Where is the line between fair use and exploitation? Between inspiration and appropriation? Between honouring and commodifying? These are important questions today as consumers, artists and musicians, product developers, retailers, and regulators try to make decisions about what is and is not appropriate use of other peoples’ intellectual property.
Many of us show our awareness of intellectual property restrictions when we buy books or pay to download music, knowing that we cannot duplicate and sell additional copies. But those questions become more difficult to answer when dealing with cultural heritage and distinguishing between cultural borrowing and appropriation. This is especially the case with indigenous cultural heritage, which is still too often viewed as public domain.
Since its inception, our “Appropriation (?) of the Month” series has explored what and when something might be considered an appropriation, a cultural borrowing, or something else. As the many contributions to our monthly blog often reveal, the answer isn’t always clear or simple, and is often nuanced or contextual.
We hope you’ve been paying attention because it’s now time for the final exam. So please close your books, clear your desks, and begin this multiple-choice exam. The examples are drawn from recent and some not-so-recent real cases. For each example provided, please select what you think is the most appropriate answer and then briefly explain your choice (leave your answers in the comments section below).
Use the related links to find out more information about the examples presented.
The Exam
1. UK fashion label KTZ’s new “Skeleton Hand Patchwork” line of sweaters, coats, and parkas (£ 960–1,260) replicates elements of an Inuit shaman’s parka from Nunavut (click for image). The company has stated that it “has always been inspired by and paid homage to indigenous cultures and tribes around the world.”
Related Links
Check one:
- a) Appropriation
- b) Cultural borrowing
- c) Other
Please explain your answer.
Yoga Teacher Training in India through the art of Trimurti Yoga, photo by Rutugoklani. [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.
2. Yoga is a set of physical and mental activities and exercises that developed in India millennia ago. Today, yoga is practiced worldwide and has improved the health and wellbeing of countless individuals. Its popularity is demonstrated by an extensive industry of yoga classes in almost every community, and by a vast array of books, videos, mats, clothing, and other products.
Related Links
- NPR: Those Yoga Poses May Not Be Ancient After All, And Maybe That's OK
- The Globe and Mail: Is yoga culturally oppressive? That’s a stretch
Check one:
- a) Appropriation
- b) Cultural borrowing
- c) Other
Please explain your answer.
3. Babywear designers have sometimes incorporated indigenous culture-inspired designs in baby clothing, carriers, and other products. For example, these shoes exhibit the “dot” style originally developed by Indigenous peoples in Australia.
Related Links
Check one:
- a) Appropriation
- b) Cultural borrowing
- c) Other
Please explain your answer.
4. Musicians often turn to indigenous cultures for inspiration. In 2012, the music video for No Doubt’s song “Looking Hot” featured band members wearing Native American clothing. The band had “consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts.”
Related Links
- Daily Motion: "Looking Hot" full video
- Spin: No Doubt Pull ‘Looking Hot’ Video, Apologize to Native American Community
Check one:
- a) Appropriation
- b) Cultural borrowing
- c) Other
Please explain your answer.
5. The 2006 feature film Apocalytpo is director Mel Gibson’s vision of the collapse of a Mesoamerican civilization. The film featured Maya and Native American actors, with the dialogue entirely in a Maya language.
Related Links
Check one:
- a) Appropriation
- b) Cultural borrowing
- c) Other
Please explain your answer.
Photo credit: George Nicholas.
6. Many scholars are turning to Traditional Knowledge as a means of corroborating or extending scientific observations and models of climate change, a problem affecting everyone. Some climatologists are using Inuit traditional knowledge (Qaujimajatuqangit) to explain changes in sea ice.
Related Links
Check one:
- a) Appropriation
- b) Cultural borrowing
- c) Other
Please explain your answer.
A hand tattoo in a market in Jaipur, India. Photo by Meena Kadri [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.
7. Body tattooing has been practiced in human societies for at 5,000 years. The custom has risen in popularity in recent years. The statistics are impressive: 21% of all Canadians have at least one tattoo, in England, 20%; in Australia 14.5%. An estimated $1.6 billion is spent annually on tattoos in the United States. So-called tribal tattoos are one of the most popular categories of designs selected.
Related Links
- National Post: Graphic: The Tattoo Industry
- Daily Star: Skyrocketing numbers prove: Brits are going crazy for tattoos
- Disappear Ink: Tattoo Statistics Australia
Check one:
- a) Appropriation
- b) Cultural borrowing
- c) Other
Please explain your answer.
Photo: licensed through vitstudio/Shutterstock.
8. Ancient DNA studies and genetic research have revolutionized our knowledge of past populations and their movement through time and space. Increasingly, Indigenous groups and community members are collaborating with researchers, and in some cases connections have been identified between individuals thousands of years gone and their living descendants. Once such studies are published, the published results may benefit other research projects.
Related Links
- Canada.com: Breakthrough DNA study links B.C. woman, 5,500-year-old “grandmother”
- Popular Archaeology: Scientists Find Direct Genetic Ties Between Ancient Remains and Living Descendants
Check one:
- a) Appropriation
- b) Cultural borrowing
- c) Other
Please explain your answer.
The pyramids of Giza. Photo by Ricardo Liberato [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.
Mummy Rummy by Gamewright and Ancient Egypt by Treasure Chests. Photo: George Nicholas.
9. Ancient Egypt was not only a major influence on many other ancient civilizations, but contributed substantially to the birth of archaeology as a scientific discipline. Ancient Egypt is a popular topic for educational games and books.
Related Links
- The Guardian: Egypt to copyright the pyramids and antiquities
- George Nicholas, IPinCH Blog, Egyptian Concerns about IP
Check one:
- a) Appropriation
- b) Cultural borrowing
- c) Other
Please explain your answer.
Photo: G. Nicholas.
Essay 1: Indigenous cultural heritage has had an unmistakable presence in the contemporary world, influencing everything from the clothes we wear to the food we eat. Some products are created by Indigenous artists, musicians, and others as a celebration of their heritage, as a commercial venture, and/or as an educational opportunity. Other heritage products are made by non-Indigenous parties who may have other goals, including for-profit ventures. The question: What do members of the public need to know so that can make informed decisions when considering purchasing such products?
Write a brief response essay.
Marx's head on the body of an Upper Paleolithic “Venus” figurine by George Nicholas. Martin Wobst modeling the UMass Venus/Marx anniversary t-shirt.
Essay 2: The following true story illustrates how easy it is to alter an idea expressed in tangible form, how little control we have over dissemination of the original idea, and how difficult it is to make proprietorial claims of an intellectual nature within various high-tech media. Some years ago I was preparing illustrations for a lecture on hunter-gatherer economy. In a moment of late-night inspiration, I pasted Marx’s head onto the body of a !Kung hunter to illustrate a point about “access to the means of production.” Not stopping there, I did the same to an Upper Paleolithic “Venus” figurine. I subsequently sent copies to colleagues, including one at the University of Massachusetts, where I had completed my Ph.D. I later learned that my Venus/Marx figure appeared on department’s 25th anniversary t-shirt. I was amused and honored that this late-night whimsy had found fame. But in thinking about copyright and ownership of ideas, I wondered where my intellectual property may ultimately end up—perhaps an enterprising person, seeing the shirt, will create a series of t–shirts featuring famous people on Venus figurine bodies. The question: who has appropriated whom?
Write a brief response essay.
