Cradleboard, 1890-1910

Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk)

Wood, hide, fibre, metal

Representation vs. Appropriation

When I made a tumblr blog post pointing out that the character creator in Baldur’s Gate 3 included culturally appropriative face tattoos, lot of people decided to bend over backwards to defend this. Excuses I have found while giving my blocking finger a routine work-out thus far have ranged from “Larian Studios is European so they don’t know any better”, to a classic “it’s just a fantasy game, stop being so oversensitive”. But by far the most common poor reaction was, “what if it’s representation?”

Now, two Māori people were quick to jump into this post and say themselves, clear as day, that this is not representation, it is appropriation. That should be enough right there—settlers do not get to decide what is and isn’t representation for us Indigenous folks. But white people not listening to Indigenous voices is nothing new. I’ve been forced to learn that if you want to be taken seriously by settlers, your best chance is to coddle and appease their poor little delicate feelings. So, let’s pretend for a second that these “what if it’s representation?” questions are actually asked in good, albeit ignorant faith, and not just a pathetic gut-reaction to avoid having to critically think about a beloved game. (Which, by the way, I still overall adore myself, mind you.) Let’s pretend they actually want an answer, and give it to them.

It’s very easy to list the examples of positive Indigenous representation I’ve personally experienced in video games, not made by Indigenous folks ourselves, because there’s only one game that comes to mind: Assassin’s Creed 3. The protagonist of AC3 is Ratonhnhaké:ton of the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka people. Ubisoft is a terrible company for other reasons, but they did one thing right in the development of this game: They hired a cultural consultant, Thomas Deer. Deer was able to guide them through avoiding offensiveness and stereotypes, and include proper cultural touchstones that Indigenous players, especially Mohawk players, would want to see. For example, Ubisoft originally wanted to include sacred ceremonial masks in the game, but Deer told them that depictions of these masks would be taboo. He also helped them choose what clothing and jewellery was authentic to the Nation. This, among much more, helped create a truly representative experience. What makes it representation is that it features an Indigenous character in a positive way, without crossing lines into what should not be touched by outsiders. But had Ubisoft decided to ignore Deer’s consultation and go ahead with using those sacred masks… that would have been cultural appropriation.

Cultural appropriation is taking a closed cultural practice and using it yourself, despite not belonging to the culture it comes from. The key word there is closed, as in, something not for outsiders to touch. Eating frybread is not cultural appropriation, because it’s something freely shared by Natives to others. But wearing a fake headdress to your local musical festival is cultural appropriation, because headdresses are sacred regalia not freely shared by Natives to others. It really is that simple: just listen to boundaries set by the People.

“But my fake headdress is just clothing.” “But a fake kakiniit is just ink.” “But my fake totem pole is just decoration.” Except not, and the very fact that you have no respect for the history and meaning behind these things is the perfect example as to why they are not for you. But being told something isn’t for them has always been a hard a pill for settlers to swallow.

The phrase “nothing about us without us” is often used when advocating for rights and respect of minorities. It was first brought into English vocabulary by South Africa’s disability activism in the 1990’s, and has since been adapted across the world as a slogan to mean uplifting voices of the people you claim to want to help, instead of speaking over them. I personally first heard it through EDIRA work (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Reconciliation and Accessibility) at my job, and I feel like it can be applied in many different ways, this being one of them. The best representation comes from listening to the people you want to represent. Had Larian done that, they would have known that imitating those tattoos was off limits. But since they didn’t, they took what wasn’t theirs to take. And that’s appropriation.

An 1882 portrait of the last surviving Six Nations Reserve veterans of the War of 1812.

From right to left: Sakawaraton, also known as John Smoke Johnson (Mohawk/Kanienʼkehá꞉ka born ca. 1792); John Tutela (Cayuga nation born ca. 1797) and Young Warner (born ca. 1794).

saw some tags on a reblog i did but yes, iroquois is a derogatory term. it's a french bastardization of (i believe) the algonquin word for "snake." the term is used to describe member tribes of the haudenosaunee (approximate pronunciation ho-di-no-SHO-ni) confederacy in the capital region of the us and up into canada, which include:

Mohawk / Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (approximate pronunciation "gah-nyen-geh-hah-ga") - “People of the Flint." Also referred to as the “Keepers of the Eastern Door” because they are the nation furthest to the east in the Confederacy. (alix note: mohawk communities are predominantly in canada but there are bands in northern new york as well.)

