***PSA***
As an established Indigenous community within the greater Bvlbancha area, we are grateful that our Indigenous voices, issues and cultural practices are gaining attention with exhibitions, lectures, tours, protests, etc. We are living in an intense era of crisis on many levels, and Indigenous communities can provide deep insight into how to cope with this reality. With this in mind, we have received requests from our non-Native allies calling for direct guidance around working with and supporting the Indigenous community in a respectful manner, as proof of their commitment to dismantling structures of systemic colonization. We wish to share our response with the community at large, to prevent any exploitation of the same Indigenous people one wishes to gain wisdom from.
In addition to having to push back against systemic erasure of Indigenous peoples, we are eternally challenged to hold individuals accountable for the ways they profit from our cultural practices. It will come as no surprise that there are people, Native and non-Native, who behave inappropriately and insensitively toward our Indigenous community, when we are only asking that our traditions be respected. It is our sacred duty to hold accountable those who falsely proclaim expertise in our culture without the support of elders and their community.
While it is only the Creator’s domain to declare if someone is “Native/Indigenous”, anyone ethically following the teachings of our ancestors will always act in accordance with the Indigenous community, its traditional values and teachings. We have compiled a list of the most crucial of these traditions, so you can be aware of them when consulting with anyone proclaiming to represent our community. Evident adherence to these traditions will reveal if someone is truly working for the betterment of Indigenous communities; a genuine representative of Indigenous culture will be harmoniously embedded in community, and will reflect these traditions in all they do:
- Have a strong showing of Indigenous relatives and friends supporting them at events
- Center community, not themselves, in all arenas
- Include and acknowledge Indigenous teachers, elders, mentors, collaborators, friends in all teachings, promotional materials, media coverage
- Will not claim expertise on any topic related to Indigenous teachings, always defer/refer to those within their community who hold this knowledge
- Will ask and receive permission from elders or culture-bearers before sharing any cultural information with non-Natives
- Sacred and ceremonial knowledge will not be publicly shared with non-Natives; they will practice strong boundaries around sacred knowledge
- Will not teach ceremony or prayer to non-Natives for profit; will share any profits from their activities centered on Indigenous culture with their Indigenous community
- Attend/participate in Indigenous events that do not center them; actively support and collaborate with Indigenous peoples in their area; engage with Elders and youth within their own Nations and/or the larger Native community
- If they have white-presenting privilege, will step back to make room for other Indigenous voices, and publicly acknowledge how their privilege differentiates them from other Indigenous people/groups
- If new to their Native ancestry, will have mentors guiding them home to their communities of origin
- Be forthright and honest about their recent process of decolonization
- Will not insist on acting as “middlemen” between you and other Indigenous folx
- Will not speak of their Indigeneity only in terms of persecution and oppression; will celebrate Indigenous brilliance, beauty, resilience and joy
- Have a visible community they are accountable to, and will humbly allow themselves to be held accountable for behavior that reflects on that community
- If they have conflict within Indigenous circles, they will work within those circles to seek peaceful, discreet conflict resolution. They will not air private grievances in public or without the backing of the community-at-large
We hope that knowledge of these values will help you and your organization become actively aligned with our traditions of expressing ethical relationality. If you are concerned about the behavior of any individual or group as it pertains to these traditions, please contact us. Because community is all in our culture, Indigenous circles are tightknit - we are very aware of those who violate our traditional values, and can expertly advise you on ways to engage with them that are ethical and compassionate. Additionally, we ask that if Indigenous people caution you or call into accountability any individual or group you may be aligned with, we ask that you honor and believe us as authorities on this experience, and accept our generational wisdom on constructive ways to address and resolve it.
