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reasonsforhope · 2 months

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"Minnetonka first started selling its “Thunderbird” moccasins in 1965. Now, for the first time, they’ve been redesigned by a Native American designer.

It’s one step in the company’s larger work to deal with its history of cultural appropriation. The Minneapolis-based company launched in the 1940s as a small business making souvenirs for roadside gift shops in the region—including Native American-inspired moccasins, though the business wasn’t started or run by Native Americans. The moccasins soon became its biggest seller.

[Photo: Minnetonka]

Adrienne Benjamin, an Anishanaabe artist and community activist who became the company’s “reconciliation advisor,” was initially reluctant when a tribal elder approached her about meeting with the company. Other activists had dismissed the idea that the company would do the work to truly transform. But Benjamin agreed to the meeting, and the conversation convinced her to move forward.

“I sensed a genuine commitment to positive change,” she says. “They had really done their homework as far as understanding and acknowledging the wrong and the appropriation. I think they knew for a long time that things needed to get better, and they just weren’t sure what a first step was.”

Pictured: Lucie Skjefte and son Animikii [Photo: Minnetonka]

In 2020, Minnetonka publicly apologized “for having benefited from selling Native-inspired designs without directly honoring Native culture or communities.” It also said that it was actively recruiting Native Americans to work at the company, reexamining its branding, looking for Native-owned businesses to partner with, continuing to support Native American nonprofits, and that it planned to collaborate with Native American artists and designers.

Benjamin partnered with the company on the first collaboration, a collection of hand-beaded hats, and then recruited the Minneapolis-based designer Lucie Skjefte, a citizen of the Red Lake Nation, who designed the beadwork for another moccasin style and a pair of slippers for the brand. Skjefte says that she felt comfortable working with the company knowing that it had already done work with Benjamin on reconciliation. And she wasn’t a stranger to the brand. “Our grandmothers and our mothers would always look for moccasins in a clutch kind of situation where they didn’t have a pair ready and available to make on their own—then they would buy Minnetonka mocs and walk into a traditional pow wow and wear them,” she says. Her mother, she says, who passed away in 2019, would have been “immensely proud” that Skjefte’s design work was part of the moccasins—and on the new version of the Thunderbird moccasin, one of the company’s top-selling styles.

[Photo: Minnetonka]

“I started thinking about all of those stories, and what resonated with me visually,” Skjefte says. The redesign, she says, is much more detailed and authentic than the previous version. “Through the redesign and beading process, we are actively reclaiming and reconnecting our Animikii or Thunderbird motif with its Indigenous roots,” she says. Skjefte will earn royalties for the design, and Minnetonka will also separately donate a portion of the sale of each shoe to Mni Sota Fund, a nonprofit that helps Native Americans in Minnesota get training and capital for home ownership and entrepreneurship.

Some companies go a step farther—Manitobah Mukluks, based in Canada, has an Indigenous founder and more than half Indigenous staff. (While Minnetonka is actively recruiting more Native American workers, the company says that employees self-report race and it can’t share any data about its current number of Indigenous employees.) Beyond its own line of products, Manitobah also has an online Indigenous Market that features artists who earn 100% of the profit for their work.

White Bear Moccasins, a Native-owned-and-made brand in Montana, makes moccasins from bison hide. Each custom pair can take six to eight hours to make; the shoes cost hundreds of dollars, though they can also be repaired and last as long as a lifetime, says owner Shauna White Bear. In interviews, White Bear has said that she wants “to take our craft back,” from companies like Minnetonka. But she also told Fast Company that she doesn’t think that Minnetonka, as a family-owned business, should have to lose its livelihood now and stop making moccasins.

The situation is arguably different for other fashion brands that might use a Native American symbol—or rip off a Native American design completely—on a single product that could easily be taken off the market. Benjamin says that she has also worked with other companies that have discontinued products.

She sees five steps in the process of reconciliation. First, the person or company who did wrong has to acknowledge the wrong. Then they need to publicly apologize, begin to change behavior, start to rebuild trust, and then, eventually, the wronged party might take the step of forgiveness. Right now, she says, Minnetonka is in the third phase of behavior change. The brand plans to continue to collaborate with Native American designers.

The company can be an example to others on how to listen and build true relationships, Benjamin says. “I think that’s the only way that these relationships are going to get any better—people have to sit down and talk about it,” she says. “People have to be real. People have to apologize. They have to want to reconcile with people.”

