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A La Junta, Colorado Boy Scout troop calls their performance “Winter Night Dances.” The Hopi Office of Cultural Preservation calls it cultural exploitation. After the Hopis complained, Boy Scout Troop 232 cancelled their annual event. But their leaders maintain it’s a “misunderstanding” that they’ll be able to clear up once the Boy Scouts can convey the “respect for their solemnity, dignity and cultural significance” in staging the sacred dances. The Boy Scouts of America have incorporated Native American imagery, dress and terms in their activities for more than 100 years. The Order of the Arrow is among their highest individual honors. Is there room for the Boy Scouts to continue the dances if their intentions are sincere?
Guests:
Leigh Kuwanwisiwma (Hopi) – Director for the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office
Shawn Price (Dine) -Founder of the Facebook Group Sacred Preservation
Shirley Pino (Tamaya) – Co-founder of the Facebook group Sacred Preservation
Break music: Pisa Ay Sobeli (band) The GrayHawk Band (artist) Worth The Wait (album)
http://amerindscouting.org/AISA/?page_id=56
check out their board of the directors
I continue to maintain that tribes MUST protect all aspects of our existence LEGALLY. We can talk about these issues over and over, but yet non-natives continue to ignore and disrespect our requests to stop activities that we have deemed as wrong and dis-respectful.
We must: legally protect:
The very names of our tribes.
Dances
Music
Designs
Ceremonies
There is absolutely nothing that will stop these violations unless we do so. Copying our dances, music, ceremonies, and other aspects of our tribal culture is theft! Everywhere else, we would sue another person or organization for taking, using, reproducing, or distributing intellectual property. I do consider our very ceremonies as a tribes intellectual property. We choose if we wish to share it or not. These need to be protected legally.
Why Legal?
Because violators of our culture must be forced to stop the practice, They only respect the threat of fines when an accusation of a violation against intellectual property.
Simply put, in the case of the BSOA, a cease and desist letter would need to go to the dance group’s scouting order demanding that their practice stop, or the consequence would be fines. There has to be a consequence. “Asking Nicely” or making numerous requests kindly asking that a practice stop which goes largely ignored does not work. We have to start forcing these violators to respect our requests and in some cases demands!
In order of that to happen, a tribe would have to show legal claim to a ceremony, a dance, or other aspect of tribal culture. That strengthens individual tribes legal basis.
Anyway, food for thought….
thanks for reading.
That is not right they are copyieng are native ways and they learn are songs they dont even no what they are saying they arnt suppost to be doing that they dont even know how are native culture work big dmmys