Hey! I saw your response to a post about indigenous people in the cottagecore aesthetic, and you mentioned something about refraining from using culturally and spiritually important phrases. Are there any that people might not be aware of, besides things like “spirit animal”? I’m trying to educate myself. Also, your blog is amazing!
Thank you for reaching out, here are some terms and things that non natives should omit from their aesthetics:
-spirit animals (spiritual practice by some tribes including all tribes under the haudenosaunee)
-dreamcatchers (ojibwa cultural item)
-war bonnets, a plains cree/plains tribe cultural item, not a part of tsalgi ("Cherokee") culture.
-skinwalkers (Navajo spirtual belief, not a "cryptid")
-W*ndigos (Algonquin and various eastern Woodlands spirutal belief, again, not a "cryptid")
-colonialism themes, like obvious european colonial fashion, covered wagons, "exploring" new lands
("pioneer" aesthetics, this is the time period where most of the genocidal acts were committed against us and land was stolen. Vintage fashion and inspiration from that is wonderful but a full scale outfit from that specific period makes me uneasy)
-pioneer/colonial times romanticization
-wishing you could go back to an older time period because it was "simpler" (poc, especially native americans, are uncomfortable by this because of how we were treated in the past and how often people appropriate our spirtual practices. Sometimes it implies we were primitive people before Europeans and that just is not factually true.)
-eco-fascist dogwhistles like "humans are the virus and we need to go back to simpler times"
-anything relating to the story of pocahontas. (Powhatan tribal ancestor, her story was whitewashed and she was a victim of abuse)
-be careful of how you approach cowboy aesthetics as a non native, cowboys were historically black, latinx, and native american. Cowboy history and aesthetics have been extremely whitewashed.
-certain aesthetics of dress that include themes that could be confused with native american regalia, such as ribbon skirts and shirts, fancy shawl, native american symbolism, etc.
(This also includes clothing with things based on native american stereotypes like feathers on everything. It's especially offensive to wear a faux bone necklace or any native american "themed" jewelry that's meant to have real bone you respectfully harvest yourself as part of some tribe's cultural practices)
-not exactly offensive persay, but kind of cringy when non natives glorify us for having a special connection to the land because that can lead to stereotypes occasionally that aren't exactly harmful but very untrue. examples are us being werewolves, talking to animals, or the "stoic sage" native american stereotype.
-glorifying native americans helping colonists farm or survive on the land in the past
-talk about buying a lot of american land, it just feels like as a non native you're colonizing all over again. It's okay to have some for a cottage but when you start talking about buying acres and acres of natural untouched land it scares me, especially because so much has been lost already. If you want miles and miles of wilderness all to yourself I would consider planning it out buying land in Europe instead.
-totem/totems (a spiritual practice by Pacific north west natives)
-Sage and smudging practices (if you are not native, you cannot smudge. Instead I recommend researching other methods of cleansing. If smudging is done by a non native and done incorrectly you will bring yourself bad luck.)
-cedar trees (sacred to quite a few tribes, harvesting a harmful amount from these trees or cutting them down is not advised.)
-Eagle feathers (used in a large amount of tribes for regalia and cultural practices)
-considering native american blogs that post aesthetics from nature and reblog from cottagecore blogs "cottagecore"
(I don't like being considered cottagecore because it feels trivializing to call my spirtual beliefs and the aesthetics that relate to that "cottagecore". Other natives may not feel this way but that's why I dont label my blog as a specifically cottagecore one in my bio)
And lastly, because a lot of our tribes are matriarchal, i hate seeing the encroachment on cottagecore and native american blogs from "traditional wife/trad wife" blogs. If you are to support native americans and the preservation of our people and culture, dismantling colonist gender roles and being an intersectional feminist is a must. No matter how well intentioned you are, the gender binary and gender roles enforced by Europeans does not mix with natural america and native americans.
I hope this was helpful! I appreciate you and others in the cottagecore community who are looking to educate yourselves and be respectful 🖤
germansingergirl
turnnoffyourmind
yousharknotpass
dededos
jacobvanloon
baratheonpilled
areudirty
