I am interested and somewhat saddened to see that so many appear to be assuming that not only those that wrote this pledge, (Genevieve Vaughan and Dr. Heide Goettner-Abendroth) but also those signing this pledge and involved in these conferences are all white. Out of those named above, Letecia Layson and Anniitra Ravenmoon are not. I think its a very valid question to ask what involvement non-whites had in the process of creating this pledge, but sad that so many seem to assume there was none.

Zaratha, I really appreciate the points you’ve raised in this discussion.

Yeah, the blood thing is a bit of a landmine. Usually, it’s more a matter of culture than blood. A lot of people seem to have trouble with complexities, but for Americans, cultural and racial identity is usually complicated.

Wiccans have no right to keep people of color out, because, besides being the wrong way to treat people, Wicca isn’t even a culturally-based tradition. Gardner combined his impressions of Hinduism and misunderstood Native American practices along with the European bits. So no ethnic group can claim Wicca is only for people who look like them.

And even though following the ways of our ancestors is important, I don’t know of any of the ethical European Reconstructionist traditions who would keep out someone who was sincerely interested in learning about the culture. (Well, except for the racists who’ve tried to latch on to what we’re doing, for all the wrong reasons; but the ethical groups make sure to distance ourselves from those sorts.) I have people in my household who have little or no Gaelic ancestry, but they are sincerely involved in the culture, so they have become part of it. Again, they know better than to try to change the culture to better fit expectations based on another culture, or their personal whims, but since they are approaching it on its own terms, they’ve done fine.

I also think it’s necessary for white people to understand how white-skin privilege and the realities of racism makes it different for a white person to approach an indigenous or African tradition than for a person of color (sorry Steward, but it’s part of the generally accepted nomenclature) to approach a group that’s more ethically European in origins. None of what we do can be removed from the context of our country’s shameful history of racism. It’s totally different for a person of color to want to explore something mostly-European than for a white person to think they have a right to mimic Native American ceremonies. Not because mimicking European rituals out of context is ok, but because white privilege usually leads white people to assume they have a right to these things, and white people have a pretty horrible track record of being disrespectful in this area. For example, the Lakota statements about Protection of Ceremonies came about because, after generations of giving white people the benefit of the doubt and then getting ripped off over and over again, Lakota folks realized that they had to draw a line. It doesn’t mean all Lakota think all white people have bad intentions, or that it’s impossible to be accepted in a Lakota community, just that they had to acknowledge the reality of what was going on and do something to protect their ways.

Whether we look black or brown or yellowish or reddish or white, most Americans have ancestry from all over the planet – it’s who we are culturally, and whether we’re respectful of each others’ ways, that’s more the issue, imho.

And who’s indigenous? I was born in NJ, does that mean I get in free to Goddess events in NJ? And if not, is it because I’m only second-generation? What are the number of generations necessary to make an individual “indigenous”, and do the Lenni Lenape fit that defintion? There is no indication of separate human development in the Americas, so no one’s ancestors are, ultimately, native in the Americas (and most other places.)

I particularly like “I will promote special stipends for speakers of color and sliding scale or free access to conferences for any participants of color…” As Chicago Tribune Columnist of Color Clarence Page put it, “I’m old enough to remember when we were colored people. Now we’re people of color. Look how far we’ve come.”

I note that Starhawk has adopted it. I wonder if she’s identified the people that she considers indigenous to Salem, Missouri, and if she’s contacted the organizers of Midwest Witchcamp to arrange for indigenous people and people of color to get recognition, stipends, and/or free admission.

And, of course, one way for people to promote those stipends is to supply the stipends themselves. Should be fun to watch.

I also second the notion of honoring your own ancestors’ ways, even if you don’t ultimately follow them. That can mean a lot of different things. I keep an ancestral altar and pour libations on important days in family history, and even though I don’t follow a Yoruban path, have been known to work with Ifa on occasion. If nothing else, blood has tremendous power.

OTOH, I get nervous when people start bringing up the blood issue, because in the past it has been used like a club to keep people of color out of various European-based traditions. When I first started years ago, in Wicca, I ran into a number of people who liked to throw “why don’t you worship your own gods” at me and ask why I was exploring Wicca instead of, say, Kemetic religion (uh, those aren’t my people either). Or ask me why I wasn’t studying Voudoun instead. Granted, this was back when “Wicca is the Old Religion of the Celts” was still widely accepted as fact, but it was still infuriatingly racist. This, in New York of all places. In fairness, for all the heat Asatruar takes thanks to a few bad eggs, I am good friends with a local Asatru group here in the Southwest and have always felt welcome at their events even though I am not a member of that tradition.

It’s a tricky issue, and I’m thankful to Jason for continually reporting on things like this on the blog to get people thinking about them. Contrary to a couple of ostriches in the comments, these dialogues are important and are ultimately a good thing for Paganism.

“I pledge to include in Goddess conferences the indigenous people of the locality or territory where conferences are held, and to reference and honor their deities.”

Unfortunately, and I assume this was not the intent of the authors, this statement could easily be interpreted as encouraging cultural appropriation and tokenism. It’s not appropriate for people not of a particular culture to “honor” those people by mimicking their rituals. And for whites to organize an event and then *invite* people from indigenous cultures to participate is essentially racist. For true cross-cultural, anti-racist participation and mutual respect, power has to be equally shared. If legitimate Indigenous groups want to *co-organize* an event with white Pagans, that is different. But the Indigenous people can’t be treated like tokens or outsiders; they have to be in on the decision-making processes from the very beginning of the organizational process, not brought in as an afterthought to assuage the appearance of racism. Their standards have to be respected, and the gathering has to also serve the people of their communities, not just white people.

