Sheesh. The activities that let people figure out what their Indian name is, or what their spirit animal is, are so freaking bogus!
So many assumptions and ignorance go into their making. Let's look at WHAT IS YOUR SPIRIT ANIMAL, created by Brieanna Watts Elmore (if that is a real name/person) at Buzzfeed.
It assumes, for starters, that we are monolithic, that no matter where our homeland might be, we think the same way about salmon. And buffalo. And wolves. Fact? We don't. We're over 500 distinct nations, located across the US.
We don't speak the same language. Our traditional clothing differs. And so do our spiritual beliefs!
Some of us have clans associated with animals but not all of us, and, frankly, I know a lot of Native people from a lot of different Native Nations, and nobody has ever said to me "my spirit animal is..."
I think that "spirit animal" thing is the White Man's Indian.
But gosh darn! So many people (who don't know better) love love love the White Man's Indian.
It is in a lot of children's and young adult books. Case in point? Neal Shusterman's Unwind dystology. I'm (grudgingly) reading Unsouled right now. One of his main characters (Lev) has just figured out that his spirit animal is a kinkajou.
Some people--including Shusterman--tried to persuade me that he's doing a good thing with his Native characters and content (like this spirit animal stuff). He means well, just like the person who created this ridiculous Spirit Animal quiz at Buzzfeed.
But!!! Good intentions don't matter.
The quiz isn't harmless. Neither is Shusterman's book. Perpetuating and affirming ignorance doesn't do anyone any good.
Do some good!
If you found yourself taking that Buzzfeed quiz or if you found yourself liking Shusterman's Native content, but this post makes you think otherwise, push back on The White Man's Indian. Reject it and tell others to reject it, too.
Established in 2006 by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books. Dr. Jean Mendoza joined AICL as a co-editor in 2016.
In all honesty, I never associated "spirit animal" with Native culture. I always thought is was from the fantasy genre. I haven't read Shusterman's sequels to Unwind.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of a spirit animal, or a patron animalistic spirit, is cross-cultural and appears in a lot of cultures throughout history, not just Native American. There is a very distinct difference between "What is your NATIVE AMERICAN spirit animal?" and "What is your NON-CULTURALLY-SPECIFIC spirit animal?"
ReplyDeleteIf you don't believe me, spend some time looking through Asian literature. Or African literature. Or Polynesian literature. The "spirit animal" concept is everywhere.