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Offensive Wannabe of the Day

Ok, so this was originally a post about a man who made a video documenting a Native American Hunting Dance. I had a video of him performing a dance he did to bring back the caribou. Since then he has written to me, and I will openly admit I misjudged his intent. I apologized to him, and out of fairness decided to remove the video from this post. It doesn't change how I feel about our native culture, though. This post wasn't necessarily about him, but the whole wannabe thing.

I'm still torn about the issue and haven't decided if it's helpful or harmful. I've been scolded by my elders a few times in my life for not accepting "suyapis" when they come to our ceremonial dances. "They need to pray too," they tell me. I guess that's true enough, and besides, I think it works in our favor when we can "conquer by culture." But the thing that really gets to me is WHY OH WHY do they always take what little they might have learned from us and then go off and make up their own songs and ceremonies? At that point you have to ask are they really trying to just pray for themselves? And is it really worth it to "let" them in on our private ceremonies and teachings? How long do we have to compromise our customs & ceremonies in the name of letting our fellow man pray with us? Geez, can't we just hand these people a bible and send them on their way?