A little similar, a little different.

I appreciate this new insight. Thank you.

Your welcome. This is how a traditional society takes care of each other. All of those goods get redistributed to folks who need them. For instance that elder has family that takes care of all his food needs but he could always use another good blanket, the drummers and flute players had to travel and while they were away they couldn't get food so I share the food with them, the rattles also help them keep time, the tobacco and such I give to those who have honored me. The robes as another form of honor to my teacher, my husband and I sponsored this event so we have enough and want to share our knowledge but the next time we attend something gifts will come back to us as well. It's all a circle. Some items are gifted many times and never stick around. At traditional wedding years ago I received a rattle that is probably 100 years old. It will continue its journey as a gift as long as it's around. When I do not need it any longer it will find a new home. Although none of this is set in stone either, if I know that elder needs food then I will also gift food back etc.

Pretty neat stuff huh? I'm always honored to be a part of traditional ways. It is a beautiful culture and in these ways everyone is taken care of as well. Obviously this model does not work in today's world. Someone is always greedy and that's why sacred rites have become such a hot topic.

It sounds like a close family, but the whole community is in on it.

Tangentially related shameless plug , wherein I discuss a gift economy in point 3 using these types of examples.

a big difference between our ways of thinking steamboat is that i understand that no amount of being offended and whining about how offended i am is ever going to make any difference to any reality outside of my own head

people are going to be stupid meanie meanie heads no matter what i say about it and quit frankly i happen to like the idea of general freedom more than the idea of making the stupid meanie meanie heads fall in line

when a special operations soldier sees some kid walking down the street in military fatigues reppin' his hood as a soldia or or cammo trunks and his tapout shirt and shaved head all MMA vogue, i cant think that he spends the rest of tue day whining to his buddies about the appropriation of his lifes work

it doesnt cheapen the symbol for a moron to misuse it, it cheapens the moron

of all the people talking in this thread, who is the one that asked about solutions?

and who is the one who likes to whine?

i dont have time to say anything else right now but there is a huge difference between saying "stop being a baby about every damn thing that comes along" and advocating blatant disrespect for traditions and symbols that shape peoples lives

i wouldnt get mad at a little kid who drew a picture of a buffallo even though the buffallo looked more like a lamp shade with bunny ears on it trying to climb into a space ship

and thats what most of these people are;

children

most - not all definitely but most - are basically little children in a spiritual sense, who are reaching out for something meaningful, and dont know any better way to do it than what theyve got

instead of bemoaning the injustice of it all and ridiculing their evil appropriating ways, why dont you just focus on how to offer an alternative?

dont get mad at them for doing it wrong, show them how to do it right

no one wants a cheap mimicry

most people who participate in these things are sincere in their desire for a better way to live and relate to the world

and the ones that arent?
who cares!
mostly they fall away in every field
and even when they dont im sorry to say life just sucks sometimes and people are entitled to the lives they make for themselves, its not anyones place to decide anyone elses karma

the ones who are serious will take seriously what they can find, and if starbucks shamans are all they can find then guess who theyre going to take serious?

OB1Shinobi wrote: i wouldnt get mad at a little kid who drew a picture of a buffallo even though the buffallo looked more like a lamp shade with bunny ears on it trying to climb into a space ship...the ones who are serious will take seriously what they can find, and if starbucks shamans are all they can find then guess who theyre going to take serious?

Welcome, once again, to the land of Gloriously Missing the Point.

lol thank you its nice to be here, i hope you werent too lonely waiting for me to show up!

neener neener neener you meanie meanie head!

I actually think this story has relevance to a lot of conversations in the temple right now but I thought I would share it here as I felt it still connected to what we have been talking to in this thread.

7 Lakota Values That Are Difficult to Adhere to Today
Christina Rose
10/3/14

Many tribal nations are suffering from outsiders who come in and appropriate spirituality and customs, and sometimes ceremony is sold by tribal members who should know better. According to Oglala Lakota Headsman and Spiritual Elder Floyd Looks for Buffalo Hand, there is a right way and a wrong way to learn from the Lakota, and he explains it here.

At 75 years old, Hand is looking hard at the past, present, and future of Lakota culture. So much has changed in the last century, and Hand asks all people to honor the traditions that kept ceremonies sacred for thousands of years.

Born in 1939, Hand began learning Lakota teachings in the 1940s, and have continued since. As a descendant of the original signers of the 1868 Laramie Treaty, he is a member of the Oglala Lakota Black Hills Treaty Council, where recently a General Counsel meeting was attended by Lakota language speakers. Hand said, “Everyone who came spoke the language, and everybody sang.”

