the biggest takeaway of cultural appropriation that i want yall to think about is why its considered disrespectful and is colonialism.

its disrespectful cuz Indigenous cultures are not a monolith like stereotypes lead you to believe. all tribes have specific traditions/beliefs.

so naturally, stereotypes can be considered disrespectful to the number of traditions and protocols that exist in Indigenous cultures.

however, due to assimilation/colonization, a lot of Indigenous communities share traditions, and this is common among Native American tribes.

this is Pan-Indianism, which is different communities coming together and sharing each other's traditions. common things in Pan-Indianism are war bonnets, dream catchers, smudging with sage/cedar, Eagle feathers, etc.

you'll see a lot of Pan-Indianism at inter-tribal powwows.

and things that aren't shared, aren't shared for a reason. some things are very specific to certain tribes, which is also why appropriation can be disrespectful. cuz things are being taken from that culture when it wasnt meant to be shared or used by someone outside that culture.

going back to Pan-Indianism, that's commonly where you'll find a lot of the stereotypes are born. it's cuz of white folks taking from Pan-Indianism and bastardizing it or making it fit their white narrative, which is inapropriate to all the traditions we honor.

there are certain ways we Natives do things, and it's for a reason. all the knowledge we have and our cultures are thousands of years old and are precious. we've already lost so much of it from colonization which is why we hold it close.

all that knowledge comes from the Earth and the great spirits that gifted them to us. our cultures are incredibly sacred and personal. especially since we've lost so much already from the greed of white settlers. that's why we hold it close and defend it.

its ok to be inspired by Indigenous arts but please look more into them to make sure you're being respectful of that tradition. please try to make it your own too, and don't just copy Indigenous artists. that's stealing.

i don't want to tell ppl to not make Indigenous coded characters, but usually when ppl do, it comes from a very non-Native gaze and can come off appropriative. i really only recommend making an Indigenous character if you've been properly introduced to that culture u wanna use.

this means actually participating or learning from a person of that community you want to reference. you need to learn from the source, and not from wikipedia and shit written by non-Natives.

this leads into another point, LISTEN TO INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

non-Indigenous folks dont get a say in what is and isnt appropriative to whatever culture they ain't apart of.. yall dont get to decide whats disrespectful or appropriate. yall don't get to decide what culture is ok to share and take from. if it aint yr culture, u dont get a say.

this thread doesn't really touch on everything about cultural appropriation cuz there's a lot.. but i just wanted to address the stuff that ppl don't seem to understand ever when these are crucial points to understand and remember.