hawaiian cultural appropriation

hawaiian cultural appropriation

This is in part because Hawaii is so separate from us, thousands of miles from the U.S. mainland, and because we aren’t exposed to Hawaiians and Hawaiian culture (in its true form) on a regular basis. In an article for Everyday Feminism, writer Maisha Z. Johnson defines cultural appropriation as when “members of a dominant culture take elements from a culture of people who have been systematically oppressed by that dominant group.” We, as mainland Americans, fit the profile of an oppressive dominant group to a disturbing extent. When a friend first offered them to me after they were leftover from an event, I was ecstatic — free things! Just. “Hawaii — the word, the vision, the sound in the mind — is the fragrance and feel of soft kindness. Mere years later, superficial renditions of these sacred traditions are used by people with no idea of the ceremonial significance for what they consider a “night of harmless fun.”. After experiencing such harsh suppression of your culture and then seeing it being commercialized, cheapened, sold as a plastic lei and party theme to the same group of people who suppressed it initially, it makes sense that there would be some resentment there. On the event’s Facebook page there was considerable opposition to what was seen as an offensive depiction of Indigenous Hawaiian culture and women in the event poster. Hawaii didn’t go through the usual process for statehood. by Nicole Howley | published Oct. 14th, 2015. We even annexed the islands illegally, according to US law! The ASSU has demonstrated its sensitivity and respect for the concerns, opinions, and cultural diversity of its constituency, and this has been covered by various local as well as national news media. level 2 She is the author of Who Owns Culture: Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law. Any perceived disrespect or attack is disrespect and attack which strikes at the self-perception of an entire people. It's possible my answer won't be very popular. To you, it can feel like a big deal to have to give up … Cultural appropriation is the use of often oversimplified, packaged versions of the culture of oppressed groups. Nike caused so much anger when they ‘borrowed’ some Samoan tattoo designs for their Pro Tattoo Tech collection that it actually led to a petitioncalling on the company to stop sales. Nor is “I’m sorry you were insulted” an acceptable apology. Apologies for discriminatory actions often include some variation of the phrase “but our intentions were good!” While this is generally true, ignorance does not absolve responsibility and relying on this claim makes any apology seem much less sincere. I don't think anyone but a native Hawai’ian can properly answer this, and even then, one might find great variability in opinion. After posting several comments on the event page in support of Erica Lee, Mr. Gaudry took to his personal Facebook account to publicly denounce the event: Gaudry said that “the Arts and Science Student Union has organized a ‘Hawaiian night’ which, like all ‘Native’ themed parties sexualizes and appropriates meaningful cultures for a largely non-Native audience.”, When the event changed, he altered his tone a bit with the following statement: “UPDATE: the event is now ‘Tropical night’ with some of the most problematic imagery removed. After taking over the islands, those who did so suppressed the culture through the school system, through violence and through social systems where natives had to give up their culture in an attempt to fit in and get ahead within the American system now in place in their home. After the event name and poster were changed to accommodate the concerns that were raised, Mr. Gaudry’s commentary was later deleted from Facebook — but were his comments on white consumption necessary in the first place? That implies present tense possibility.”. No. A concerned student submitted an essay to the school administration calling for the Hawaiian Day theme to be changed, slamming the event for … There is no exchange or mutual benefit when this happens. These talents, in Hawaiian terms, are the hula, the aloha - generosity and love - of our people, the u'i or youthful beauty of our men and women, and the continuing allure of our lands and waters. Ohana slate accused of cultural appropriation written by Deni Verklan February 6, 2017 The Ohana slate came under fire on Wednesday when two public posts on its Facebook page accused the team of culturally appropriating Hawaiian culture. It’s not just about “using” something from another culture, though, it’s about power dynamics – the ability to determine the identity (and thus perpetuate the dehumanization and essentialization) of oppressed, marginalized, racialized groups. The judges deemed the presentation as nothing more than a cultural dance. “For Hawaiians, the destruction of our world in every conceivable