A new Toronto business, the Parkdale Teepee Company, has been the target of social media ire this week. I said nothing because I didn’t want to ruin the kids’ fun, but I could tell that Eva was upset. There's a really fine line between imaginative play, where we try on a life or culture unfamilier to us, and cultural appropriation, where we take bits and pieces of another culture without being respectful of the whole. Indians Upset at Cultural Appropriation of TeePees. Not having any experience with this rather complicated situation undoubtedly makes it harder to empathize, particularly when it comes to parenting. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. Everything we teach our children has implicit messages. Nevertheless, teepees have become common in many homes around the world as a space for children to play … Michael Byron ... Airbnb apologized this week after being accused of committing an act of cultural appropriation stemming from an ad for a weekend rental property in California consisting of a ‘Sioux-style’ teepee. This was being a good friend. “I think teepees are interesting and beautiful and I can understand why people want that,” she said. In fact, I’d encourage you to admit to your children that you don’t know everything about other cultures and are still learning as well. Those whose cultures are appropriated often have the added trauma of being treated poorly by society at large. I read some stuff yesterday saying that teepees are cultural appropriation and there was a long post about how wendigos aren’t cryptids and how stories about them are cultural appropriation. As spoken about in my Gender and Sexuality class… I’m just struggling to understand the significance of it. Cultural appropriation, Lana Shelley and raising a Jewish dog! The same people that called me “gross” and “ignorant” for having a play teepee I would bet have been guilty of elements of cultural appropriation themselves. Is it cultural appropriation to buy my child a play 'teepee'? Now, of course no one wants to hear that they’re letting their kids do something wrong, culturally insensitive or harmful. Teepees were the traditional dwellings for Plains aboriginal groups. Can’t kids just have fun? “I do see how it can be problematic, but I think how problematic it is really depends on the kids and the parents.” I agree. save. “It hasn’t really been this trendy to have native-inspired anything since the ’70s.”. It already has more than 100 sellers. A tipi of course! “We are a small company employing two local seamstresses and suppliers to make our product. report. “Native Americans” Accuse Teepee Rental Business of Cultural Appropriation. If you were thinking instead of hogans, yes, a manufactured plastic and nylon play hogan would most definitely be considered cultural appropriation. Toronto’s Lisa Charleyboy, the founder and editor-in-chief of Urban Native Magazine, said she doesn’t see designer teepees as a pressing concern, as long as kids aren’t using them to play Cowboys and Indians. When I asked her if she was OK, she complained that the project was stupid. When we don’t have the meaning of the symbols we see and use, we can’t see and appreciate a culture’s full beauty. Wouldn’t that upset you? To order Cultural appropriation occurs when a person from one cultural adopts the fashion, iconography, trends, or styles from another culture. Or even worse, you’re just a big corporation looking to make a quick buck. It may seem hard, but I assure you that kids are able to understand these things. She launched ShopIndigenous.ca last fall as an Etsy-style marketplace for aboriginal artisans from across Canada and the U.S. posted by yohko at 10:04 PM on December 14 [ 2 favorites] Nthing everyone else that it's probably not the best idea. You don’t need to ask for permission; after all, you think it’s pretty, and that’s appreciation, right? Everyone makes mistakes. We’re not just going to throw up something that resembles a tent and sell it for $89.99. Abbey is from Little Pine First Nation in Saskatchewan. . Overcoming centuries of cultural appropriation may seem scary, but when you reframe your thinking to focus on respect and consent instead of immediate outrage, it all becomes much easier. Adrienne K., from the excellent blog Native Appropriations, recently appeared on the Al Jazeera English show The Stream to discuss issues of cultural appropriation of Native American cultures in fashion and home decor, sports mascots, and so on. Soon their friends started placing orders for their own, so they started the company and set up a website two weeks ago. All presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution There is no shame in that—that’s honesty, and that’s admirable. Lighter Side! Cultural elements which may have deep meaning to the original culture can be reduced to “exotic” fashion by those from the dominant culture. “Couldn’t be Parkdale forts/something less racist?” wrote one Twitter user with the name Erin Styles. If people want to bring elements of indigenous culture into their homes, Abbey said, she hopes they will consider pieces made by indigenous artists. Raising kids I saw these cloth “teepees” (they were called tents, though) about during the playdate toddler years. To order copies of “Then I realized they’re all over Etsy, they’re huge in New York, they’re huge in Toronto.”, Teepees are officially trending in the world of interior design. I’m going to take a liberty here and say that based on my studies of Dr. Montessori’s work, she would have been much more concerned about the horrified reaction from the Indigenous community than in favor of the tipi’s use as a play tent for the child. Why your white kid probably shouldn’t dress up as Moana for Halloween, My daughter is at risk because she’s Aboriginal and female. Alistair Leyland and Mary Ratcliffe started the Parkdale Teepee Company after building a teepee for themselves at home. Instead, we : 11. Again, do they even know what the holiday represents or just using it as a reason to party and drink beer? When we don’t have the meaning of the symbols we see and use, we can’t see and appreciate a culture’s full beauty. By Alicia Elliott “It was never our intention to offend, hurt people, or make anyone angry,” their statement said. I’ve had to witness the appropriation of my culture my whole life, and it’s far from harmless. “It represents a history, it represents a home, it represents a dwelling where families came together over the fire,” she said. St. Joseph Communications uses cookies for personalization, to customize its online advertisements, and for other purposes. I think where this goes wrong is when you strip it of all its cultural meaning and simply do so because you “want to”. I’d never say that someone who has never had the misfortune of experiencing something awful like racism is a bad parent. Examples of cultural appropriation are everywhere you look in pop culture, fashion, and even food.The "is it appropriation, or appreciation?" Criticism erupted online over … People become immediately defensive when presented with the fact that getting a dreamcatcher tattoo may not be … They’re “where the stylish 7-year-old has play dates and story time,” the Wall Street Journal wrote, noting that celebrities such as Nicole Richie and Miley Cyrus had them. Then, the story goes, because all cultures are essentially equal, any differences in the socio-economic status … How could these parents hang Indigenous symbols in their cars while their kids made fun of me for trying to celebrate my own Haudenosaunee culture? HomeSense makes a miniature version for dogs. But critics say turning teepees into furniture is just one more example of cultural appropriation, taking a famous symbol of aboriginal culture and stripping it … Where did they get their information from? It’s just something that’s trendy at the moment.”. 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