On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus is popularly believed to be the first to have set foot in the Americas. However, that is a false belief. This is because the Americas was inhabited by many nomadic groups of people, who we now refer to as Native Americans, Aboriginals, or Indigenous People. European contact took a toll on the Native population in the Americas. At first, Natives and Europeans got along fairly well. They traded and taught each other their survival tactics and some cultural elements. Nonetheless, Europeans wanted the land that the Native people inhabited, this resulted in many ongoing years of brutal maltreatment towards Native Americans. They experienced rape, enslavement, and genocide. As a result of this, Native Americans have the smallest population in the Americas today, and that is considered unfair since it was their land in the beginning.
This is an engraved portrait of Pocahontas, after she arrived in England. This engraving displays the “England” Pocahontas. However, when Americans picture Pocahontas, they view a Disney Princess from the 1995 film, Pocahontas. Both images of her are false. The proper Native American culture was stripped from her image and replaced with a different culture or stereotypes that society has placed on Native Americans, "the character of Pocahontas is woven into a contemporary context. 1"
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The true facts about Mt. Rushmore are revealed in the Akwesasne Notes newspaper. Many may think that Mt. Rushmore is a sight of beauty, but in fact this article displays it as a sign of cultural appropriation, because it is violating their beliefs and rights. Mt. Rushmore was created on sacred Native land that was never sold for Mt. Rushmore to be created. |
This newspaper article, from Akwesasne Notes, discusses the future genocide of Native Culture. Many Native Americans were concerned that Edwin Meese, a White House counselor for President Ronald Reagan, would proceed with the conversion of Native Americans. The Natives feared that they would be considered Americans because they culture was being stripped away from them. |
"It is unfortunate that Congressman Udall and McCain are unfamiliar with Hopi religious and cultural practices and thereby do not understand this basic principle.” The previous quote was taken from the Akwesasne Notes newspaper. The quote is the importance of the entire article. In this article, a violent event is described, the removal of an Indian tribe from their land by the federal government. This certain tribe, Hopi, did not believe in violating their beliefs to move, however; the federal government did not care enough about their culture or beliefs, which caused a violent altercation. |
Throughout history, Native Americans have had their culture, property, and beliefs stolen from them, which is appropriation of Native Americans. In the world today, Native American traditions have slowly died down, due to historical events that have occurred. In fashion, media, and holidays, many people use the stereotypical Native culture. They dress up and celebrate without knowing how defensive it is to Native people. This continues to be an issue and will only stop if people become aware of it. The images below displays examples of present day cultural appropriation. |
1. Bird, S. E. (1996). Dressing in feathers: The construction of the Indian in American popular culture. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 264.