Outside/Inside Occupy Winnipeg

analmouse:

memorialparkvignettes:

analmouse:

apihtawikosisan:

analmouse:

apihtawikosisan:

analdrawings:

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Another exam’s tomorrow so nothing special for today, just a sketch of Mattie in Native American clothing. When I have more time I’ll draw him and Alfred as Native Americans 8)

Which Native American nation is this character from?

Is your character a person who has earned the right to wear the headdress?

Why have you chosen to portray your character in a stereotypical Plains headdress in the first place?  Are you aware of how few Native American nations actually use this style of restricted headdress?  Are you aware that women do not wear them at all?  Do you know anything about what a person must do in order to be allowed to wear this?

Are you aware that when you say things like ‘Native American clothing’ and then produce a drawing like this, that you are doing the equivalent of saying, “Here is someone in Asian clothing” and then depicting an ao dai, as though that one Vietnamese article of clothing represents all ‘Asians’?

Please avoid perpetrating stereotypes this way. 

Hi, this character is not mine, it is from a popular anime series called Axis Powers: Hetalia, a show where nations are portrayed as humans.  He represents Canada.

Since I like history themes I wanted to represent him in Native American clothing but I postponed drawing him in “traditional” clothing since I don’t have the time to do a more thorough research, and instead drew him in a more… hmm, casual clothing (so to say) that I saw Native American chiefs wear today. I am very much aware that women do not or rarely wear those kinds of headdresses and that males have to earn the right to wear them, I’m interested in Native American history and research it from time to time. I figured that since this character is a personification of a country where Native Americans lived back then and live today, he has the right to wear it. I said “Native American clothing” because I figured anyone with slightest bit of education will figure out it’s meaning and I rushed to get back to studying for my exam. English isn’t my first language, so I wasn’t aware it would sound like all Native Americans would wear these.

I didn’t want to perpetuate stereotypes. Quite the contrary, I like portraying something correct. If I unknowingly did I apologize but as I said, I had no intention to, and drew him in what I thought would be appropriate for a sketch in which the main accent is me drawing non-stop and trying to improve.

I’ve heard people complaining about the Hetalia tags, but I know zip about it.

That’s supposed to represent Canada?  Damn. 

To give you a sense of how bizarre it is to use this typical stereotype to represent all Canadian First Nations, please look at the following pictures that represent a small fraction of the diversity of our Nations:

I notice you tagged this as ‘jumpy people’.  I apologise if your profound ignorance of our cultures has caused you to believe that you are doing nothing wrong by perpetuating stereotypes.  Hopefully you look into the issue more and avoid actively engaging in these stereotypes.

 Yes, that’s supposed to represent Canada. The author of Hetalia had his reasons for portraying him as such and I won’t go further into it, many like him as he is.

Thank you for the pictures, I am aware there are many diversities among you. I used Google for researching Native American clothing and it showed me similar clothes Canada is wearing in this sketch and none of those you posted, so maybe you should take it up with it. I just followed those references because I thought they were right, and didn’t think they would offend and “dishonor you”. This is first and foremost a sketch I did for fun and learning, and I’ve planned to do a more thorough research and draw the characters in appropriate, traditional Native American clothing when I have the time (as I stated in the first comment). I will have to ask you to refrain from putting any more comments on my drawing because I don’t want a simple sketch I did out of fun and love for this character to turn into something that it isn’t. If you have further problems please, please contact me via ask box.

Ugh, Tumblr’s lack of facility for replying to ask-based posts is ridic!

Here is what I said to analmouse:

Okay. You said you did it “out of fun” and you don’t want that to “turn into something that it isn’t.” It may have been fun for you, but using stereotypical First Nations imagery is hurtful and wrong. It’s not harmless fun, it’s not neutral. Canada is a huge area with many nations and your drawing is disrespectful to that diversity because you clearly don’t have in-depth knowledge of the cultures you’ve stolen from.

Here is their reply:

I did did it out of fun, I wanted to see a character from the series I love in native american clothing because I love historic and native “fashion”, to say. I didn’t want to portray anyone except for that character in clothing I thought were appropriate because that’s what sites and pictures on the internet provided me, and didn’t mean to honour or dishonour anyone. it was an idea in my head and I put it on paper because I’m doing a drawing challenge to improve my style and learn as much as I can. I apologized for portraying him in wrong clothing, and said I’ll do a more thorough research on it, but the person continued to call me ignorant and a racist (in a subtle way). I had no idea they patented the culture and that no one else had the right to use them, or worse, steal them as you say. If that’s the case I need to talk to my people to solve the same problem, our culture and potrayal of our people is just tragic, we need to do something about it.