Oneida / Onyota’a:ká (approximate pronunciation "oh-nyo-DA-aw-GA") - “People of the Standing Stone” (there are two Oneida nations in the US, one in NY, one in Wisconsin, because of,,,y'know. displacement.)

Onondaga / Onöñda’gegá’ (approximately pronounced "ohnen-DA-geh-GA") - “People of the Hills.” Also referred to as the “Keepers of the Central Fire” because they were the center and capital of the Confederacy

Cayuga / Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (approximately pronounced "guy-yo-KO-no") - “People of the Great Swamp”

Seneca / Onöndawá'ga (approximately pronounced "Oh-nown-da-WA-gah") - “People of the Great Hill.” Also known as the “Keepers to the Western Door” because they are the nation furthest to the west in the Confederacy

Tuscarora / Skarù:ręˀ (approximately pronounced "ska-ruh-reh") - “The Shirt Wearing People" or "the hemp gatherers" In 1722, the Tuscarora moved from North Carolina to the Haudenosaunee area to seek refuge and they were invited to join the Confederacy

all nations in the confederacy are still extant and all (to the best of my knowledge) have programs to keep their languages alive; i've linked to the govt websites for each nation.

just like...as a general rule of thumb if something sounds french (or european, tbh) and it's being applied to indigenous peoples of the americas it's safe to assume it's probably not the right word to use. (exceptions exist: the st croix band of ojibwe, etc.) rule of thumb is double check and you can do this very easily by searching "[name of nation] tribal government website" to see what names and terms are acceptable.

(i keep forgetting to put this on posts but yeah, i'm white. i grew up in haudenosaunee territory, i work in indian law [canadians don't fight me, that's the legal term in the us, i don't like it either], and this is basic 101 stuff that every settler in the us needs to fuckin know.)

eta: this should also be obvious but if a mohawk, tuscarora, seneca, cayuga, onondaga, or oneida person self-describes as iroqouis, leave them the fuck alone. same rule of thumb as a lesbian self-describing as dyke. as a lesbian, i get to reclaim that word. as a white person, i do not get to reclaim iroquois. it's that simple.

Gif Pack: Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs

By clicking the gif page in the source link below, you will find 687 textless gifs of Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs as Elora Danan in Reservation Dogs (season 2). She is Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk). All of these gifs were made by me for roleplay use. Please like or reblog if you found these gifs helpful! 

Trigger/Content Warning: food, knife/stabbing Please: Do not repost or redistribute, claim as your own, or repost in a gif hunt. Thanks and enjoy!

Okay so this may not be Totally accurate but I did my best lmao - current F1 tracks in US, CAN and AUS and the indigenous lands they're on:

Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montreal: Unceded Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) territory

Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne: Unceded Boonwurrung territory

Miami International Autodrome, Miami: Cession 118 land, traditionally Tequesta land, now Miccosukee and Seminole

Circuit of the Americas, Austin: Unceded Tickanwa•tic (Tonkawa) land, Nʉmʉnʉʉ (Comanche) and Lépai-Ndé (Lipan Apache) also traditionally resident

Las Vegas Street Circuit, Las Vegas: Cession 558 land, Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) land

K Devery was also in a really cute movie called 'this place' that just premiered at TIFF, the acting of some of the side characters was a little awkward along with the script (very much a first feature film) but I liked it a lot. She plays an Iranian - Kanienʼkehá꞉ka student who goes to Toronto to learn more about her father, and meets a Tamil girl in a laundromat which kicks off a cute love story. It's also very much about the city and identity and family and trauma, I was pleasantly surprised and charmed by it. No idea if it's getting picked up by a streaming site or a release, but if it does you should definitely check it out!

Oh, wow, you were able to watch it?? Nice! I was only able to see it advertised on Twitter, it's actually what I was thinking of when I said multiple wlw roles, since I could only remember The Order otherwise. She's already so prolific, though, I might have missed some.