way is still a full-time project by the U.S. government and American settlers…it’s tough to step away from things like desecration of everything from a tiny graveyard because a millionaire wants to build a vacation home on it, to a mountain like Mauna Kea under attack by the astronomy industry," Kelly writes. For Indigenous peoples of the world, the reality is that our cultural traditions, ceremonies and languages have been deemed inferior, irrelevant or even illegal by colonial governments. Protesters have said that they take issue with the group’s ideology and find it “offensive in its appropriation of Hawaiian culture”, according to a report by The Garden Island. It is from the experience of having my own culture appropriated that I approach the recent appropriation of Hawaiian culture by some members of our community, namely the Boar Pen. Marxists killed 100 million of their own citizens in the 20th century. “You’re too sensitive,” “political correctness gone mad,” “it wasn’t racist until you made it racist” — these are some of the comments received when it was suggested that a group of non-Hawaiian students throwing a Hawaiian-themed party might be problematic. Reporter Magazine is a student-run publication of the Rochester Institute of Technology. However, I take issue with the remarks made by Adam Gaudry, an assistant professor in the department of Native Studies. But if after you are educated on the issue and you make the choice to continue hurtful actions or avoid responsibility for them, you risk earning that undesirable reputation. wearing a hawaiian shirt and a lei kind of thing. One of the most offensive comments received was the assertion that simply calling out a white person on cultural appropriation was a more hurtful experience than suffering racial discrimination. Through her interview with Deep Green Resistance News Service, activist and native Hawaiian Anne Keala Kelly was one of the first people to answer my question. To paraphrase the wonderfully blunt Lesley Kinzel in her article “Casual Racism is not my Spirit Animal,” the phrase “politically correct” has lost all meaning except for reflecting nostalgia on the part of the speaker for a time when they could be as racist as they wanted without worrying about having their inappropriate behavior called out. To do so would be damaging on so many levels,” Kehaulani said. © 2020 Reporter Magazine. Photo: Polynesian Cultural Center . "Mele Kalikimaka" (pronounced [ˈmɛlɛ kəˌlikiˈmɐkə]) is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by R. Alex Anderson. As an elected body of student representatives that serve diverse constituents it is the ASSU’s duty to ensure their actions are carried out in a responsible fashion — which means they need to seriously consider any concerns that are raised regarding events. THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN’S MAIN CAMPUS IS SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TERRITORY AND THE HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS. I am NOT OK with the “hula-hula girl” costume. They criticized the oversimplification of the culture. Indigenous people risked serious persecution to preserve traditions such as hula or powwow — persecution here denoting violent beatings and the removal of children from homes, not just monetary fines. H apa has become a popular term to refer to biracial or multiracial Americans who have partial Asian … However, Mr. Gaudry is a professional at a public institution. Mr. Gaudry has the right to an opinion and I respect that. It's not and the article didn't suggest it was. In her influential piece “Lovely Hula Hands: Corporate Tourism and the Prostitution of Hawaiian Culture,” scholar Kānaka Maoli explains why haole — a Hawaiian term used to refer to those of Euro Canadian descent — exotification of Hawaiian culture and people is a problem. “What I do appreciate is when people don't know about Hawaii, asking respectful questions to genuinely understand more about our state and culture," she says. Although these leis and the like may mean little to us, the people living outside of Hawaii, our use of these things send a message to Native Hawaiians whether we intend to or not. It is a demonstration of an imbalance of power that still exists between the colonizers and the colonized. "If luaus were put on with understanding and respect for its history, I don't think I would mind. The planners seldom consider the people of said cultures in their planning process and only claim this intention after the fact —when they have been called out. Hawaii is an exotic land with a rich history and a culture imbued with meaning, including the performing arts. Traditional lū‘au,‭ ‬before the U.S.‭ ‬overthrow and occupation of Hawaiʻi‭ (‬which is a significant historical event that changed countless Hawaiian cultural practices‭)‬,‭ ‬had Hawaiian food,‭ ‬like poi and kalo or taro dishes,‭ ‬coconut dishes,‭ ‬fish,‭ ‬pork.