Everyone makes mistakes, and you’re at least somewhat responsive. It seems like you’re not understanding some of the points, though.

There is no “native american clothing”, as each nation had its own traditions. Like âpihtawikosisân said:

Are you aware that when you say things like ‘Native American clothing’ and then produce a drawing like this, that you are doing the equivalent of saying, “Here is someone in Asian clothing” and then depicting an ao dai, as though that one Vietnamese article of clothing represents all ‘Asians’?

Just as there is no “Asian clothing”, there is no “Native American clothing”. And a lot of First Nations people in Canada wouldn’t even use “Native American” to describe themselves.

I think you were being called ignorant and racist because your drawing reveals ignorant and racist thought patterns. It’s not a crisis to be ignorant, it’s an opportunity to learn. Making a racist mistake doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, it means you have room to grow. Even though I care about fighting racism, I still have racist thoughts: the important thing is to challenge them.

Certainly no one has patented the headdress. My use of “steal” wasn’t about legalistic definitions. My ancestors were part of the waves of immigrants who went to Canada for a new life, helping displace the myriad nations who had been there for a long time through genocide, cultural erasure, and dishonest dealings. I said “steal” as a deliberate reference to that theft.

Anyway, I’m glad you at least considered some of these responses, unlike chibi—chan’s typically privileged dismissal. âpihtawikosisân has a detailed post on appropriation if you want to know more. Even though your drawing has problems, it’s certainly better than anything I could produce!

I understood that part, i told I am aware that there’s a large variety of them. I wrote Native american because I did not know from which tribe the headdress and/or clothing were since it wasn’t written anywhere and didn’t think it would be such a big deal if I didn’t write a full report on a sketch. I did not know they don’t use native american, i am not from canada or from north or south america so I am not familiar with the terms, i just know that calling them Indians would be offensive.

if that’s the case the person could have just come to my ask box and point out my mistakes and politely tell me what to pay attention to the next time i draw him, i would have gladly listened since, as said for the 1000th time, i like researching and trying to portray everything as accurate as possible (I’ve put on my sketchblog that I’m a history lover, if that wasn’t the indicator that I’d listen someone who knew i don’t know what would). calling anyone ignorant and a racist isn’t pleasant, especially if they are using their own work to call them out. It really hurts.

and though chibi—chan didn’t help much her point was not to put different cultures on a pedestal and act all high and mighty, but to treat everyone equally and help people understand something they don’t or are not informed enough, as well that an artist has a right to draw what he wants because we’re all free people. If the artist makes a mistake people should react politely and with cool heads, all of this could have been avoided and we would have all learned something.

I will have to ask everyone once again not to use this picture for further discussion but go to my ask, it’s really upsetting me. i won’t delete or modify the picture because I did nothing wrong and if I did I would lose a day from the drawing challenge I’ve been babbling about, and I’m trying to be strict and consistent with it. Please, stop it.

Oh, and thank you for the kind-of-a-compliment on the drawing.

Okay, since you seemed distressed, I gave you a bit of a break. And I’ve removed the drawing. But you’re not off the hook, yo.

Ignorance may be an explanation, but it’s not an excuse. You expended the goodwill I afforded you in my previous response with your “I did nothing wrong”.

if that’s the case the person could have just come to my ask box and point out my mistakes and politely tell me what to pay attention to the next time i draw him

This is known as the tone argument. It’s not the responsibility of marginalised people to tip-toe around the oppressor when pointing out problematic behaviour. And âpihtawikosisân was not mean.

calling anyone ignorant and a racist isn’t pleasant, especially if they are using their own work to call them out. It really hurts.

Come on, it’s built-in to Tumblr that reblogging “uses” the original photo. And of course quoting the photo is necessary to underscore the point!

Yes, being called racist hurts, but don’t you think it hurts more to experience racism?

her point was not to put different cultures on a pedestal and act all high and mighty

That you reacted defensively instead of accepting and considering the critique doesn’t mean the critique was “high and mighty”. That’s gross.

help people understand something they don’t or are not informed enough

That’s what âpihtawikosisân was trying to do and you rejected it. They gave you a pointer, now it’s up to you to learn more. The original site seems dead, but you might benefit from a look at Derailing for Dummies. This is called If You Won’t Educate Me How Can I Learn.

an artist has a right to draw what he wants because we’re all free people

More legalistic nonsense: I’m not talking about rights, I’m talking about how to fight colonialism and racism. How to not be a jerk!

If the artist makes a mistake people should react politely and with cool heads, all of this could have been avoided and we would have all learned something.

Tone argument again, also mentioned in Derailing for Dummies as You’re Being Hostile. If you aren’t learning anything, that’s your choice, it’s not âpihtawikosisân’s fault.