And yeah, I was reading that summary and thinking, those are not character backgrounds you see often! I do like that Canada is willing to go with these diverse actors and stories pretty regularly. I hope I get a chance to watch for sure, thanks for the added info and rec!

here’s some singles and albums i was listening to in march

(in no particular order other than color)

anak ko // jay som (alternative)

band wagon // shigeru suzuki (japanese rock)

thunder, lightning, strike // the go! team (british alt / indie pop)

0 // ichiko aoba (japanese contemporary folk)

weather // ginger root (alt / funk)

new kind of man // ogre you asshole (japanese rock)

apollo xxi // steve lacy (funk / r&b)

si me voy // cuco (ft. the marías) (indie rock / pop)

sailorfag // sailorfag (mexican reggaeton)

corazón de cerdo con ginseng al vapor // putochinomaricón (spanish pop)

era extraña // neon indian (alt / electronic)

blackbraid i // blackbraid (kanienʼkehá꞉ka black metal)

scaring the hoes // jpegmafia x danny brown (alt hip-hop)

mama’s gun // erykah badu (neo soul)

mm...food // mf doom (british-american alt hip-hop)

soulpop 1 // tony velour (alt hip-hop)

gizmo // tanukichan (rock)

bothered / unbothered // jer (new tone / pop punk)

superclean, vol ii // the marías (neo soul / bedroom pop)

praise a lord who chews but which does not consume; (or simply, hot between worlds) // yves tumor (alternative)

carousel / cry wolf // skylar spence (electronic)

time ‘n’ place // kero kero bonito (british dancehall / electro pop)

neutropical // mark redito (experimental electronic)

taiyou to icarus // buck-tick (japanese digital / experimental rock)

radical romantics // fever ray (swedish electronic / experimental pop)

On the 30th of October, ten years ago, Assassin's Creed III was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The plot is set in a fictional history of real-world events and follows the millennia-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight to preserve peace and free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control. The framing story is set in the 21st century and features series protagonist Desmond Miles who, with the aid of a machine known as the Animus, relives the memories of his ancestors to find a way to avert the 2012 apocalypse. The main story is set in the 18th century, before, during and after the American Revolution from 1760 to 1783, and follows Desmond's half-English, half-Mohawk ancestor, Ratonhnhaké:ton / Connor, as he fights the Templars' attempts to gain control of the colonies. The first portion of the game, set in 1754–1755, follows Connor's father, Haytham Kenway, the leader of the Colonial Templars, during the French and Indian War.

Assassin's Creed III is set in an open world and presented from the third-person perspective with a primary focus on using each playable character's combat and stealth abilities to eliminate targets and explore the environment. Connor is able to freely explore 18th-century Boston, New York City, and the American frontier to complete side missions away from the primary storyline. The game also features a multiplayer component, allowing players to compete online to complete solo and team-based objectives including assassinations and evading pursuers. Assassin's Creed III was one of the first major video game releases to prominently feature Mohawk people (Mohawk: Kanienʼkehá꞉ka), an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America. The team sought to capture Mohawk culture as authentically as possible and consulted with cultural experts about the depiction of Connor and other Mohawk characters.

The game received positive reviews from critics, who praised it for its gameplay, narrative, setting, and ambitious scale, while criticism was directed at the unevenly developed gameplay mechanics, mission design, and pacing. It was a commercial success, selling more than 12 million copies worldwide.

🔫🐀

Oc for this ask is TC!:

He is the Death responsible for ferrying those who suffered from violent and untimely deaths- nonsuicide. Typically murders.

He is 6'6" and still tends to 'mask' as how he looked in life from his long hair, skin complexion and his way of dressing (spiked leather jacket, crop shirt, acid wash jeans, black biker boots)

His 'ferry' is a painted 1974 g10 Chevy 'shorty' and his buddy 'Sputz' paintwd the mural of the wizard fighting a barbarian on a galaxy background. He can give you his digits.

TC was a first nations/indigenous persons of the M.ohawk/Kanienʼkehá꞉ka peoples in upper New York.

In life he was a skilled bassball player and played bass in a metal band "Pork Bullit" and his preferred weapons are a bat and/or the exceptionally heavy electric bass.

Story Quote 1 from People of the Flint

The 1st #storyquote for my #shortstory collection People of the Flint. Written by an #indigenouscreator, featuring #indigenouscharacters #scfi #fantasy #booktok https://books2read.com/u/4jYVRj

The 1st storyquote for my short story collection People of the Flint.People of the Flint is my short story collection featuring the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka or Mohawks.

