Cultural appropriation is a real problem in today’s society. In the Gwen Stefani music video we watched today in class, we can see that the cultural appropriation of Native culture is a modern day problem. No one should take aspects of the culture of another group, that they know nothing about, and use it however they want. The people in the video were very disrespectful to Native Americans. They sexualized Native attire, disrespected their medical practices, and disrespected tribal ceremonies among many other things. The cultural appropriation of this music video is very disrespectful to all Native people. The big picture behind this video, of disrespecting cultures someone knows nothing about, is disrespectful to people of all cultures. No culture should be abused by ignorant people not of their culture.
Another concept I found interesting was the practice of stolen valor. According to a website called Stars and Stripes, “‘Stolen Valor’ is a term applied to the phenomenon of people falsely claiming military awards or badges they did not earn, service they did not perform, Prisoner of War experiences that never happened, and other tales of military derring-do that exist only in their minds.” It is crazy to me that someone would try to falsely assume the honor of a military person. When you think about it though, that is pretty much what happens to Native Americans all the time. People put on costumes and face paint and claim themselves as Indians when they’re not. Its the same concept, there is just significantly less respect for a “savage Indian” than there is for a honorable military person.
Ruyle, T. (2010, June 16). What is ‘Stolen Valor?’ Retrieved June 26, 2018, from https://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/what-is-stolen-valor-1.107359