Kirby Farah, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The holiday honors a 19th-century battle between the French and the Mexican armies that, strangely enough, may have influenced the outcome of the US Civil War.
Non-Indigenous writers, if they wish to engage ethically with Indigenous culture, must learn to respect it as a form of property grounded in kinship and country.
Writing based on observation and empathy is one thing; but interviewing the people whose experiences you aim to depict - and showing them your work - is quite another.
A mossy sanctuary in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges houses 92 sculptures, mostly of Arrernte and Pitjantjatjara men, women and children. They are steeped in primitivism, yet the park is a popular tourist attraction.
The cultural appropriation debate has flared after an American teenager wore a qipao, a Chinese-style dress, to her prom. But the meanings around the dress are complicated.
The Trump administration recently reduced the size of Bears Ears in Utah, opening millions of acres to mining and other uses. This threatens Indigenous heritage and can be seen as a form of violence.
Pinching musical phrases and stylistic approaches has always been a part of art making and can be a respectful exchange. But shallow, ill-informed appropriation only perpetuates tired stereotypes.
In our pursuit of a world that is safely and entirely OK, must humour be cleansed of its original sin of cultural appropriation and insensitivity? It depends whether we are ‘laughing up’ or ‘laughing down’.
The production of fake First Nations art is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cultural appropriation. From ‘didge therapy’ to the overuse of words like ‘deadly’ here’s a (subjective) guide to what to avoid.
At Victoria’s Secret recent fashion show on Nov. 20, models strutted down the runway wearing Native-inspired regalia. There is no excuse for this socially irresponsible behaviour.
Taking a practical and pragmatic approach by posing a series of questions to consider, this summary of the IPinCH guide unpacks important questions about cultural appropriation.