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poison ivys steak cover being a reference to a storyline where she peacefully euthanizes a farms worth of cows as they are a parasitic species in the new joisey ecosystem and then eats the meat so it doesn't go to waste is a super good story about an ethical diet and environmentalism and i'm happy they didn't go the lowest common denominator discourse route with removing her stated vegetarian habits. it's legit wonderful that local ecosystems are now being centered with her and it opens up a wealth of new storylines, worldbuilding and approaches to gotham and the dcu as a whole. Kanienʼkehá꞉ka poison ivy will always be famous as well

Okay, Okay, Okay,

I finished Good Omens recently and absolutely loved it. I am already a huge Neil Gaiman fan and have been for a long time. But after reading Good Omens, I had to read more Terry Pratchett! (I am going to re-read American Gods tho. Soon hopefully)

So I picked up a Diskworld novel.

And when reading the first page of the I came across this passage.

"A turtle, ten thousand miles long. It is Great A'Tuin," and my brain immediately jumped to the creation story I learned about as a child. Turtle Island. In the Mohawk (Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) version of the Skywoman's story and how she made the world on the back of a turtle. (I don't know if anyone on Tumblr will actually know what I'm talking about but if you are from mohawk nation, she:kon).

But it made me think for a second "was Terry Pratchett inspired by the Skywoman story?" then I remembered that other cultures also had stories about the world being on the back of turtle to some degree. So it's more likely the chances of him being specifically inspired by that story are pretty slim. But I absolutely love the description of the rest of A'Tuin so I'll share it here.

" - It carries on its meteor-pocketed shell four giant elephants who bear on their enormous shoulders the great round wheel of the Discworld."

So obviously the odds of Terry Practchett knowing about Skywoman's story are slim. And I'm not sure if anyone told him about it.

Hell, I'm probably the only person on my rez who's even heard of Discworld. I really don't know

I'm also realizing that I might also be over examining or looking for a connection at this point. But reading a story with a world that takes place on the backs of elephants, standing on the back of a giant turtle.

The point of all this rambling musing?

I guess the description just clicked something in my brain and the idea that Terry Pratchett may have been inspired by something from my culture (again, very unlikely). It made me weirdly proud of my culture? Like proud that something from my culture influenced a great author? I know I'm probably alone in this feeling, but I haven't read a book, in an embarrassing long time, that just grabbed me like that.

And for the first time in a long time, I'm excited to read a book!

St. Kateri Tekakwitha is one of the most amazing saints of North America, but few people have yet to meet the real St. Kateri Tekakwitha or the path of holiness she traveled. St. Kateri is the first canonized indigenous woman of North America, and the second indigenous person of North America to be canonized (that honor goes to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, whose tilma was used by the Virgin Mary to imprint her image). St. Kateri was born in 1656 at Ossernenon (near present-day Auriesville, N.Y.), a major town of the Mohawk nation or the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (“People of the Flint“), one of then-Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. Today, they are called the Six Nations. St. Kateri died at 24 years old in Kahnawake, a praying village established by Haudenosaunee Catholics along the St. Lawrence river in 1680 and which is an important part of the Mohawk nation today. “Lily of the Mohawk.” The Mohawk nation is comprised of three separate extended family networks called clans: the Turtle clan, the Wolf clan, and the Bear clan. When St. Isaac Jogues returned to the Mohawk nation of his own free will, as both missionary and representative of the French government, his presence had caused quite a bit of division. During his captivity, St. Isaac Jogues had been initially perceived by the Mohawk as a coward, and unworthy either to be adopted into their nation like the Jesuit lay brother Guillame Couture (who was captured along with Jogues, adopted, and appointed a sachem of the Five Nations). Nor was Jogues worthy of the other option: to avenge the death of a loved one in ritual execution. St. Kateri grew up with the witness of Mohawk Catholic converts in her own village. Second, these events are key to the founding of the “praying village” called Kahnawake, which St. Kateri would join in 1677, a year after her own conversion. Kahnawake was founded by a holy Oneida married couple in conjunction with the Jesuits. The husband, Francis Xavier Tonsaton, was originally a Wendat Catholic who had been captured and adopted into the Oneida nation, and was instrumental in the conversion of his wife who became a Catholic on fire for her faith. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf_AC3IOBGP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

This is why Assassin’s Creed 3 and Connor will always be my favorite in the series.

People want to complain about Connor being “emotionless”, but this game consulted actual people from this tribe and used their help to create his character and the language he speaks. That is so important and it will always be amazing.

For decades, Native American children were forcibly removed from their families and lands to attend boarding schools where English was mandatory and their own languages were forbidden. But in 1979, a small Mohawk tribe in upstate New York formed The Akwesasne Freedom School, where today Mohawk children continue to learn their native language and culture. Special correspondent Jenna Flanagan reports.