The leadership at Minnetonka can also be allies in pushing other companies to do better. “My voice is important at the table as an Indigenous woman,” Benjamin says. “Lucie’s voice is important. But at tables where there’s a majority of people that aren’t Indigenous, sometimes those allies’ voices are more powerful in those spaces, because that means that they’ve signed on to what we’re saying. The power has signed on to moving forward and we agree with ‘Yes, this was wrong.’ That’s the stuff that’s going to change [things] right there.”"

-via FastCompany, February 7, 2024

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thevibraniumveterans · 1 year

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“Black Panther Wakanda Forever” has a supporting cast of actors and actresses, without whom the story may not have been as effective. Sure, our main leads and the secondary characters are cool and awesome, and the story is amazing, but it’s people like the ones above who play small but very important roles in the story.

Having a young boy witness the trauma of his people be subject to horrors no child should be privy to, and hold on to that fear and rage with a grip so tight it transforms into vengeance that burns within a god-king hell-bent on protecting his people… little Manuel Chavez may not have been onscreen long, but his presence very much informed the charismatic K’uk’ulkan who is both filled with rage and kindness in equal measure.

Like Manuel, Irma-Estel LaGuerre and María Mercedes Coroy may not have been onscreen much, but their portrayal of a mother who, for the sake of her unborn son, must ingest a concoction to save both her and her people from the raging fires of colonialism resonates with many. In the film, K’uk’ulkan wonders what it is like to be a people in a pristine land who never have to leave. His mother loved him, cared for him, and wished for him to bury her in the land she loved so much, even if it was being desecrated by people who most certainly did not belong there to begin with. LaGuerre and Coroy portrayed a woman who had so much love to give, yet lost so much; it is to nobody’s surprise that her son adopted the name “Namor”, itself shortened from “el niño sin amor”, the child without love.

Without Josué Maychi, there may well not have been the inclusion of the Yucatec Mayan language in the film. Maychi’s role as the shaman who was guided by a god to retrieve a plant grown in Vibranium-rich soil to heal his smallpox-afflicted people is very important to the story, as without him, Talokan is as good as nonexistent. It is thanks to the shaman that Talokan was able to thrive as we see it do in the film.

María Telón Soc portrays a Mayan elder in the film. Her role, though small, is crucial as she is one of the guiding forces who help convince K’uk’ulkan mother to ingest the herbal drink to save her and her unborn son. Like the other actors and actresses mentioned above, she may not have been onscreen for long, but her presence informs the decisions we see the other Mayan-Talokanil make.

#mcu #black panther wakanda forever #wakanda forever spoilers #mcu namor #k’uk’ulkan #secondary characters #background characters #supporting cast #cultural representation #cultural heritage #marvel cast #josue maychi #maria mercedes #my thoughts #really makes you think 🤔#yucatán #mayan culture #mayan civilization #historical reference

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thatstudyblrontea · 10 hours

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'Did you hear that? That is us. That is our ancestry, our history, our story. We were never commoners, you see, we were members of the staff of the Royal Palace.' The moment passed in a heartbeat. But it did not matter. What mattered was that it existed. To be present in history, even as nothing more than a chuckle, was a universe away from being absent from it, from being written out of it altogether. A chuckle, after all, could become a foothold in the sheer wall of the future.

Arundhati Roy, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

#Arundhati Roy #The Ministry of Utmost Happiness #representation #queer history #trans history #queer representation #cultural representation #book quotes #quotes #bookblr #books #currently reading #booklr

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urbaneguerillaz · 4 months

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#urbane #urbane guerillaz #fashion #digital art #secret society #culture #cultural representation #cultural resistance

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alatismeni-theitsa · 2 years

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Is it really so difficult to accept that the representation of the POC in Eurocentric fantasy occupies the same position as the representation of the European in Africocentric fantasy or Asiacentric fantasy. Otherwise, we are talking about the privileges of some groups over others, no matter how paradoxical for many it may sound.

Truly... For USian showrunners any use of European folklore and fantasy must reflect the imbalance of representation in the US' reality. They don't think of countries were POC are the majority (aka 80% of the globe according to their definitions) and the minorities in these countries. For them the US' reality is the only valid one and only these social issues must be addressed (even the shows are in foreign countries) and only in the way that's familiar to USian "progressives". And I put that in quotes because this idea is the opposite of progression.

"in our country POC don't get the same opportunities and have been erased from history and now we do this as a balance act". Okay yes, I hear it. It is a totally valid concern but it has nothing to do with how other nations view their folk creatures. "But our creations must reflect our own social issues" Except it wasn't your creation. You took it from another culture or dead writer with the purpose of "balancing" it - the word used in Rings of Power.

