Curate, connect, and discover
Indigenous - Blog Posts
Image Credit: Pottermore/Warner Brothers HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET of NOPE! Dear JK Rowling,
Alia here. There’s no denying you’re one of the most brilliant minds of our era. You’ve created worlds that we get lost in and complex characters that we love dearly. But with MAGIC IN NORTH AMERICA, something went wrong. Maybe it’s that you’re not from North America? But surely you did your research into the complexities that are the native peoples of this continent...Maybe it’s that you didn’t grow up constantly bombarded by stereotypical images of native people on TV, in movies, as Halloween costumes, etc.? Maybe it’s because you didn’t go to school here and didn’t receive an incomplete history of native peoples that basically stops after “First Contact” & “Thanksgiving” and ignores modern native people? Perhaps...
There are real issues here. You’re dealing with real people, cultures, traditions and religions and with that comes a lot of responsibility. Native people are already heavily stereotyped around the world as “Magical Beings” and now...they’re in your magical canon! Not only do you refer to them as a monolithic group (there are hundreds of nations in the US alone), you *seem* to imply that native wand-less magic is powerful but not as refined as European magic (due to the power of a wand).
I encourage you, Ms. Rowling, to respond to native academics, fans, etc. who are asking you tough, but important questions. Debbie Reese, Dr. Adrienne Keene and many others have tweeted at you. Here, here, here & here are some EXCELLENT articles that delve into your work from a native perspective. This one is excellent as well. I ask you to check out Debbie Reese and Dr. Adrienne Keene’s websites in general. Just look around. They do great work.
Let’s get this discussion going and please let us know who you consulted for this project because we’re SUPER CURIOUS. (at least I am...) Representation Matters. It really does and yes, anyone CAN write a story, but I’d hope they LISTEN and learn as much as possible before releasing it to the world, especially when you’re dealing with living people, religions, and NATIVE KIDS. There’s a long history of misrepresentation, exploitation and stereotyping of native peoples. There’s also the fact native writers already have a difficult time getting published. They have a hard time telling their own stories. MAGIC IN NORTH AMERICA is problematic and we await your response... Sincerely, A Fan **SIPS TEA (out of the Goblet of Fire)**
Okay, time for some house cleaning. If you disagree with any of these then get off my blog
Trans women are women
Trans men are men
Nonbinary people are nonbinary
Bisexuals, pansexuals, and omnisexuals are valid
Arospec and acespec people are valid
Trans women deserve to be included in women spaces
Trans lesbians deserve to be included in lesbian spaces
Trans men deserve to be included in men’s spaces
Gay trans men deserve to be included in gay spaces
Black lgbtq+ people deserve to be included in our community
Indigenous lgbtq+ people deserve to be included in our community
LGBTQ+ people of all races deserve to be included in our community
You’re never too old to transition or discover your sexuality
Respect is not given but earned
Polyamorous relationships are valid
Monogamous relationships are valid
And lastly, but sure not leastly,
IT IS NEVER OKAY TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST SOMEONE FOR THINGS OUT OF THEIR CONTROL. RACE, SEXUALITY, GENDER IDENTITY, AGE, DISABILITY, ETC. AND THIS DOES INCLUDE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PEOPLE SEEN AS THE STANDARDS
I pray this won’t lose me too many followers. Not because I care about followers but because I hope not many people disagree with this
Severely underfunded Palestinian fundraiser
This family is severely underfunded, with only 3% of their goal raised and are currently at €1,291. They have come to me saying that it is getting harder and harder to find food and water, and they barely have any funds to draw from as it is. If you'd like to help change that, and contribute to saving their lives, please think about donating (even a small amount) and/or reblogging this!
vetted and listed as #19 on this document.
and below as a thank you for taking the time to read this, here's a fun poll. Please reblog if you participate, I wanna see who helped build our beautiful snow man
Hello guys! I came to promote the independent animation project that I created with the help of my friends. The project aims to tell stories of the indigenous people “Potiguara” where it has a presence in the north and northeast of Brazil. The character in question in the story is called “M'boí Tatá”.
It has the audio in Portuguese, but it has the option of subtitles in English!!!!
Synopsis: Dandara tells the story of a young character from a Potiguara indigenous family, getting to know one of the stories of her people, spending the day in the village playing, learning and preparing for the rituals of her people with her family. Everyone organizes around a big bonfire until something unbelievable happens.
