Posted by Yadgar (other posts) on January 28, 2017 at 19:30:25 Previous Next
In Reply to: Re: Perfect Native Mane! posted by Native Carolinian on January 28, 2017 at 18:17:39:
Hi(gh)!
Let me put forward first: I am no expert on Native American peoples and cultures. Nevertheless, I am aware of the immense diversity among the "500 Nations", also when it comes to hair styles - traditional Iroquois wear it much different then, let's say Plains tribes or Navajos.
The notion of unfetteredly growing long smooth black hair als "typical Indian" probably was first installed by the famous-infamous paintings by George Catlin; in my country, Germany, this was also reinforced by late 19th/early 20th century adventure novelist Karl May, whose wild west novels were mostly set in a south-western (Apache) Native context and whose character "Winnetou", a young Apache chief, afterwards became the most popular fictional Native American in German-speaking countries. This fictional Apache, in the original May books as well as in later TV and cinema adaptions, is described/depicted as having smooth black hair of mid-back length...
: I checked out the web-site. I find it very disturbing on the whole. I am Native American. I speak Lenape as my first language as well as Cherokee, and English as my 3rd.
: Let me explain some things about Native Americans and our hair. There is no such thing as "Native Hair". Each culture has its own hair styles. People within these cultures some times have different hair styles depending on their social standing. Many times it has to do with their religion how they have their hair. It may also have to do with their spirituality how they have their hair.
: As regards that web-site on the whole, I find it very disturbing. Native women have been objectified for 500 years now. That site objectifies Native men to a large extent. That is not progress. The site actually makes me sick to my stomach. I find it very disrespectful that the person did not take the time to put names to the pictures as well as to which Nations these men belong. That is wrong. It is exploitation.
Yes, I also regard it as a major flaw of the site not to state the names and tribal allegiances of the men depicted - but this is with most photo blogs on the Web, just a flood of impressive pictures with hardly any background information. Internet culture generally seem to be outstandingly exploitive, not only when it comes to ethnic minorities, but with each and every subject, it begins with the very disrespect of image copyright. Images and texts and music and videos, all this is just anonymous "material" to make use of, without paying any respect to its creators. Sad, but true.
: Please take time to investigate Native American cultures and find out about how and why we look like we do and do what we do. We come from over 500 different Nations and do not have a monolithic culture. Our cultures are living and evolving just like yours is. Some Native Americans are very traditional, and some are not. Many Native Americans live in cities today due to the latest attempts by the U.S. Federal Government to break up out cultures and Nations. Urban Natives may not have traditional hair styles because we have to blend into the majority population and get jobs and pay the bills like everyone else.
So of course this admittingly awesome looking black-maned wet guy easily could be a non-traditional Native (and thus probably of mixed ancestry) who either tries to emulate White stereotypes about Native Americans and their hair or perhaps his long hair is just a non-ethnic subcultural statement (metal, alternative or whatever). He even could be no Native American at all but just a Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, (Northern) Indian or even East Asian young man (his face is not visible, so we cannot tell) with long black hair and fondness of frolicking about in water...
So, no offence intended!
See you in Khyberspace!
Yadgar