Hi Lori (and others):
I personally am not aware of a law that specifies who may sell
what, but knowing the US government, there probably is one. I
don't think that there is a black-and-white answer to your
questions.
Who am I? Well, my father's mother, who raised me as a child, was
Cherokee. My other three grandparents were White, or thereabouts.
So that means I meet the one-quarter blood quantum that the
government likes. (When I cut myself, my blood looks the same as
my wife's, who is Mexican/Mixtec/Zapotec. Go figure. ;-> ) But,
I don't have a Red Card (enrollment number), so the government
doesn't like that. On the outside, I look White--light skin, grey
eyes, brown hair. On the inside, literally speaking, I look like
all other Homo sapiens. Figuratively speaking, where my heart is,
what I believe in, etc., I come in *all* colors: white, black,
red, yellow, and brown, with apologies to anyone of a color I left
out. My personal belief system tends to follow that of indigenous
peoples from all over the world, although living in the USA--
currently living on the Hualapai Rez--I tend to lean more towards
people indigenous to North America. So, am I "Indian" or am I
not?
As far as cashing in on indigenous cultures and symbols, I'll
explain what I do for a living, whether or not someone considers
me to be "Indian" or not. My college degree is in Computer
Information Systems, along with a bunch of Linguistics and
Anthropology work. (I spent a long time in college.) I am
currently self-employed with a few people working for me. With my
knowledge of computers, I could have cashed in big-time in
corporate America as a Systems Analyst or some other job.
Instead, I chose to focus my talents on the indigenous cultures of
the world--mostly North America--and cash in on the little bucks.
I am currently writing software for the Peach Springs School
District, which is on the Hualapai Reservation in Arizona. I am
writing the software with a Hualapai language interface. That is,
the stuff you see on the screen and hear on the computer speaker
is in Hualapai instead of English. The idea is to teach the
Hualapai language to the children on the Rez. I am also writing
an ethnobotany book (like we really need another one!) about
medicinal uses of plants, etc. and another one on learning to
speak Hualapai. I would consider these to be cultural. Another
thing I (we) do is develop fonts so people can use their computers
to write in their own language. A font set for Hualapai,
Cherokee, Lakota, Cahuilla, Maori, or whatever language, might be
considered cultural symbols by some. I get paid for the computer
work (sometimes paid well, but other times, not so well), but the
fonts are "postcard-ware," i.e., if you get one, you have to send
us a postcard from your part of the world. The books and papers I
write probably aren't read by as many people as I like to imagine.
So, I would have to say that I am cashing in on the indigenous
cultures and symbols. Does this make me a bad guy if I am
considered "non-Indian?" Or a good guy if I am considered
"Indian?" I don't know. The ultimate value of my work goes to
the people who have a little bit easier time saving their language
and/or culture.
I am currently working on the Hualapai language and culture. If
my "Indianness" is based solely on who had sex with who in the
1920s and 1930s, I would be Cherokee, rather than Hualapai, so the
language and culture I'm working on is not mine at any rate. Am I
exploiting the people here? I don't think so; I can sleep at
night without my conscience bothering me.
As for other people cashing in on indigenous cultures, I have
learned that I cannot stop it. As long as there is a buck to be
made, people will go after it, some ethically, some unethically.
As the late Frank Zappa said, "In a battle between you and the
world, bet on the world." (Or something like that; I don't have
the quote in front of me.)
So, how's this for a long-winded non-answer to your questions?
Take care,
Chuck Coker
PS: My Cherokee grandmother married my grandfather, Andrew
Jackson Coker. I always thought that ironic--Andrew Jackson
was arguably the most anti-Indian president in US history,
especially for the Cherokee.
Chuck Coker
Indigenous Languages Project /\_/\
((0 0))
+------------------------oOO---\o/---OOo-------------------------+
| Indigenous Languages Project | If you scoff at language |
| P. O. Box 2931 | study, how, save in terms of |
| San Bernardino, CA 92405-2931 | language will you scoff? |
| United States | |
| (909) 882-2099 | |
| 102134.2274@CompuServe.Com | Mario Pei |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Note: For the summer, we will be out in the field (on the |
| Hualapai Reservation in Peach Springs, Arizona). Our Internet |
| address will remain the same, but our postal address, if you |
| want to reach us in a reasonable amount of time, will be: |
| Chuck Coker, Indigenous Languages Project |
| General Delivery |
| Peach Springs, AZ 86434 |
| United States |
| (520) 769-2731 |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| D I S C L A I M E R |
| Reference to any specific commercial or non-commercial product |
| does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, |
| recommendation, or favoring by Charles J. Coker, Muscupiabe |
| Software, Muscupiabe Books, or the Indigenous Languages |
| Project, unless otherwise specified. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+