Link to watch: https://youtu.be/tdS-SIc_cus
Photo credit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2783189/We-feel-disrespected-Anger-Seattle-City-Council-gives-Columbus-Day-boot-replacing-Indigenous-Peoples-Day.html
Kai for the people
@/indigenous.Kidd on instagram :)
this also goes to assuming things about real life indigenous people.
(inspired by another post I saw)
Writing Native Characters/OCs
Don't write your Native characters as dumb, being goofy is ok, but downright stupid isn't.
Avoid the "noble savage" trope; eg. having them be overly serious, aggressive, etc.
On aggression, portraying them as straight up bloodthirsty is very bad, esp for Nahua, Maya, & Mesoamericans in general.
Depicting or calling them "dogs" is very bad, it's a literal slur.
Drawing Native characters with red skin. Warm undertones are fine as long as you don't make them literally red.
Don't draw us with random feathers in our hair, we don't do that.
"Native" isn't a standalone identity, our tribes are far more important than the umbrella "Native".
Natives all look very different, some of us are light, some are dark. There's lot of Black Natives too.
Our living conditions are also diverse. Not all of us live on reservations, most of us are urban.
Don't portray our men as inherently predatory and misogynistic, it feeds into racist propaganda.
Don't portray our women as submissive, sexual, exotic creatures. Very gross.
Don't write us as thieves and criminals, more racist propaganda.
Writing or showing the death of a Native character can be very traumatic for us to see or read, esp if the death is needlessly graphic.
Related, torturing a Native character for shock value is very gross and messed up.
"Savage accent" is gross and racist. Don't write it.
The "Spiritual One" is so tired and unoriginal. (hence the "Native character is introduced with a flute playing in the background)
Our regalia is not casual attire, it's specifically ceremonial. We wear ordinary clothes, if not with some cultural influence, most of the time.
Please don't use us for poverty poor.
Writing us as drug, sex, gambling, addicts is really bad.
Esp avoid them using alcohol and inhalants, it's very stereotypical and are real systemic problems we face.
Using MMIW as a plot point is horrible, I'll hunt you down if you do this.
Having us fall in love with colonizers, don't emulate Pocahontas, that movie was a mistake and so is this trope.
The "special colored eyes/hair" see the Yue and the Water Tribe problem.
Regional/Cultural specific tropes to avoid:
Arctic NA Natives:
Don't us the word "esk*mo". It's a slur.
We aren't all Inuit. Lots of us are Inupiat, Yup'ik, Alutiiq, Athabascan, Tlingit, etc.
Although lots of us do eat meat, but for the love of god don't make that our personality.
Please do research on our names if traditional, no "Tuk Tuk" names or I'll kill you.
Although lots of us are born in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, not all of us are. I was born in California.
If you are not Arctic NA Native, don't draw our traditional tattoos. They are unique to each tribe and hold significant meaning to them.
We do have parkas but we don't just wear it, esp not when it's warmer like summertime, then it's qaspeq/kuspek. Please do research on our attire.
Drawing us with the "closed eyes" caricature.
Plains Tribes:
Carelessly having plains Natives in headdresses is a caricature.
There's lots of different plains tribes, they aren't a monolith.
Not all plain Natives still live in tipis, good god.
This is esp where you need to avoid "savage accent" and red skin.
Stop adding fringe everywhere.
They also aren't running around naked in buckskin loinclths.
(A lot of this also applies to eastern woodlands too. Also eastern woodlands tribes do not live in tipis)
Southwest:
Navajo isn't the only tribe in the southwest.
The "pueblos" are only built by Puebloan tribes, such as Hopi and Zuni. Navajos aren't Puebloan, they don't live in these.
We don't just spend our days just making silver turquoise jewelry.
Don't write about Sk*nwalkers, please don't.
Kokopelli is a Hopi Kachina. He isn't pan-indian.
Central/Mesoamericans:
"Aztec" and "Maya" are not all there is. And they are not the same.
"Aztec" isn't what the people are called, they are Nahua.
They aren't bloodthirsty and in love with violence, stop writing this.
"Evil Priest", "Holy Emperor", "Human Sacrifice", yeah stop all that shit.
There's more Central/South Americans tribes outside of just Mexico.
