Blatant cultural appropriation / art theft of Aboriginal artwork

Hi @Ricky336 I wasn't assuming this person was from India, on the links in @AkaneNintendo original post, her Linked In account she identifies herself as from Banglor, India.  I do agree with your point though that one shouldn't make assumptions based on the person's name.

My comments weren't specifically geared at this instance, as I do not know enough about this particular artist nor the Australian Aboriginal culture.  I was talking more generally about cultural appropriation and sharing my understanding of the issue with the Canadian Indigenous Peoples.

Also, one doesn't have to be ethnically from the culture in question to understand its meaning if they have studied the culture in question.

 

By @Ricky336

You're right, but one would hope that by truly understanding the culture, you would also understand that it isn't right for you to misrepresent your art that you take from that culture. 

There is a project at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada that really focuses on this issue.  IPinCH Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage:  Theory, Practice, Policy and Ethics http://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/

They are a great resource for better understanding this issue.

Here is an excerpt from this link: http://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/sites/default/files/resources/teaching_resources/think_before_you_appropriate_jan_2016.pdf

With all of this in mind, we encourage you to think before you appropriate by asking yourself the following questions:

Does my project truly require the use of Indigenous cultural heritage?

Am I basing my work on accurate knowledge and representations of Indigenous peoples and their cultural heritage?

Am I sure that my work in no way reproduces stereotypes about Indigenous peoples?

Am I sure that my work does not show disrespect for the beliefs and worldviews of the Indigenous peoples whose cultural heritage inspires me?

If the answer to any of the first five [sic] questions is either “no” or “I don’t know” then we recommend that you halt your use of Indigenous cultural heritage.

Hi @Nancy OShea, to me one of the biggest issues is having non-Indigenous or non-Aboriginal people misrepresenting their art as being authentic.  If they are not part of that culture, they cannot understand the history, importance, tradition nor sacredness of what they are creating.  Yet, they commercialise it and can make a profit all the while perpetuating stereotypes and often preventing true Indigenous artists from being able to sell their own works and make a living.

It's a fine line between cultural exchange and cultural appropriation and usually the difference is in whether both parties are benefiting or if there is a power imbalance.  Personally, I grew up in a remote small community in northern Canada with many Indigenous people in the area.  I remember in junior high school, having a Saulteaux elder come in and teach us how to make moccasins.  The moccasins were basic and easy to make.  However, she had stories about the bead work and decorations all of the meanings behind the types of designs, bead colours used, etc.  That was a great cultural exchange.  When the local department store started selling mass produced moccasins from non-Indigenous sources, the local women couldn't produce their hand sewn moccasins as cheaply.  Definitely cultural appropriation because the store was profitting and taking away the business from local Indigenous people.

Thinking about stock images and vectors, having non-Indigenous people create art with dots, spirals, circles and snakes is perfectly fine if they are doing it in their own unique way and not imitating or stealing from another culture.  A lot of these cultural images have sacred meanings and it is really offensive to that culture to see people walking around with those images on a t-shirt or on a coffee mug. The offending artist wouldn't know they are being offensive, because they don't understand the history or meanings of the images.

The fact that cultural appropriation is so common in music, fashion, art, sometimes makes it difficult for us to recognise the insensitivity to those people who's culture is being stolen and used as a disposable trend.

To quote Dr. Niigan Sinclair, "The difference between appropriation and appreciation of Indigenous culture is that the former is “theft based on power and privilege,” whereas the latter is “engagement based on responsibility and ethics."

Your example of Jacob Chansley is an excellent example of cultural appropriation.  Dreamcatchers are certainly another blatant example.  In Canada and Australia, there may be more a heightened awareness of cultural appropriation due to our dark pasts with colonisation and mistreatment of the Indigenous people and the desire to better now.  The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada made numerous recommendations and cultural appropriation is on the list of things that we as a culture need to work on.

That's my take on cultural appropriation.