Too many times I’ve seen these sorts of intentions wind up in a sole Native or African person being invited to basically perform for white people. That is tokenism.

Which brings us to who is a “legitimate” representative. White Pagans often have trouble understanding this, but traditional communities have recognized leaders and elders. Joe Indigenous who you met in a bar in Flagstaff is probably in no position to make official statements for anyone but himself. You have to look to the traditional, authorized leaders and elders in that community. If in doubt, call the tribal offices. Most of them have websites now.

I also fear that some of the things in this “Pledge on Racism” will encourage frauds and shameons to volunteer, and that the white Pagans, so happy to have their white guilt assuaged, will not do the groundwork to figure out if the person who’s volunteered is actually in a position to represent their Nation. This especially happens when an unethical person of Indian ancestry (or who can pass as one) decides to exploit the ignorant white people. Yup, just because they’re Native doesn’t mean they’re a leader among their people.

As far as Celtic Reconstructionism goes, yes, you do have to become part of the living cultures. Some CRs start with only distant ancestry, others with more of a cultural connection. But the idea is to preserve what we can of the living cultures, while fleshing out the polytheistic aspects that have been neglected. It’s not about eclecticism or making stuff up. I worry about those who only look to the “older”, fragmented things from the very distant past, because in some cases I think they are trying to avoid accountability to anyone but the voices in their heads.

And while the whole “blood” thing is sort of a taboo thing to discuss, it actually means a lot to most traditional Native Americans. The elders and other traditionals I’ve asked, of a handful of nations, have all agreed that first we have to honor *our own* ancestors. A number of white people have said that we have to “honor” the ways of those who are indigenous to the areas where we live; however, when I’ve asked the living, Indigenous people who have maintained these ways, they have all found that attitude very odd, laughable even, and said it’s our own ancestors we have to honor and their ways we are meant to follow.

If someone believes that a deity or spirit of a culture of which they are not a part has shown up to talk to them, if they are truly committed to following up on that contact, I believe it is their duty to approach that culture on it’s own terms, if the teachers will have them. But usually when I hear this from white Pagans, they don’t want to do any such thing. They usually want to be the one to set the terms. They want to just read some books written by outsiders and try to integrate the bits they like about that spirit or culture into their lives. That’s not honoring, that’s appropriation.

I think it’s the intent that separates such things from cultural appropriation.

It is interesting that you jump from your initial comments — which I think are pretty much right on — to this statement of the sufficiency of intent. Don’t you imagine that the privileged White people who are writing and signing this pledge intend to treat minority ethnicities and cultures with respect? Of course they do; that’s the motivation behind the pledge.

Your comment is important in large part because it demonstrates just how much is needed beyond intent. Indeed, the specific actions you describe in paragraph 3 demand quite a bit more than mere intent. I think the statement that “good intentions absolve cultural appropriation” does not do justice to the position you otherwise express.

It is my impression as well that these days many gods are turning up for folks without respect for those people’s ethnic or cultural lineage. I agree that it’s a conversation we need to have, as I am troubled that I have no idea how to square that with responsible behavior around the cultural politics of appropriation.

Zaratha, d’accord, and thanks for saying it; I recognize that it ain’t easy stepping into a conversation like this one.

Aedus, “recognizing people as individuals” and attempting to ignore their race, gender, et cetera is a tempting response to the divisive effects of bigotry, but it can too easily become an unwholesome refusal to recognize the effects of systemic inequities: “We need to stop talking about these problems, and start ignoring them.”

Oh indeed I ‘know’ it, which is precisely why I’m putting the idea through the wringer. If anthropology exists for any reason at all, it’s to make us question our common-sense ideas about how society operates. You might end up arguing your way around to the same conclusion you started out with, but at least the second time around you’ll have reasons. Or you might end up somewhere entirely different.

Arguments Jason and Joe have raised, between them:

* Cultural appropriation means lacking the host culture’s consent.

Follow-up questions: how do cultures give consent, or withhold it? Is a single person’s objection sufficient to invalidate the practice, and does it make a difference who within the culture is doing the objecting? Is it possible to make an invalid objection to others’ use of your cultural memes? In cases where some members of a culture consent, others do not, and others profess indifference, how should the determination be made?

* Cultural appropriation means practicing something outside it’s culture context.

How do we define ‘cultural context’? The practice’s nation of origin? Its ethnic group of origin? If an ethnic group long since ceased to practice something (e.g. the modern Celts and classical Druidry), is the practice still ‘theirs’ to make determinations about? If a practice was performed by multiple cultures, who may or may not have learned it from each other, which ‘cultural context’ does the practice belong to?

* Cultural appropriation means pretending your practices are authentic when they aren’t.

This one is based on:

Since the original druids are dead … there is less room for confusion that the practices are absolutely authentic.

This takes us in a new direction. If I call what I practice ‘Druidry’, but it is clear from context that I am not talking about the same ‘Druidry’ the ancient Celts practiced, but some modern creation of my own or other modern people’s devising, then arguably I am not appropriating anything. Could this apply to the Shiva-worshipping Wiccan, who is in no way even suggesting that she practices Hindusim?

Also, on a theological note:

the only reason I work with the deities I do is because they poked me first

‘Cultural appropriation’ seems to be a human concern. Do the gods draw the kind of distinctions we do between cultures? If Shiva requests my worship, but I am not Indian, should I refuse Him? Should I try and tell Hindu objectors that they should take it up with Him?

This is a conversation the Pagan communities need to have; I’m glad to see it happening here.

At least that is my take on this.