Please reblog if you post about
Native American Culture and/or spirtuality
Inca culture and/or Spirtuality
Aztec culture and/ or Spirtuality
Okay, time for some house cleaning. If you disagree with any of these then get off my blog
Trans women are women
Trans men are men
Nonbinary people are nonbinary
Bisexuals, pansexuals, and omnisexuals are valid
Arospec and acespec people are valid
Trans women deserve to be included in women spaces
Trans lesbians deserve to be included in lesbian spaces
Trans men deserve to be included in men’s spaces
Gay trans men deserve to be included in gay spaces
Black lgbtq+ people deserve to be included in our community
Indigenous lgbtq+ people deserve to be included in our community
LGBTQ+ people of all races deserve to be included in our community
You’re never too old to transition or discover your sexuality
Respect is not given but earned
Polyamorous relationships are valid
Monogamous relationships are valid
And lastly, but sure not leastly,
IT IS NEVER OKAY TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST SOMEONE FOR THINGS OUT OF THEIR CONTROL. RACE, SEXUALITY, GENDER IDENTITY, AGE, DISABILITY, ETC. AND THIS DOES INCLUDE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PEOPLE SEEN AS THE STANDARDS
I pray this won’t lose me too many followers. Not because I care about followers but because I hope not many people disagree with this
I think Indigenous people could be brought from Earth to Pandora after the Na'vi learn about them. At first some of the Na'vi think they shouldn't bother. They are probably already poisoned by their fellow Sky people.
But when they sit and talk and show photos. They ask for more info and the research teams very guiltily give more. There's nothing but horror as they watch the same things happen to these people.
It's when they see the braids in several photos. And videos of their practices and holding each other as they do. They realize somehow they are all Eywa's people.
"Ma jake. Is this true? Do they suffer so much?"
He has to agree and hangs his head admitting he doesn't know much. He never had wanted to. He was a different person now and felt ashamed of his lack of care. More talk happens but deep down many of them know what they must do,
"Bring them here."
"What? You want more sky people??"
"No. We want Eywa's people."
When word reaches earth people are shocked. There was stories of the blue people told through TV. Suddenly the miners and military was sent back in shame. Years past and truth was learned slowly.
When the invitation was extended, people were scared. But a few agreed. About 50 at first. If it was Creator and Great Mothers will then they would go.
I know I don’t have a large following. I know this post will get lost in the sea of other posts. I know I don’t come on here often, and when I do I try to keep my page free from death and other serious topics. Yet, I think this is imperative to say, especially since I myself am of indigenous descent. I ask all of you to join me in solidarity.
Cole Brings Plenty, actor, model, and most importantly activist was found dead. He was assaulted in a club in Lawrence, Kansas. He was killed and his braids; a symbol of his heritage, of his Lakota decent, and a sacred symbol across many an indigenous nation, were forcibly cut.
I beg of thee and I plead with thee, spread the word. Do your part, however big or little, to bring light to this situation. Whether it be by reblogging this post or others alike, or by going out and making a stand. Do it.
Shed light on the situation. This goes beyond the death of one man. It is about the abuse and the destruction of natives and their communities. Of the killing of many an innocent soul. Of the brutalization of many First Nations.
We have seen time and time again, many indigenous people die by similar means. We need to bring light on the deaths of any and all indigenous individuals dead, missing or at risk. It is an epidemic, an assault, and a silent cleansing of many a nation.
Whether it be the estimated 6,000 dead at the hands of Canadian residential schools, the murdered and missing indigenous women and children, or the killing of an actor and activist, you cannot deny the sheer abhorrence of this problem. The problem of many Native American people dying, going missing and being abused, at an alarming rate. At a level unprecedented and unparalleled, at a level of which should not be kept silent.
Cole Brings Plenty, actor, model, activist.
Look at him and spread awareness for him and for many others befallen by the same fate.
Remember him. Remember all of the others. Let nobody else befall the same fate again.
Why I hate gender abolitionism
(Sincerely, a Native)
“Stop looking at me with those eyes.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey guys! I’m officially on break for the next two weeks!
Thank goodness I got all my work done. Shit was so draining I swear. Anyways I’ve made some self indulgent art with my Avataroc’s, Natxo and Tonka’wi.
I love them sm.
Anyways, I plan to do some more drawings this break.
Hopefully finish my Jayvik Httyd au, and a few more good ones.
Happy Holidays!
Love you guys.
As always art is by me —————> @sillyboycam
(Xtra)
Here’s a drawing of them from like 2 years ago
changed them a bit for reasons. Also I did draw these :) my handle was just different.
Happy Holidays!! 🩵