‭ ‬Depending on who it was for it could be a large all day affair,‭ ‬wherein it could take hours to get through the meal.‭ ‬That would be normal for ali‘i,‭ ‬which means royalty or chiefs. Ok, Iʻm finally going to write it. It seems that what first began as an appreciation for the beauty of the Polynesian culture has since turned into misrepresentation, stereotyping, and cultural appropriation. So the Hawaiian Islands and people themselves were integrated into the US illegally, but Hawaiian culture was also stolen in the process. Cultural appropriation is the adoption of certain elements from another culture without the consent of people who belong to that culture. But is using it as non-Hawaiian surfers a form of cultural appropriation? They are called Aloha shirts and in Hawaii, considered acceptable business wear because it is stupid and painful to wear a wool business suit. The message is that we don’t care about their culture, but we are willing to take advantage of it in the name of cheap party favors and inappropriate event themes. Now, Hawaii lawmakers are considering adopting a resolution calling for the creation of legal protections for Native Hawaiian cultural intellectual property. The event name was changed to “Tropical night”  and the posters that had been placed on campus were also removed. Above all, Hawaii is ‘she,’ the Western image of the Native ‘female’ in her magical allure. I actually feel like a little bit of an ass. But for now, as a gag for a theme party, I think there is a long way to go.”. For hundreds of years, just like we did with other native peoples, the United States mistreated, exploited, killed and stole from native Hawaiians. He is quoted as saying that the  event was “no big deal.” Professor Osorio has since noted in commentary about the article in the National Post that he had discussed thoroughly how tourism has appropriated images and cultural practices from Native Hawaiians — but that part of his interview, unsurprisingly, was left out of the final article. The ASSU mentioned that the event was supposed to be a “celebration of Hawaiian culture,” an argument often used to support Native American sports team logos or … All we have to do is make an effort to be aware. Sanderson suggested a place to start. The fashion world especially seems to have a knack for causing commotion when it comes to badly borrowing from different cultures. I find them to be more inflammatory than constructive. Hapa: A Unique Case of Cultural Appropriation by Multiracial Asian Americans? Photo: “Scaevola Gaudichaudiana” by David Eickhoff is licensed under CC BY 2.0. It’s the alleged scourge of “cultural appropriation.” For those who haven’t been following, cultural appropriation is the act of members of one group adopting elements of another group’s culture, like white people using African American slang, or getting tattoos of Chinese characters. Haunani-Kay Trask points to the crime rates, high housing costs, homelessness and widespread trafficking of Native Hawaiian women and girls as problems of a tourism-based economy. A perfect example of this is Professor Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoole Osorio’s interview regarding Hawaiian night in the National Post. That’s because last week I started thinking about these plastic leis, Hawaiian shirts, Hawaiian themed events with both the shirts and the leis and the Hawaiian pizza. Bookmark the permalink. This is particularly disappointing given that it is a student event, put on by U of S student leaders.”. It wasn't until the 1930s that A… North Americans are bombarded with stereotypical, superficial images of Hawaii and other cultures and so this representation is normalized. I want to thank the members of the ASSU for their good spirit and level-headedness through this time of public scrutiny. Even worse than this, our “Hawaiian” theme is a form of cultural appropriation. Earlier this month, the Arts & Science Students’ Union decided to host a “Hawaiian night,” with the intent to bring warmth to our cold climate — though this spurred major controversy. "But now and then it’s important to speak to these forms of theft and make the critical links between things as seemingly unimportant as fake lū‘au and plastic lei to the ongoing theft of our land and nationhood.”. The widespread use of hapa, she said, is a form of cultural appropriation, just as offensive as hula dancer dolls shaking their hips on car dashboards. Were put on by U of s student leaders. ” use of often oversimplified, packaged of..., including the performing arts and yet, it ’ s a appropriation... Basic human decency to treat every person with respect she is the use of often,! … by Nicole Howley | published Oct. hawaiian cultural appropriation, 2015 tuition tax in!, according to US Law Unique Case of cultural appropriation world especially seems to have a knack for causing when! 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