I have seen this on Facebook a couple of times now; each time I have responded in roughly the same way. But it seemed like a thing I should write something about here, in greater detail.
I have tried Googleing Mari Nakawe, to find out more about her, but all that comes up are screen captures of what look like a conversation on Social Media (this one being first and foremost of the lot). What little I have been able to glean from those conversations, is that she seems like a passionate woman with deep ties to her heritage. I can appreciate that. I have deep ties to my heritage too.
I'll come back to that in a minute.
Let's start with racism and cultural appropriation.
Racism is pretty simple to define: broadly, it is prejudice, discrimination, and/or antagonism directed at someone of a different "race" (i.e. ethnicity/culture/skin color), based in the belief that one's own ethnicity is superior. Sadly, we have all seen it in action. "All blacks are....", "All Jews are....", "All Asians are....", "All Italians are....", "All Muslims are...." Anytime we start with the assumption that ALL of someone are something, we are dealing with racism. I'm going to state the unpopular opinion that anyone is capable of it, regardless of your own ethnicity, but I'm going to add that those of us who are of European heritage absolutely must tread with care, consideration, and open minds/hearts, because most of the time racists look and sound like us. As a result, we have enjoyed (whether we asked for it or not) a great deal of privilege in the past few hundred years. We, of all people, must be the most willing to listen and to learn. We must be extra careful--and no, it isn't fair. Tough. Deal with it. Because YOU, my fair skinned reader, have probably always had a Santa Clause who looked like you, a plethora of television shows whose casts looked like you, dolls who looked like you, etc. We have no reason to be inherently nervous when we are pulled over for a broken taillight. Our darker skinned colleagues have every reason to be nervous and don't get me started on what it's like for people who look Middle Eastern or Mexican right now, let alone actual practicing Muslims in this country.
So just in case it isn't clear, I don't condone racism on any level (and I am just as guilty of it as the next guy; it isn't easy to unpack all that baggage, because much of the time we are unaware of what it even looks like).
Cultural appropriation is a related, hot-button topic. Is it okay for white people to have dreadlocks? Can we wear kimonos? Sexy "Indian Maiden" costumes at Halloween?
My answers:
Yes.
Yes.
NO.
Here's the difference. We borrow things like hairstyles and clothing styles from each other across the globe all the time. Saying (or thinking to yourself) "gosh, that's gorgeous, I'd like to wear that!" isn't racist (although I strongly encourage understanding the cultures from which we borrow things like hairstyles and jewelry; understand that wearing a bindi means something and that feathered head-dresses are strictly off-limits as fashion choices for a reason!) Dressing up once a year as another culture (especially a LIVING culture), sexualizing that culture, fetishizing it...I mean, really, do I have to tell you how disrespectful that is? C'mon. Don't be a douche. (And for crying out loud, don't let your little girls--or boys for that matter--dress up as Pocahontas. Do you have any idea what the REAL story is there? Yikes. I love many things about Disney; many others I hate--but that is a blog post for another day.)
So now that I've covered the basics of racism and cultural appropriation [link takes you to an excellent article from The Atlantic], let's get back to the issue at hand: Spirit Animals and "NonNatives" (by which I can only assume Ms. Nakawe means those of European heritage living in North America).
Where do I start? Perhaps with the hubris of saying that only Native [Americans] have access to Spirit? The utter lack of understanding in the statement that Spirit Animals such as Bear and Eagle (revered across Europe and Asia) derive only from Native American tribes? The absolutely closed-minded rudeness of "you don't get one"? I'm sorry, but I was unaware that any one human got to speak for Spirit or that any one representative of any particular tribe got to decide who gets access to Spirit and who does not. And while we're on the subject of "who made you the authority here?" what gives a Native American woman the right to speak for the Spirits native to other Lands? Some of us have allies from places other than America.
So what of the alternatives?
A patronis is a fictional concept. A Muse is a Goddess (or demi-goddess, depending on how you look at these things). Inspiration is exactly that: Inspiration, that "ah ha!" moment when something falls into place in your head. It has nothing to do with Spirit work. (Other than we all get those ah-ha moments and sometimes it happens in meditation--and sometimes it is a gift from our allies; to not acknowledge that gift, to claim it as our own, is also hubris.)
Spirit Animals (or better put, Spirit Allies--because they aren't always animals) fall into two general categories (and as always, I am speaking in Very Broad Strokes here, because I don't claim to know and understand every single situation). 1) The mother/father/grandmother/grandfather Spirit of X (Bear, Eagle, Oak, Fox, etc.), and 2) individual, smaller spirits -- spirits that may not even be bears or eagles or oak trees or foxes, but has assumed that shape because that's how Spirit works: Spirit speaks to us in the language our minds are able to grasp. Let me repeat that:
Spirit speaks to us in the language our minds are able to grasp.
And Spirit speaks to all of us (or at least to those of us it/they choose to -- although it helps for us to be open to Spirit). But the point is that every single one of us is capable of making those connections.
Every. Single. One. Of. Us.
Nobody has a monopoly on Spirit.
Not any tribe, not any person, not anyone at all.
Because Spirit is independent of us. Bear is out there doing Bear things whether we are working with Bear or not. And Bear is bloody well capable of speaking to whomever Bear desires to speak. To say otherwise is hubris.
Now, that said, no online quiz, no matter how fun of a time-suck, can tell you what your "spirit animal" is. Duh. I think we all know that. We do those things because they're silly and fun and we need to kill ten minutes waiting for the bell to ring at our kids' school.
On a more serious note, Spirit work should never, ever be taken lightly. These connections are real. They are binding. They are two-way streets. If we don't honor those connections, those allies, those obligations, just like that friend whom we ONLY call when we need help moving something heavy, Bear may not be there the next time we reach out. If we want help moving the sofa this week, we'd better be there when Bear wants help with something next week, even if we're not sure why we were asked to do The Thing (because sometimes the things Spirit asks don't make much sense in the moment).
I am also not insensitive to where Ms. Nakawe seems to be coming from: a place of hurt. We Europeans have a lot to answer for when it comes to the indigenous tribes of America. We caused immeasurable pain and suffering--and we continue to cause it, not just with our callousness, our own hubris, and insensitivity to tradition, but with our continued mistreatment of indigenous peoples and our erasure of our own horrible acts from the history books we give our children. We have a LOT of work to do.
But that doesn't mean we aren't allowed to answer when Spirit calls to us. Perhaps answering that call is one way to begin truly working toward the lands we now also call home. We must learn. We must listen. We must work together.
And yes, we Europeans most definitely must do all that we can to make amends.
Edit: on a related note (with regards to racism and some of the major issues involved in unpacking white privilege) this just crossed my radar and it is an excellent read:
White People Explain Why They Feel Oppressed
Edit: on a related note (with regards to racism and some of the major issues involved in unpacking white privilege) this just crossed my radar and it is an excellent read:
White People Explain Why They Feel Oppressed