The meeting, held at the Mother Butler Center in Rapid City, South Dakota, was attended by at least 70 people with at least one member of the tribal council, Jacqueline “Jackie” Siers, in attendance. The treaty council delegates looked at Oglala Lakota Resolutions written in 1971, 1978, and 1982, which stated that only Oglala Sioux Teton Lakota Oyate could participate in the Sundance or handle eagle feathers in accordance with federal law.

Members discussed passing another resolution that would prohibit non-Natives from running ceremonies or holding sacred objects such as eagle feathers and eagle bone whistles. “We have to be trained by a spiritual leader and earn the rights to carry a sacred pipe. That sacred pipe does not speak the language of English,” Hand said.

As the spokesman for the meeting, Hand reported that even some tribal members are not familiar with leading ceremonies, and some people are bringing peyote into the Sundance. “That’s two separate ways of praying, they are not done at the same time,” Hand said. He added that some Native people are “going ‘round making chiefs, allowing Christian non-Natives to be chiefs and carry a pipe.”

Members of tribes from Arizona, Montana and North Dakota have expressed similar concerns. Marvin Young Dog, Oglala Lakota who lives in Arizona and returned for the meeting, said, “We went to express our opinion, and at the meeting a lot of things came out. There are a lot of rumors and a lot of facts that white people are holding eagle feathers, and some are paying a lot of money for them. We are curious about what is going on,” he said.

“At that meeting, they all concluded that anyone who runs a ceremony, Sundance or sweat lodge has to do it in the language of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman,” Hand said.

Looking towards the future, Hand wonders who he will pass his knowledge, language, and history of the Lakota Oyate to. “It is really hard for any young man to dedicate themselves to our way of life because of this modern technology and that is what is hurting all our young people throughout North America.”

Hand said, even in immersion schools on the reservation, assimilation has affected the old ways of thinking, “and I don’t think I am wrong to say the European world does not have our custom values of life,” Hand said.

The Seven Lakota Values, given by the White Buffalo Calf Woman, have also suffered through the loss of language and today’s fast paced, technological lifestyle. The values include Praying, Respect, Caring and Compassion, Honesty and Truth, Generosity and Caring, Humility, and Wisdom.

“The White Buffalo Calf Woman did not bring the pipe in the English language, but she never taught to exclude anybody,” Hand said, adding that all people are welcome to come and pray, but only Lakota speakers can lead the ceremonies. For outsiders who come to the reservations, learning the values may be an alternative to practicing ceremonial traditions that take a lifetime to learn.

“There is a protocol,” Hand said. “Take your time. When I was chosen to be a buffalo chief, the first journey I made was nine years. The next journey was five years, the third was eight years, and the last journey was three [years]. I have taught non-Indians the simple language of praying. In my lifetime, I have witnessed two of them who walk with us and speak fluently, pray fluently, and respect themselves. They are giving people, they are helping people—they help the elders. They do everything that is required under the law of mystery.”

Non-Native veterans who come to pray with Hand receive instructions that take years to learn. “The third year we let them pray by themselves to find out who they are, where they are, and what their journey is about,” Hand said.

“These are the ways; but the New Age concept, they want to do everything one, two, three. It’s not like that when you follow the sacred way of the circle—it’s a lifetime. It is the supreme law of the circle of the universe brought by the three ladies: Mother Earth, Mother Moon, and Mother Sun,” Hand said.

“Our purpose is to educate, not to offend. I encourage all non-Indians to do their family tree. Who is their mother and father, and who was their mother and father? Find out where you come [from] and when you do that, you are going to feel a lot better about yourself. You’re going to be able to say, ‘I am a human being. I am part of the earth and the sun, and the water and the air, the four-legged and the winged,’ and you can say that because you know who you are,” Hand said. “If you are of Irish descent, or German, or Hispanic, learn the language and culture instead of coming to the Oglala Sioux and desecrating what is sacred to us. People are passing it around and charging money to run ceremonies—charging individuals $1,000 to dance. This is happening!” he said.

“There are no mistakes. Everything is equal on the journey, and what will happen in your path will happen. You will learn from it,” Hand said. “I cherish the language that was given to me from the spirit world and I will always stand by it. In your lifetime, you must give yourself to the people and if you look in any direction, at each color of skin, if you put all those colors into one, as my grandfather said, that is the color of blood. Black, red, yellow, white, we are all one blood; and we are all related.”

Read more at

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/10/03/7-lakota-values-are-difficult-adhere-today-157168