Alex is a cosmopolitan single mom who’s moved back into her suburban childhood home. Imogen is a stay-at-home mother of four, struggling to find a new identity and purpose at a turning point in her life.
When they meet by chance, they see something in each other that they both need. Something that could be more, in time.
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I’m so so so excited to share the first chapter of MOTHERLOVER, my new webcomic about two moms who fall in love. It’s my passion project, my baby, my sweet full-colour child; the first chapter in online in full, and weekly updates start on May 30!
Louie Gong describes his company, Eighth Generation, as “a Native-owned, community-engaged small business that began when I started putting cultural art on shoes.” It’s true, in 2008, Gong began decorating sneakers and skateboarding apparel with indigenous Nooksack patterns — a move that, as a Nooksack himself, set him apart from the non-Native designers who’d been doing so for years. As demand grew, so did Gong’s ambition.
Here you go, kids!
How to procure Native-American-and-First-Nation-themed items without entitlement or cultural appropriation in one easy step.
BUY THE THINGS DIRECTLY FROM THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES.
Because if they’re selling these representations of their culture and being fairly compensated, you’re not appropriating, you’re appreciating. And helping good folks make a living while you’re at it.
Everybody wins.
^^^this is the difference. participate in the parts of culture that people CONSENT to sharing!! it’s that simple, if you buy directly from the source, they are creating with the idea that people outside the culture will be consuming, and can pick and choose what they are okay with you having.
the same idea as wearing traditional dress that someone of that culture gave you as a present vs. buying a knockoff version for “fashion”
I’ve used this argument for a long time as a difference between appropriation and appreciation. If you are buying directly from the people of that culture you are supporting them in keeping certain practices and talents alive. They are choosing what they share while making a living from their work. You are supporting them, while enjoying their culture. This is not only okay but it can really help people from these communities.
With appropriation, you are taking money away from the people. While mocking everything they stand for, and giving money to big companies who only care about profit, and have no understanding of the people they are stealing from.
Eighth Generation is awesome! They ship fast in addition to having gorgeous merchandise. Five stars.
I appreciate everything in this post
Because it took like 4 steps to find the damn thing, here is a link to the place:
-Every Farmer has that one tree or group of trees on their land. Right in the middle of prime a prime grazing or crop field that they don’t dare chop down or even approach. If you watch carefully you’ll catch them crossing themselves everytime they lay eyes on it. -Murky, silty waters where children catch minnows conceal three foot pike with mouths full of vicious needles. -Deep dark forests where Oak and Ash still remember the howl of wolves and the roar of bears. They fed giant sloths and watched the last Irish Elk die. They watched humans arrive and steal their once mighty empire, but they know that they can afford to bide their time. -The Atlantic ocean hammers on rocks that look like the teeth and bones of a vast giants’ graveyard as the westerly wind howls and sprays like a rabid dog. -Rooks pass messages in their raucous language. There’s one watching every field, every estate, every town. Posted like sentries. They follow every large group of humans, remembering the ancient wars and hoping those times of plenty will return. -Tumbledown stone cottages, unmortared, thatch long since rotted away. The inhabitants starved to death decades ago, but the hungry land makes a feast of their home. -Abandoned Ghost Estates stand as memorials to the Celtic Tiger long since shot, stuffed and mounted. Ironically they’re the only places where the houses aren’t guaranteed to be haunted.
The thing is, the ‘Solid Source’ is kind of a myth when it comes to folklore and fairytale, in that the vast majority of these tales were a) oral, and some of the best retellings we have are b) written and secondary or tertiary. We’ve already lost a lot of the best versions of the tales if the cultures are gone or Christianised or heavily damaged.
So it’s good to turf the ‘I need solid sources’ mindframe when researching this stuff? I mean, it’s – I believe – way better to read like 100 versions of say…the Ugly Duckling or Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave, than it is to look for the ‘one true story.’ (Which doesn’t exist anyway, because in an oral tradition, they are meant to be changed and adapted to become relevant for whatever geographical group or class is hearing the story). Also fairytales and folklore are generally pretty short? You end up with huge huge variation.
However, I’ve written some stuff in the past that might be useful for you as well re: sources:
It’s worth also looking into anthropological studies on different cultures that practice animism; fair warning though, they can be very problematic. (Especially earlier studies, which are often racist and/or xenophobic).
Mostly with this stuff, it is actually often a matter of ‘quantity over quality’ which sounds weird but, there is so much and you can only really start by getting started and say…picking a favourite fairytale (or ‘species’ of fae) and researching them. You can hunt down more primary written sources (some of them are actually freely available on places like sacred-texts, due to copyright no longer holding on those sorts of texts) to distinguish between heavily Christianised tales and earlier versions; but you can also distinguish between those by researching animism tales/stories in different cultures etc.
Be prepared to give it a lot of your time, too. Like, I’m really only at the tip of the iceberg myself, and a lot of my studies have been going on since I was young and are very personal in that I research what has felt relevant to me over the years and I haven’t been doing this for say a course, or for a university or something (I’ve done some electives at university on this subject but ultimately, my research into these subjects is partly spiritually motivated, and partly about my fascination with ‘simple’ narratives told in complex or poignant ways to make them relevant).
theproblemwithstardust 