Native Opposition to Native Appropriation and the Role of Connection to Native Nations/Communities

Abstract

Appropriation of American Indian cultures and stereotypical pseudo-culture is widespread in contemporary U.S. society. Yet, little is known about American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian (AIANNH) perceptions of this appropriation. In this study, we asked two questions. First, what are AIANNH experiences with, attitudes toward, reasoning for attitudes toward, feelings when encountering and behavioural responses to multiple types of appropriation? Second, does connection to one's AIANNH nation/community relate to attitudes toward and behavioural responses to appropriation? We are the first to report statistical survey results on these questions. Although we found a diversity of reactions to this appropriation among our participants (n = 600), mean scores and mean percentages on our measures indicate that most oppose appropriation, believe that it is harmful and experience negative feelings when encountering it. The majority also reported taking at least one action to eliminate appropriation. In alignment with social learning theory, we found that opposition to appropriation was associated with more connections to AIANNH nations/communities in regard to residency, cultural involvement and identity centrality. Using tribal critical race theory, including situating our findings in their settler colonial context, we discuss the implications of our findings.