Willow Brook

Cultural Appropriation in the Arts

On November 10th, I attended a talk about cultural appropriation in the arts at Colorado
State University. The meeting took place in the Hatton Gallery with nearly 40 chairs huddled
around two speakers. Dr. Adrienne Keene of the Cherokee Nation joined us from Brown
University where she teaches to speak for Native American Heritage Month at CSU. Jacob
Meders from the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria, California came to speak as an
artist whose work was being displayed in the Hands off My Heritage exhibition in the Duhesa
gallery in the Lory Student Center.
Dr. Adrienne Keene started the discussion by presenting her work with native cultural
appropriation. She began by showing Native American google image results, which included
many stereotypical, old, outdated, natives with a sepia tone and a headdress. She explained how
this perceived image of Natives perpetuates the idea that Natives are something of the past and
only seen in a stereotyped light. Next, in rapid succession, she provided images of Native
appropriation. A few examples included an Urban Outfitters line of tribal patterns, the
Victorias Secret model with Southwest jewelry, leopard skin bikini, and a full length headdress,
and a Sexy Native American Halloween Costume.
The next slide was introducing a non- Native artist Kirby Sattler who paints Native
American portraits. His artist statement reads, My paintings are interpretations based upon the
nomadic tribes of the 19th century American Plains. The subjects are a variety of visual
references and my imagination. I am not a historian, nor an ethnologist. Being of non-native
blood, without personal history, it would be presumptuous to portray the subject I paint from any
other view than as an artist with an innate interest in the worlds indigenous cultures. I purposely
do not denote a tribal affiliation to the majority of my subjects, rather, I attempt to give the
paintings an authentic appearance, provoke interest, satisfy my audiences sensibilities of the
subject without the constraints of having to adhere to historical accuracy. She explained how he
is continuing native stereotypes by creating paintings that satisfy peoples ideas of Native
American, One of his most well known paintings clearly informed Johnny Depps Tonto
costume in the Lone Ranger which was incorrect in many ways. These examples in the media
keep Native stereotypes living. This presentation is a similar one she gives to film makers with

helping artists understand how to properly represent Native culture which is to work with a
Native.
Dr. Keene explained how when she moved to attend Stanford University, she met many
white people who had never known a Native American and were uneducated about Native
culture. She created the blog Native Appropriation as a public platform to write and raise
awareness of current issues.
Jacob Meeder came up next to explain his own background as an artist. He got his BFA in
painting with a minor in printmaking from Savannah College of Art and Design and is MFA in
printmaking at Arizona State University where he now teaches. Jacob explained how he uses the
concept of appropriation in his artwork. Too often, people are appropriating Native culture that
they know nearly nothing about and using it for their own uneducated benefit. In Jacob's case, he
has studied Western art and history in depth, and he knows all about the history of his own
people. In his work, he chooses to use images from Western art history and puts Natives in as
though they were the ones that left and discovered Europe. Process is very important to Jacob.
Printmaking is the first process used, and he still chooses it for his work.
Other work include a gift shop installation in a gallery where he appropriated Native
imagery and packaged it to make a statement. In Santa Fe, he has started a hand printed
Newspaper giving local artists an honest voice.
After the two speakers talked, they opened it up for questions. I asked, As a non- Native
educator, what is my role in teaching correct history and navigating situations of appropriation in
schools? Dr. Keene answered by saying, If this election has taught us anything, it is that white
people need to talk to white people. She went on to tell me about her work in education at
Brown University where she designs curriculum around the Natives communities that inhabited
the local land. After the meeting was dismissed, a woman came up to me and said that she really
appreciated my question. She said she is also an educator and has witnessed way too many
situations of appropriation in Poudre School District and to speak up because they need it.
That evening, I attended Jacobs opening in the Duhesa Gallery where they provided food
and a drum circle to accompany the artwork of many Native Artists. I am grateful for this
experience and exposure and plan to continue educating myself about how to be a successful
white ally and teach my students the same.

As an educator I so passionately believe it is essential to be as well educated as possible

about all people. I wrote an entire paper about how I feel the education program is lacking the
proper preparation to be a culturally responsive educator. One 275 course where a bunch of
white people talk about issues is not going to help us as much as we need. As a white woman
who grew up in a white area, I only woke up to the reality of racism a year ago because my best
friend, a woman of color, was a victim of police brutality. It takes courage to have uncomfortable
conversations, but as a white person, it is a privilege to choose not to. I have chosen to have the
uncomfortable conversation and put myself in situations where I might mess up in order to learn
more about other perspectives. This is so important! I am discovering a desire to really re-learn
Native American history and while being humble and respectful, to be a part of supporting
current movements like Standing Rock. I wish I had learned more about social realities in my
education. That is what will educate our students!