Rebecca Tsosie has published Just Governance or Just War?: Native Artists, Cultural
Production, and the Challenge of “Super-Diversity” in Cybaris an Intellectual Property Law Review.
An excerpt:
Many, if not most, non-Indians fail to understand the significance of cultural identity to Indigenous peoples, nor do they understand the concept of cultural harm. Consequently, the battle over cultural appropriation continues as Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington team, proclaims that the “Redskins” logo and team name actually honors Indians, ignoring the protests of Native leaders and tribal members who assert that the mascot disparages and degrades them. The battle continues over sacred symbols as pop music giant Pharrell Williams and countless other celebrities wear garish “war bonnets” in a caricature of the ceremonial headdress that is culturally authorized for use only by esteemed and worthy tribal leaders from the Indigenous nations of the Southern and Northern Plains. But is this really a desecration or is it a permissible act of artistic appropriation? If there is no legal right to stop these appropriations, why should it matter? Perhaps most vexing of all, it seems to outsiders that not “all Indians” agree on the terms of the debate. Team owner Dan Snyder pointed this out as he hosted his VIP guests, then-Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly and First Lady Martha Shelly, during a 2014 football game in Glendale, Arizona, all wearing hats with the infamous Washington Team logo.
It’s always a good day when a new article by Professor Tsosie arrives.
Turtle Talk 