Cultural Appropriation: The Politics, and Ethics of Ethnographic Inquiry

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Cultural Appropriation The Politics, and Ethics
of Ethnographic Inquiry

• In Canada, in the 1990's, Aboriginal writers are
  a growing and vibrant population. But it wasn't
  always this way. In fact, in order to read about
  Aboriginal people you had to use books that
  weren't written by Aboriginal people. Usually
  written by anthropologists, missionaries or
  adventurers, these books depicted Aboriginal
  people with varying levels of accuracy...
  (Kenneth Williams).

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Cultural Appropriation

• Postcolonial critique of representation
• --orientalism, feminist anthropology,
  postmodernism, etc.
• Peoples efforts towards self-determination
• --Third World, Fourth World

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Appropriation

• To take possession of another's material, often
  without permission, reusing it in a context which
  differs from its original context, most often in
  order to examine issues concerning originality or
  to reveal meaning not previously seen in the
  original. This is far more aggressive than
  allusion or quotation it is not the same as
  plagiarism however. (Art Dictionary)

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Cultural Appropriation

• Cultural appropriation is the theft of rituals,
  aesthetic standards and behavior from one culture
  by another, generally by a "modern" culture from
  a "primitive" culture often this involves the
  conversion of religion and spirituality into
  "meaningless" pop-culture. Example Katsinasbeings

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Aholi and Hano-Mana

• Supernatural beings to the Hopis of Arizona
• Messengers from the spiritual world
• Gifts and food

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Appropriation

• Multidirectional
• A political action Dominant culture takes from
  subordinate one
• Cultural assimilation Globalization of
  information

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If political one should consider

• 1. Impact on subordinate group---the role of
  cultural representations in a culture
• 2. Wo benefits (financially) from
  appropriation?--power relations, economic, and
  other advantages
• 3. Laws are inadequate to protect subordinate
  groups--laws need to be changed to protect
  subordinate groups from cultural appropriation

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Questions in anthropology

• How is cultural appropriation related to
  ethnographic inquiry?
• Who owns ethnographic information?
• Who should have the rightful claim to
  ethnographic materials?
• Can anthropological cultural representation be
  considered cultural appropriation? Why?

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Repatriation

• --Sharing ethnographic materials with subjects
• --Sending ethnographic information back to the
  community studied

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Influenced by two forces

• The questioning of cultural representation by
  Indigenous peoples--Whose interests are
  represented
• Growing ethical and political concerns in
  anthropology--correct some eurocentric attitudes
  of the past (colonialism and cultural
  appropriation)

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Major developments contributing to its reversal

• Indigenous resistance --interest groups
  --intellectual property, Indigenous nationalism
• Changing attitudes in institutions and government
  agencies -- New rules and ethical guidelines, AAA
  changing rules, strict rules, more sensitivity
  towards other cultures

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Conundrum for anthropologists

• No longer an unquestionable source of academic
  authority
• What does repatriation imply?

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Factors Underpinning the Repatriation Debate

• Legacy of past and present exploitation is now
  acknowledged
• Indigenous peoples organization
• Efforts by governments and academic to correct
  the mistakes of the past on the issue

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The Act of Repatriation Should Make Sure that

• Information should not harm either the community
  or the informants
• It should not harm the interest of academic
  research

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Stephen Glazier (1993)

• Responding To The Anthropologist When The
  Spiritual Baptists of Trinidad Read What I Write
  About Them
• --Ethnographic materials should be viewed as part
  of a continuous process

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The Problems with Repatriation

• Opens some possibilities but also closes other
  avenues for research
• Promotes acceptance at the same time can fuel
  misunderstandings
• Can be used by some groups against other groups
  in the community
• Sometimes it does not fulfill subjects
  expectations

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Discussion Question

• What are the technical, ethical and political
  consequences of repatriation for ethnographers
  and subjects?
• Do the potential problems of repatriation (for
  ethnographers and subjects) outweigh the benefits
  of cultural appropriation?