Do you want to add diversity in your local US folklore in a way that makes sense? Sure! Do you want to create POC in your own fantasy setting with amazing powers? Go for it! Do you want to write about POC in a realistic historical setting? Lovely. Just ffs sake don't condescend the other countries for having folklore and established old stories . The type of folklore, may I add, that Africans and Asians have as well. Yes, they are not well represented in your country, but do you think the Chinese, the Afghans and the Ghanaians would change their own ancient myths in their own countries to include people of other phenotypes? No, because folklore doesn't function by default in a country where the people are a minority and never see themselves around. Most countries are pretty homogeneous in appearance.

Immigrants may naturally adapt their stories to the folklore of the land they reside and vice versa, but the US is one of the few countries which, without context, take ancient and traditional stories (not necessarily talking about Tolkien here) from OTHER countries and demand we should be pleased when they change them. And then they don't see that this is disrespectful??

Instead, they see other countries at fault for not accepting their Americanized "vision" for foreign stories - which is usually out of touch with the original culture and changes the issues in the story to put theirs in.

These people don't think beyond the context of their own country. You'll show them a Nigerian series with 100% Black homogenous cast and they'll all go on about how "diverse" it is. Because they don't think of Nigeria at that moment, but of their own country, where many Black people in a setting is diversity. They cannot distinguish the two. If you ask Nigerians in Nigeria if they'd change their pantheons and their traditional stories to put West Asians or East Asians in, just guess what the answer will be.....

Greeks, Brits, Poles, Italians, Iranians, Indians, Ghanaians, Congolese are not Immigrants by default. They are immigrants in your country. And that is only 5% of the Immigrants they have around the world. They have their own countries where they reside, and their gods and anthropomorphic creatures reflect that. They reflect 95% of the population within that nation, and the overwhelming majority of the people belonging to that culture is a satisfied with that. When there is a 95% somewhere that thinks of their creatures a certain way, USians are here to tell them they are bigots. But while all nations do this, USians reprimand only nations they perceive as White and their Cultural Ancestors, because they cannot imagine bigotry and homogeneity among nations they only see as Underprivileged Minorities and Immigrants.

I'm not saying we should not address important issues like racism or the human rights of immigrants! I am saying that not every creative piece across the globe was made to express your issues in the exact same way you need to see them. E.g. in the story it doesn't have to be White people VS Black people. It can be Elves VS Dwarves, and the message will be exactly the same.

#answered #representation #cultural representation

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miscellaneousjay · 1 year

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Since we’re in the age of remakes and remixes, can we get a remake of “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” with actual Persian actors, actresses, directors, and just those who can bring Iranian culture and lore to the franchise it’s supposed to be based on? Then, since the Persian Empire was at its height in the 5th century, hopefully we’d see a lot more dark-skinned actors at the forefront.

#prince of persia #sands of time #colorism #brown skin #brownface #cultural representation #representation matters #cultural appreciation #just thought i’d share #tokenism #miscellaneous #jay #miscellaneous jay #black girls who blog #black girls of tumblr #doaom #blackgirlbloggers #blerd #film critic

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filipinawanderer · 11 months

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Filipino Stereotypes Revisited: Breaking the Mold in a Global Scene

Explore the shifting landscape of Filipino stereotypes in our latest blog post, where we highlight the inspiring figures redefining our cultural identity on the global stage. #FilipinoPride #BreakingStereotypes

Stereotypes often rear their heads, offering simplified and often inaccurate perceptions of people and cultures in the evolving landscape of cultural representation. In my previous article, I touched upon the topic of Filipino stereotypes, discussing how these preconceived notions could both limit and define us. Today, we’re revisiting this topic to examine how some notable Filipinos are breaking…

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#Bella Poarch #breaking stereotypes #Bretman Rock #Bryanboy #cultural representation #filipina wanderer #Filipino stereotypes #Filipinx

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indizombie · 11 months

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Addressing epistemic injustice involves recognizing the ways in which different forms of social identity can impact the distribution of knowledge and resources, and taking steps to ensure that everyone has equal access to knowledge and is treated with equal respect and consideration. It requires challenging the structural inequalities and biases that contribute to these forms of injustice, and working to create more inclusive and equitable systems of education, knowledge production, and cultural representation.

Pranav Jeevan, ‘Epistemic Injustice: Does Knowledge have Caste?’, Round Table India

#Round Table India #India #Pranav Jeevan #epistemic injustice #social identity #distribution of knowledge and resources #structural inequalities and biases #injustice #education #knowledge production #cultural representation

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xtruss · 2 days

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Fashion Designer Alana Hadid, Sister to Well-Renowned Models Bella and Gigi, is leading the charge at Watermelon Pictures, a film production and distribution label.

