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HelpRe: Winona
in reply to a message by Ottilie
No it's an important point and I'm glad you both brought it up. I totally agree. I have such torn feelings about cultural appropriation sometimes, but a white American child with a Native American name with no ties to Native American culture is pretty clearly appropriating.
Sigh. :(
Sigh. :(
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Do you think a white American child named Leilani is appropriating? or Ayodele? How about a non-white American child named Aviva, is that appropriating? What are the criteria? Is it just white non-native-American American, using Native American names, I guess?
This message was edited 5/29/2015, 8:46 PM
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The point I always make is that as a white European that I can't decide what is and what isn't appropriation. The only way I, personally, would feel comfortable using names that originated in a culture outside of Europe would be if my partner was of that culture. Even having asked a Bangladeshi friend if she would find it offensive if I used the name Indira, to which she said she wouldn't, I still don't think I would ever feel comfortable using it unless my partner was Indian, despite it being a firm favourite. It's better to me to be safe than sorry.
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Ha, who knows? I certainly am not at liberty to say for any of those names, Winona included. If anyone has set criteria for cultural appropriation I'd like to hear it. That's a lot of the problem I have with the concept, it's a big old gray area.
Honestly when it comes to naming, I've not thought about it much. Of course cultural appropriation in naming doesn't just apply to whites using aspects of Native American culture, but I'd guess it resonates most strongly with me (and many others) when it's one culture who clearly oppressed another for hundreds of years, only to use that culture fashionably later on. And since I didn't know anything about the Dakota and wasn't really planning to learn, I'd have this fall under the inappropriate category on my part.
Honestly when it comes to naming, I've not thought about it much. Of course cultural appropriation in naming doesn't just apply to whites using aspects of Native American culture, but I'd guess it resonates most strongly with me (and many others) when it's one culture who clearly oppressed another for hundreds of years, only to use that culture fashionably later on. And since I didn't know anything about the Dakota and wasn't really planning to learn, I'd have this fall under the inappropriate category on my part.
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