Just trying to clear things up!

[Durare]

Hi all,

I know I'm new to all this.  It is appaling that people out there would misrepresent themselves in order to profit on other people's needs and dreams. And not olny misrepresent themselves but Natives as well.

What I don't understand is why are they (the frauds) not formally discredited by tribal council, especially those tribes who the fraud is claiming to be part of? I found this website on a whim, and very lucky that I did, but it seems to be quite an extensive problem, enough to be tackled head on. I'm not saying that this website isn't doing its job, and I'm so thankful that its here!

I would like everyone to know that I'm sincere in my question and hopefully I haven't stuck my foot in where it doesn't belong.

It just seems that a lot of people don't know about this issue and that it should be brought out into the light. (Hence this website  )

Sincerely,

Durare

[CuAnnan]

From my experience, Durare, the people who are passing themselves off as cultures they don't belong to don't care whether or not the people from those cultures condemn their actions. Their sense of entitlement is so (are we allowed swear here) ingrained that, from their (wrong) perspective nobody can tell them "no".

[Durare]

As I do further research...I'm starting to see how big this is.  Its quite sad...but to make some good come of it please know that I will certainly tell everyone I know about this problem.

[LittleOldMan]

Durare/Cuannan

You are both new to this site and are welcome to the shared knowledge available to be found here.  The lack of true cultural knowledge is a difficult problem to address especially when an individual has not been raised in it.  As an example I was at a tribal event and was privileged to listed as an Elder who was so raised and who is so fluent in his language that he runs a language school sponsored by both his tribe and a major university.  One of the attenders got really disturbed when he discovered that one of his long held assumptions about a particular cultural tradition was in error.  Really shook him up that he was not doing the correct ceremony in the traditionally correct way.  This man had been wrongly instructed by someone who was ignorant and because the instructor was someone he respected he was hurt.  I say all this in order to stress just how important it is to research ALL ones sources.  Even well meaning persons can be taught incorrectly and thus pass along erroneous cultural meanings.  Never take just one view, at all times test the view with several others and as always find a true Elder if possible.  Again welcome with respect to you both I am as always  "LittleOldMan"   

[Durare]

Thank you LittleOldMan.

Never take just one view, at all times test the view with several others and as always find a true Elder if possible.

That's what I am trying to do.    Of course, with the help of this website!

I guess I'm just realizing just how big a problem this is...being new to it all.  I'm now going through the all of the old forum postings to get a better understanding of the 'whole' picture. BTW....I did find a Declaration of War against Plastic Shamans, so I guess my original thought about:

What I don't understand is why are they (the frauds) not formally discredited by tribal council, especially those tribes who the fraud is claiming to be part of?

has already been dealt with.

Here's the link for the Declaration:http://www.aics.org/war.html


Later

[earthw7]

as a tribal member, it is not our council's right to interfer in spiritual matter so they can't say it is not right but they can't come out and condemn people either, it is just not the way. This matter should be in the hands of our elders, but as you see we have many declaration and no one listen. We are very thankful to each person who help on this site native and none native. We watch in horror at time as our ways our abused sometime we feel helpless but this site has given us a say in our own way of life.

[critter - a white non-ndn person]

I think it should be commended how the native peoples have managed to hold onto their ways through all this adversity.

In my view, there are 1000's of people who are uneducated about cultural appropriation and theft. They do not know paying is wrong, nor do they know the person who is claiming this or that is not this or that. Educating the population is not easy, and we don't have millions of dollars to pay for ads on TV that educated people of this problem. 

So we have to educate in the way we have.. word of mouth, websites, maybe a few videos on YouTube.  The more people who can speak out against the abuse and theft of cultures and abuse of their spirituality, the better.

The thieves have one up on the populations that seek them.. the populations have no idea what is right of this or that culture. So the thieves can say they are Lakota or Cherokee and the people wouldn't know one way or another.  Especially when you have frauds teaching in supposed cultural centers or weekend shows of some sort.. I'm sure there are even pow wow's that are put together by frauds.. some frauds don't even know they're frauds..

[apukjij]

Thank you for your sentiments critter, as a matter of fact North American Aboriginal resiliency has now caught the attention of many around the world. McGill university has just about finished a project concerning Mi'kmaq Resiliency, working with one of my most respected Mi'kmaw peers, and will be published in a major Psychology Journal in Feb 2011, i haven't seen the article yet but am very excited!!!