Described on its website as a "Palestinian-owned independent film distribution, production, and financing" company, Watermelon Pictures is committed to cultural representation, social advocacy, and amplifying the voices of underrepresented filmmakers worldwide.

#Islam ☪️ Channel #Watermelon 🍉 Picture #Film 🎞️ 🎥 Production #Cultural Representation #Alana Hadid | Watermelon 🍉#News 🗞️#Palestinian Owned Company

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jelly-o630 · 4 months

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Ironic that the Owl House is trending the same day that I’m writing an essay probably no one will read but me about why the Owl House’s cultural representation sucks hard actually and we need to acknowledge that and also talk about why we get so upset over bad/mediocre lgbt+ and neurodivergent rep but not cultural rep.

I just wanna add I love the Owl House- I’ve been following it since it was first green lit and vividly remember when the first episode came out a few weeks before my birthday and how the fandom blew up after enchanting grom fright - I like this show, but Luz as a Latina character is mid at best

#owl house #the owl house #luz noceda #cultural representation #Latina representation #fandom #writing #lgbt representation #lgbt #neurodivergent representation #neurodivergent

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fallensapphires · 5 months

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Holidays: Indigenous Heritage Month (November)

That hand is not the color of yours, but if I prick it, the blood will flow, and I shall feel pain. The blood is of the same color as yours. God made me, and I am a Man.

As of 2023, there are 547 federally recognized tribes in the United States but somewhere between 200 to 400 unrecognized tribes.

#indigenous people #indigenous heritage #indigenous recognition #indigenous #native american #native american heritage month #indigenous peoples month #native american history #native culture #cultural heritage #Peoples of the world #Cultural representation #Culture aesthetics #Culture moodboard #moodboard #aesthetic #Standing Bear #Living memory

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thevibraniumveterans · 2 years

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evaneugenedavis · 8 months

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Gilded Glamour: Reimagining Hollywood's Golden Era through Inclusive Portraiture

Step into the world of Gilded Glamour, a personal photography project where I pay homage to the masters of Hollywood portraiture from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Inspired by the works of Eugene Robert Richee, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Ruth Harriet Louise, and other iconic photographers of that era, I aim to recreate the timeless allure and sophistication of the golden age of Hollywood. The elegance,…

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#Artistic Interpretation #Classic Cinema #Cultural Representation #Diversity and Inclusion #Diversity in Hollywood #Entertainment Industry #Film Industry #Film Photography #Film Portraits #Gilded Glamour #Golden Age of Hollywood #Hollywood Evolution #Hollywood Golden Era #Hollywood History #Hollywood Icons #Inclusive Portraiture #Nostalgic Portrayals #Reimagining History #Vintage Hollywood

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candylandphotos · 8 months

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Dark skin ethnic black Sudanese model Alek Wek joyful excited smile beauty photography ❤️

"Elegance in Diversity: The Radiant Smile of Sudanese Beauty Alek Wek captured in Joyful Photography ❤️📷✨"

#Cultural representation #Empowering black beauty #Sudanese heritage pride #Alek Wek's captivating smile #Photographic allure #Ethnic identity celebration #Melanin-rich elegance #Expressive joy #Diversity in beauty #Model's magnetic charm #Dark skin positivity #Authentic ethnic portrayal #Cultural enrichment #Vibrant photographic moments #Inclusive fashion industry #pretty girl #beautiful women #pretty woman

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alatismeni-theitsa · 2 years

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Honestly I find the current series of posts/asks decrying black actors in European settings quite uncomfortable, as a Greek born and raised in Greece. Especially the fact that it started from bashing the new LotR show, which is not even mythological or traditional folklore. Seems to me there's a xenophobic undertone y'all might need to examine in you. While I would like to see Greeks or people with Greek heritage being hired for Greek roles, I think Hollywood is ultimately a US industry catering to US needs. Our own TV presents other cultures in a just as distorted manner, because it caters to Greek needs and ideas. That's just how cultures work. If at least that role is given to a black brother/sister instead of some WASP, I'm just gonna be glad and happy their career was uplifted by getting a decent role (unlike the majority of roles black folks usually get).

Hi, I am answering this a bit late due to time constraints, sorry for that. More under the cut!

It depends on the setting, to be honest, and what cultures are described and what type of contact they have. If it is consistent with the universe, I don't see why not include people from different backgrounds. And historically we know these people existed in Europe.

