"the use of objects or elements of a non-dominant culture in a way that doesn't respect their original meaning, give credit to their source, or that reinforces stereotypes or contributes to oppression."
Like, when Urban Outfitters sold panties in "Navajo-inspired" patterns (article).
Personally, I relate to how icky it feels when your work gets ripped off.
Remember when I did all this work to get the store entered into the Best Thrift Store contest last year, BC (Before Covid)?
And we won?
And the managers still wouldn't give me a raise afterward?
Well, this New Year's, a manager boasted online about the store's win. He didn't tell me he did it, and he didn't credit me.
That's appropriation: someone with higher rank obliquely took credit for my work.
That rankles.
Fake-Native-American trinkets like this doll (one of the batch of dolls I've been sorting at the store) are in that category.
The original dolls of this type were designed by Mary Dwyer McAboy (1876-1961), a non-Native woman. (Wikipedia)
It seems she meant no disrespect.
She called the dolls Skookums. According to an article "Misrepresentation & Misuse of Native American Imagery" on the website of Wenatchi Wear, "Skookum is Chinook jargon, meaning strong and brave."
I don't know--maybe McAboy collaborated with Indigenous friends and shared profits or something. I'm not pointing my finger at her, per se, but the dolls do represent a sort of rip off that is ripe and rampant.
Every so often at thrift
stores, stuff gets donated that is not blatantly racist (like Mammy
salt-shakers are) but that you know is a rip off.
Example: dream catchers made in China.
What do you do with this stuff?
All
three thrift stores I've worked at put iffy racial stuff out for sale
(or even some pretty blatant stuff), mostly with no discussion at all.
This doll exists and has come into my care, and I like her little face.
What to do with her?
I see dolls differently than other objects. I feel I should honor the life force in a doll. They are not just inert things. Whatever their origins, they are loved and played with until they come alive.
Complicating factor: she's in bad shape. Such bad shape my coworkers would throw her out without hesitation.
I was wondering if I might be able to repair this doll a little... Maybe just fill in the missing paint on her eye and lips.
I think I'll give that a try, and then go from there. Lots of Native people come to the store--maybe someone would like the doll?
I don't know.
Meanwhile, I'll look around for some more people who have thought deeply about rip offs, in terms of dolls, and not just dismissed it with an "Oh, they meant no harm".
If harm was done, and it surely was––meaning no harm is NOT THE POINT.
Care should be taken.
