i made this account because i spoke about the dreamcatcher CA issue and got jumped by a lot of people EVEN THOUGH I’M NATIVE (OJIBWE). this is a thread explaining why it’s NOT cultural appreciation and IS most certainly cultural appropriation:

i’m gonna start off by saying that i understand the members themselves have nothing to do with the concept and am in no way putting the blame on them nor do i think it’s fair to call them racist when they (to my knowledge at least) haven’t said or done anything offensive+

so when you see me say THEY are profiting off of my culture keep in mind i am always referring to DREAMCATCHER COMPANY (DCC in future mentions).

important thing to mention is that based on my research the concept itself isn’t “mocking” the natives nor the meaning of dreamcatchers - the storyline they made for their debut isn’t equating my culture to “horror movies” or “satanism” which i have seen many people who aren’t +

familiar with their music believe. HOWEVER. just because DCC has done (most likely shallow) research on the origin of dreamcatchers and INTENDED to go about it in a respextful manner doesn’t change rhe fact that they appropriated another culture FOR PROFIT.

i can’t believe i even have to say this because it should be common sense, but that on its own MAKES IT WRONG. i’m sure you all read all the other threads explaining how and why dreamcatchers hold an important place in ojibwe culture so i’m not gonna go too into it but knowing +

that a group of people was quite literally being killed just for practicing their beliefs should be enough for anyone to understand why i and many natives are extremely hurt when we see companies that have zero connections to my culture profit off it. IT DOESN’T MATTER that +

they (the company and the members) are AWARE where it comes from. i’ve seen them “give credit” to the natives - great! i’m so glad that they’re at least informed about the origins of dreamcatchers but that’s where my gratitude stops. TO ANYONE WHO SAYS IT’S APPRECIATION:

did DCC ever donate to any causes that have to do with the natives? did they ever talk about the struggles we go through? are they even aware of it? did they ever try to educate fans and the audience on that topic by going further than just saying “dreamcatchers were invented +

by the natives”? did they try to inform themselves (and then their audience) on our culture beyond dreamcatchers? were the dreamcatchers they pack in their albums made by the ojibwe? have they ever, in any way given financial or verbal support to the natives or addressed +

the fact that we are hurt by this? it’s hard to believe after 4 years of people trying to educate DCC on the topic, that they haven’t noticed a thing. HAD THEY DONE ANY OF THE THINGS I LISTED ABOVE, IT WOULD BE FAIR TO SAY IT’S CULTURAL APPRECIATION. but they haven’t.

instead they are profiting off of someone else’s culture without acknowledging the struggles and RACISM our people had to face and die because of. cultural appreciation doesn’t just mean doing a 5 minute google research. it also means using your platform to speak about +

about issues of the minorities whose voices are not heard. i’m afraid DCC has not shown any appreciation for the ojibwe culture so far, and while they haven’t said anything disrespectful or directly mocked us (to my knowledge), +

putting a DIY kit where you get to assemble your own dreamcatcher (?) and decorate it with STICKERS of the group’s members is disrespectful, distasteful and downright mockery. whatever their intention was and i’m assuming it was done out of ignorance and not malice, +

it is hurtful and not acceptable. i am not asking for a name change, because without the context and symbolism of actual dreamcatchers, the name itself would not hold any meaning to our culture and would therefore not be troublesome, but i am absolutely asking for DCC to FINALLY+

GIVE UP on the imagery that has ANYTHING to do with the ojibwe culture. change the logo, stop putting dreamcatchers and DIY kits in the albums and ACKNOWLEDGE the voices of people who are affected by this. and hey - an apology wouldn’t hurt either.

i will be deleting this account soon as i’ve only made it to voice my concers as a native person without getting attacked on my main again, so if you want to save this thread just take screenshots that you can share later on. i hope this thread helps you gain a new perspective +

and if you still after all this think this is something that’s irrelevant and that there’s nothing wrong with what DCC is doing, pls remember that kpop isn’t worth losing your decency over (assuming you had any to begin with).

to everyone else in the fandom who is aware of everything and is trying to help by emailing the company and spreading the word - thank you! it means a lot to see that you are putting actual effort into it. pls spread this thread and thank you for reading!

one last thing i forgot to add - i’ve seen a lot people say “what’s the big deal when you can buy dreamcatchers anywhere these days” THAT’S LITERALLY THE ENTIRE ISSUE! STOP buying dreamcatchers that aren’t sold by the natives - everything i said in this thread applies to them too

if you want to inform yourself further this is a good thread to start off https://twitter.com/wordglass/status/1345938865761107970