It didn't start from LOTR, this discussion. It's been going on for many years, actually, about mythology and folklore of other countries including Greece. Naturally, Greeks cannot always be hired for roles. A Chinese production is not going to be asked to find 50 Europeans to create a play on Odyssey for example.

"Hollywood is ultimately a US industry catering to US needs." I mean yes, it is a US industry. Its reach is global though, so whatever they create it will eventually arrive to the people they are meant to represent. So these people later talk about that. US is a whole empire as of now, to the point it controls many foreign armies and our army with it (sending it to fight against Yemen), while having multiple bases on our soil if it wants to bomb more Middle Easterners and Eastern Europeans. (true historic examples) I am asking for some accountability from the US society here, for them to gain some awareness of the power and privilege they have as a country, and that they don't live in a bubble.

"Our own TV presents other cultures in a just as distorted manner, because it caters to Greek needs and ideas." This is a bad thing on our part, as well and I believe we should improve. In the age of information and adequate resources for a large part of the population showrunners have the capability of doing fairly good research and hiring actors from the backgrounds they want to represent. I am judging Greece in a similar way I judge the US, it's just happened that the discussion around that wasn't as prominent or popular.

If at least that role is given to a black brother/sister instead of some WASP, I'm just gonna be glad and happy their career was uplifted by getting a decent role (unlike the majority of roles black folks usually get). Here I agree with some parts and disagree with others. A Black Greek/Afro-Greek is as much as a brother as anyone else and their presence shouldn't be a negative element in any way. There is also the fact that creatures, gods, and heroes of a nation don't reflect the minorities of a country. Say a Black brother's family comes from Nigeria (I am using the country a lot because many people will be a biiiit familiar with some Yoruba gods). His family wouldn't want the depictions of their African old gods and heroes to change, too, despite Nigeria having large minorities of Europeans, Americans and Asians. If you asked this person to see a movie with his favorite Nigerian national hero played by a dark-skinned South Asian he wouldn't find the adaptation faithful.

I totally understand why that happens, and since I wouldn't ask it from the Nigerians I wouldn't ask it from any other culture because for the majority it feels offensive for the same reasons. Heroes, gods, and creatures were described by the locals through the centuries to a certain degree of agreement. Mythical Congolese heroes looked a certain way and we know it from the sculptures. I don't see any arguments of "But Middle Easterners existed in the country in antiquity! So the mythical kings must also reflect them!" In any case, I don't see this replacement as meaningful corrective action.

A Greek man may not be able to play Hercules because of his height, I am not fit to play any Japanese goddess, and so on. Yes, we are going to lose this very specific opportunity. If I am trying to play local goddesses or spirit in Swiss movies it's common sense I won't much coin. If I don't resemble any local deities then why should I ask I embody them? In another country, I will know that the local creatures and heroes are not meant to represent me, the 0,005% of the population, specifically, and I am not a norm in the country. This fact can coexist with the reality of South Europeans facing some bigotry and racism in North Europe, and South Europeans asking for better treatment.

Not everyone is meant to embody everyone. I don't find anything offensive with this idea and there a multitude of POC don't find it offensive as well. National figures and creatures looking a certain way it's not groundbreaking to them, and they follow this principle in their countries as well. They also know that by following that principle they don't lose any rights in other countries. What they want is purposeful change, no pandering or second-hand depictions from figures that are widely known to be non-Black (they want new roles and historical roles about them and their history), and more steps to be taken by famous platforms towards true equality and opportunities. I had to present this position briefly but, naturally, it would be better to search their comments and see it from their perspective.

#answered #greek speaks #cultural representation #representation

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miscellaneousjay · 1 year

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“Bring It On” has been weighing heavily on my mind as of late and I just found out about another installment of the franchise: Cheer or Die. Tbh, I was over the franchise after the Christina Milian-led “Fight To The Finish.” That was the last good (relevant) one to me. But now, since the folks in charge wanna keep adding to the franchise, can we finally get that long-overdue Clovers stand-alone produced by Gabrielle Union? Since we didn’t get it when we were SUPPOSED TO 23 years ago, can we get it now with the premise being the Toros giving the Clovers those championship trophies that they had been winning for years off the strength of Big Red coming up to East Compton High School in order to spy on them and steal their routines?!

👏🏾TAKE 👏🏾BACK 👏🏾THEIR👏🏾THINGS!!!!

#bring it on #cultural representation #cultural appreciation #black people #black girls are beautiful #we deserve it #we deserve this #black girl magic #2000s movies #black girls who blog #black girls of tumblr #miscellaneous #jay #miscellaneous jay #doaom #cultural appropriation

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