Hello,
I'd like to humbly offer my thoughts here. I will speak from observation and experience, and in so doing I do not claim to represent NAFPS. Nor does every person concerned about fighting cultural appropriation and offensive stereotypes represent NAFPS. People are fighting stereotypes and colonialism on many levels. But people who wants to use this forum as a research tool may post and people will investigate the figure if it seems necessary. The mods would have delete the thread if it broke the rules.
I want to speak a little about the SW WA/NW OR area for context on this thread. There are many people in that region (the area surrounding the mouth of the River), and all over this PNW really, who perpetuate new-agey white plastic culture and call it Indian. I met various folks growing up around the region, and often white people would volunteer to bring up they are supposedly Chinook, Cherokee, Yaqui, etc, but then they talk based on stereotypes and misinformation. These people need very little to provoke them to preaching new age fake NDN bs. A typical exchange would be like this:
White person: I like your hair/skin/whatever, what are you?
Response: I might begin to tell them about my parent's history, etc, and before I can finish a darn sentence, its:
White person *taking on a preachy, noble-savage tone*: "Well I'm part Cherokee/Chinook/Mayan whatever…" and before I can roll my eyes these clowns are talking about how they have a sweatlodge in their backyard, mentioning Carlos Castaneda, or how they sell thier 'traditional' dreamcatchers. Or someone would talk about 'spirit animals' and how the land is tuned to the stars. I heard it all, sometimes it would just be younger hippie or rednecky types without a clue, sometimes it would be middle-aged new-agey yuppies (without a clue) who I'd have the misfortune of working with or encountering. At one job I had to put with up with some feminist lesbian, white women clients, and heard quite a bit of this mumbo jumbo.There is like a strong insecurity to the spiritual lives of new-agers, which seems to be the reason that they always need volunteer their spiritual beliefs and affiliation, practices, etc. None of it is personal, rather they approach things evangelically (which is why they perpetuate bs so efficiently). This is what happens with ethnocentrism as the basis of their thinking.
Well, it would be one thing to smile and nod and just walk away. Afterall, these are just clueless clowns. But upon seeing how widely the garbage is getting perpetuated, I now educate them what they are preaching is stereotypical bs. No joke, that stuff like the Don Juan teachings, "red road" stereotypes and appropriating Lakota terms, etc, are spewed condescendingly out of white mouths, especially the mouths of feminist white witches, as being indigenous ways, and even by 'educated' whites with phd's who think they know all about stereotypes and are so condesendingly pc and 'culturally knowledgeable'. All this stuff gets mixed up with an offensive misunderstanding of Asian/Eastern traditions too. It's all rather annoying.
These people do not realize they perpetuate stereotypes and lies with their misinformation. They don't even care, because they don't understand/feel the cultural and social damages that are caused by stereotypes and misrepresentation. They don't see colonialism as a cultural or social reality. Being typical arrogant white people, they have no true investment in that aspect because they think white (knowitalls who dont listen), look white, and are well-trained colonialists.
Well, alot of these clowns would surely love to stumble upon Mr. Swadwa! Afterall, he will reinforce their ideas about stereotypical new age stuff being traditional indigenous ways, and even put the stamp of Chinook on it. He will not educate them, but serve and aid them, selling them crystal talismans and telling them 'Chakra healing' is an NDN practice, and mixing it all up as being similar to his Norse pagan stuff. His writing preaches that one need only 'feel Indian' to have a right to start playing Indian. Doing all of this while claiming to be an Elder of a tribe that does not need him misrepresenting them.
And maybe some white people (who are supposedly Cherokee, Chinook, Mayan, or whatever), wouldn't see how terribly racist this all is, but the fact remains that it is undeniably promoting stereotypes, misrepresentation, and it is stomping on those ancestors whose traditions Mr. Swadwa claims to be representing.
The people here who conduct research post info because these colonialistic new age figures are perpetuating offensive, racist, stereotypes and cultural misrepresentation. I don't understand any good reason how someone could defend these ego-worshipping, self-appointed 'spiritual leaders'. They only do damage, not help anyone.
Rather than threatening NAFPS forum with lawsuits, I believe the more respectful and decent thing would be if Mr. Swadwa just stop the silly shaman stuff, or at the very least only stick to the silly Norse shaman stuff and misrepresenting white people's traditions. Most of all, maybe he'd find some inner healing if he just sat down by the River and cleared his mind of all that stuff he has crammed in his head from anthropological books and new age sources.
Peace.
