[Jewelry making - Article 00930] - Re: [Orchid] Jewelry and "Cultural Property"

[Freak Style]

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    I am about a week behind so sorry if I am repeating anyone else's
    answer on this topic. 

    In regards to the below which I copied out of Ruslana's post: 

>     it is not legal to produce any artwork like aboriginal dot
>     paintings, for example, 

    why is that? Is it so that aboriginals can profit directly from their
    symbolism? To avoid lawsuits of cultural exploitation? The
    aboriginals seem to have no problem themselves in popularizing and
    mass-producing all kinds of objects with dot-paintngs patterns. 

    I am not aboriginal but when I did honours I studied with students
    from the aboriginal visual art course and also now work in a
    government department that provides funding to indigenous housing
    organisations. You need to understand that aboriginal people
    themselves have to follow protocol to be allowed to use their own
    traditional symbolism. Aboriginal people that have been alienated
    from their tribal lands (stolen generation) face extreme difficulties
    when they go back to their land and ask their elders for permission
    to participate in the traditional culture and to paint in the
    traditional way. The reason they face such difficulties is mis-trust
    because "white fellas" have stolen so much from them... so, when
    someone comes along, a child of the stolen generation, or off-spring
    of a child from the stolen generation it is very difficult for those
    who have stayed on the traditional land to trust them to completely
    respect the tradition and not to behave like the "white fellas" they
    were brought up by. 

    When you know that aboriginal people themselves are not allowed to
    violate the traditions why should it be open slather to everyone else
    in the world? These things are sacred and all that these people have
    left to hang onto from their past. 

    In answer to the statement that aboriginal people themselves have no
    problem with popularizing and mass-producing all kinds of objects
    with dot paintings I think you have to ask who is exploiting what...
    or who? Do you know that there are a great number of aboriginal
    people living in regional areas still living in extreme poverty? Do
    you know that many of the regional communities still don't have, or
    haven't had until very recently, basic infrastructure such as running
    water, electricity, sewerage systems and waste collection? Do you
    think people who are desperately poor won't use whatever means they
    have to to make a bit of money? There are no real jobs for black
    people in these regional communities - the large majority of those
    fortunate to have a job actually work under a government scheme -
    basically they do volunteer work and the government pays them a
    meagre wage to do so. So imagine that someone comes into a community
    and offers a group of aboriginal people the chance to make some money
    in exchange for decorating some items for export.... do you think
    they have a lot of choice in the matter? I don't know where these
    items get painted but it doesn't matter much because there are plenty
    of aboriginals living in desperation in the cities too. 

    I think if all was fair and even that this mass production dot
    painting of items would never exist. I can't speak as an aboriginal
    person but from all that I do know I cannot imagine that the elders
    from any community would advocate this. We are talking about a group
    of people who were violently torn from their lands, killed, tortured
    and enslaved, and the wounds are still open and gaping... Until the
    white fellas show some respect the wounds will not heal.... and I for
    one really think that this extends to white fellas everywhere.... and
    in fact, people of any skin colour anywhere - if something is sacred
    to a people and it is all they have and they have made it clear that
    it is to be kept amongst the traditional owners of the culture then
    don't question it, respect it. 

    I am only speaking for Australian Aboriginal culture - I won't enter
    the argument on the topic in general about cultural property.
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