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Perspectives from a reconnecting Lakȟóta wíŋyaŋ

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Tag: Ally

How To: Addressing Cultural Appropriation and Racism for Allies

As my DMs became flooded with messages from people sharing different camps, clothing and jewelry that fit the definition of cultural appropriation, I quickly realized that I cannot stand up to every perpetrator by myself.  Continue reading “How To: Addressing Cultural Appropriation and Racism for Allies” →

September 26, 2018September 27, 2018

throughhernativeeyes11 Comments

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Hello, person of color. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I see you out there doing work in your largely white communities. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I see you having these tough conversations. Where the world seems to disagree with you. Where you’re seen as the person who is always “making everything about race”. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I know you feel isolated sometimes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It may be hard to always see this, but you’re not doing this for nothing. You’re starting conversations. Others are silently observing and learning. You’re talking about things that used to “not be talked about”. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Good job! I know it’s not easy. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I see you.
REPRESENTATION MATTERS! Did you know that by age 1, babies can already distinguish differences in skin color? And by age 3, they use racial observations to pick their play groups? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ As of 2018, 50% of children’s book depict only white characters and 27% depict animals. That leaves 23% for every other race and skin color. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Let’s breakdown that down. 10% African/ African American 7% Asian Pacific Islander 5% Latinx 1% Native American/ First Nations ‼️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When BIPOC children do not see themselves represented, they may face feelings of shame and guilt. Even when BIPOC characters exist, they are often written by a white person through a white lens (per @theconsciouskid). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This reinforces the idea to all children that white is the dominant race and that white peoples’ stories and experiences are more worthy. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ These books were gifted to us by Josh (@ndnslp) who is a Native SLP (speech language pathologist) and co-owner of Little Moccasins Education Services, LLC. They provide speech, language and literacy services to Native youth. If you’re looking for Native children’s books written by Native authors, check out his page! He has a bunch of great suggestions. Philámayaye Josh! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I encourage you all to take a look at your bookshelves and see if you need to diversify. Let’s do a better job at helping our kids see color.

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