Recently the governor of Oklahoma’s
daughter posted a picture of herself on social media wearing a Native American
headdress. As a stand-alone event I
might have glossed right over this one.
Put in context of the Washington Redskins name controversy, the ruling
in California that on the 5th of May some children in some
California schools cannot wear an American flag on their clothing, and frankly,
the extent we, as a nation, seem to be willing to go to protect minority
cultural values, all combined to make me consider the question of cultural
ownership.
First,
the picture offered for everyone’s consideration, which was originally
published on Christina Fallin’s Instagram account[1]. Personally, I think it is a striking p I cannot speak for whether or not the model,
Governor Fallin’s daughter has any native American blood heritage, nor can I
speak to the ethnicity of the photographer or the authenticity of the apparel,
the tribe it represents, or its intended purpose of use. I would think that the answers to all of
those questions might bear on a full analysis of this situation.
hoto
that is flattering to the model, the photographer, and the apparel.
Second, a well written and thought
provoking response is linked here and I recommend everyone read it. It also includes the Governor’s daughter’s
apologetic response.
http://nativeappropriations.com/2014/03/dear-christina-fallin.html[2] It should be noted that I grew up in Oklahoma and I’m proud
of that fact. The people of Oklahoma
today all benefit from the good and bad parts of our state’s history.
When my
daughter was very young, we visited the Arizona memorial. Before going out to the memorial, all
visitors watch a film that documents the events of December 7th,
1941. At the film’s conclusion amidst a
hushed audience, my daughter loudly announced,
“That’s a sad story.” Likewise,
the events that unfolded starting in 1831 with the removal of the Choctaw nation
and culminating in 1838 with the removal of the Cherokee nation as a result of
the Indian Removal Act of 1830[3]
was a sad story. It received the name
Trail of Tears for a reason, and anyone that has studied the event punctuated
their reading with their own tears.
There is also absolutely nothing anyone can do to make amends to those
that were actually harmed by that event or the subsequent results of the Dawes
Act.
At what
point is one allowed to buy in to a culture?
I don’t recall a great disturbance over Senator Elizabeth Warren’s
unsupported claim to be Native American.
Oh, sure there was a dustup by her GOP opponent ostensibly attacking her
integrity over exploiting a minority status for personal gain. What was lacking was outrage over what was
either blatant exploitation or an incompetently defended position. Of course, then there is the push to
nationalized payday lending through the USPS, while simultaneously denying
tribes from operating their own payday lending businesses[4] -
cricket. Nor did those groups attack Ward Churchill, who, regardless of the
level of veracity, was actually exploiting the culture solely for personal
gain. Is their a certain level of
ethnicity or political affiliation that makes it okay? Is this really simply going to be yet another
political expedient and hypocrisy?
Elizabeth Warren and Ward Churchill were going after GOP targets. Christina Fallin’s mother is a
Republican. The optics certainly do not
look pure and principled.
Where are
the countless letters and denigrations of the vendors, and artisans that have
apparently sold their culture? Is it
really just the buyer’s responsibility?
Was I wrong to have returned to Oklahoma in order to take my children to
the Red Earth festival and expose them to a culture that I grew up around? What about the items I purchased from the
Native Americans while there? Should I not have purchased the items made by the
tribe members? Or just not let my daughter play with them?
What about when we travel? I went to many countries in the Navy and I
purchased souvenirs representative of those cultures for my family in each and
every location. Was it disrespectful to
the Australian aborigines to purchase boomerangs and didgeridoos because of
what happened to them subsequent to 1788?
If so, what part made is disrespectful, that it was a more modern boomerang
vice the classic hunting boomerang, that it was sold, that I purchased it, or
that my children actually used them?
Perhaps I just see it differently and I’m somewhat surprised that people
who have never met me can render a judgment of the content of my heart or
seemingly that of Christina Fallin.
I can only
imagine where this form of sanctimonious victimhood ends. Already, some American’s cannot wear the
nations flag on their clothing on the fifth of May. Cinco de Mayo historically has absolutely
nothing to do with the United States, so where is the insult. Wouldn’t it be more disrespectful if a child
wore say a French flag? A shirt that says Vive La France? That seems more “in
your face” than wearing an American flag on your shirt on May 5th.
I happen to be a heterosexual male,
is it insulting if I happen to wear a rainbow on my clothes or if I photograph
one and post it on my Facebook page? Does
that show a disregard for the LGBT organizations who have the rainbow as their
symbol of unity? Do I have to turn in all my Navy Air Wing patches that have
rainbow contrails representing the multitude of aircraft types and missions
that come together to form the air wing?
I personally think I earned those, the hard way.
Maybe all
of it is disrespectful. Perhaps the
vision of our nation’s forefathers of an idealized nation formed in a crucible
was counter-productive. Perhaps the 1908
play by Israel Zangwill, The Melting Pot,
had it all wrong. Our nation’s history
has its share of sad stories and failures to meet the ideal mark. Maybe we should be small, completely
homogenous groups that attack those who attempt to share other beautiful
cultures. Perhaps we should celebrate
attacking unifying symbols like burning the American flag, or supporting
“academic” exercises of having students write Jesus on a piece of paper and
throwing it to the ground and trampling it.
Certainly, that will provide a modicum of gratification to minority
groups.
As for me,
I’m going to hang on to those things and in my idealistic way continue to
search for good and beautiful things across all cultures. It may be a dated way to think, but perhaps
our circumstances dictate that none of us chose what ethnicity we were born
into or our socio-economic situation, but we are all faced with the same
problems. Just maybe, the answers will
come from what we can celebrate and accomplish together.
[1] AP,
. Daughter of Okla. governor defends headdress photo. 2014. Photograph.
Washington Post, NationalWeb. 8 Mar 2014.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/daughter-of-okla-governor-defends-headdress-photo/2014/03/07/154f3a5e-a627-11e3-b865-38b254d92063_story.html>.
[2] No
last name provided, Adrienne. Native Appropriations, "Dear Christina
Fallin." Last modified March 7, 2014. Accessed March 8, 2014.
http://nativeappropriations.com/2014/03/dear-christina-fallin.html.
[3] multiple
sources, . Wikipedia, "Trail of Tears." Last modified January 2014.
Accessed March 8, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears.
[4] Cathy,
Reisenwitz. Townhall.com, "Elizabeth Warren's Crusade to Nationalize
Payday Lending Squeezes Native American Tribes." Last modified March 10,
2014. Accessed March 11, 2014.
http://townhall.com/columnists/cathyreisenwitz/2014/03/10/elizabeth-warrens-crusade-to-nationalize-payday-lending-squeezes-native-american-tribes-n1806028.
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