#indigenous musings

[gunbun]

this post is about the cultural concerns regarding ffxiv: dawntrail

Hi doods. Activism has brushed up against fandom YET AGAIN but this time it punches me straight in the heritage and this time I wanna talk about it.

I'm a non-status Qalipu Mik'maq, for the record. An Indigenous American, if thou wilt.

I discuss some pretty heavy shit below the cut. I pray it persists across all devices. Please advise if you want me to tag this as something, or block the tags I have used. I do not need anyone to spread this on my behalf, I do not need anyone's defense. I just have some thoughts and I want to think them.

So it's been less than 24 hours since Dawntrail was announced and we got the Keynote.

We're going to Fantasy The Americas! Before Industrialization!

Many people went "oh hell yeah, that's Brazil, this is gonna be great! We don't usually see this!"

On Twitter especially, many MORE people lost their goddamn minds, citing CBU3's prior wobbles with depicting foreign/indigenous persons.

And of course, the White Community Leaders are out in force performing pre-emptive outrage or even asking people to quit FFXIV in light of this announcement.

I'm here to ask folks not to do that.

What follows is my tweet-thread about it.

"It is perfectly okay to be waiting and seeing how Tural is going to be portrayed in Dawntrail. It's okay to have a concern.

It is NOT okay to come out preemptively swinging and performing outrage.

Because blood quanta are their own touchy subject I usually don't bring this up, but I am the class of indigenous person what represents "what's left".

And I fucking tell you now I don't need the opinions of Concerned White People.

I do not need Concerned White People telling me what colonialism is.

I do not need Concerned White People telling me to be mad.

I do need Concerned White People to realise that the above two actions are microaggressive as fuuuuck.

"but Jai, aren't you White?"

colonialism and genocide comes in many forms. this includes forcing indigenous persons to assimilate or be killed.

also stuff like reinforcing the idea that being indigenous is shameful so that when their descendants find out, they deny it."

Thus ended my tweet thread. There's one more tweet linking to qalipu.ca.

So I want to write more about this on Tumblr.

I really want to make sure that folks take a hard look at what they're concerned about and why.

Like… a lot of White Concern about the use of indigenous motifs in Dawntrail is itself a brand of anti-indigenous racism.

Thinking that the MSQ is going to automatically be about the Scions starting a colonialism in Tural? That's a pretty gross thing to say in the same breath y'all complain about Always Fantasy Europe.

Calling "cultural appropriation" when everyday items are displayed and depicted in the manner in which they were/are used (gulal, curry)? Way to exoticise foreign and indigenous cultures by thinking that everything they make, wear, use, or eat is something of Deep Cultural Significance that Cannot Ever Be Shared With Outsiders. Saris and salwar kameez are just as culturally significant as skirts and slacks. Moccasins are just shoes.

And moreover, getting preemptively Concerned when thus far THERE IS LITERALLY NO NEED TO BE CONCERNED is actually kind of beyond the pale. I haven't seen many indigenous folks and/or folks from South America being anything but pleased that this time The Americas gets a cool pastiche like Europe, Asia, and India have gotten in the past. There's an undercurrent of "oh no, I hope it's not bad stereotypes" which is ABSOLUTELY OKAY. Reblog and retweet what THOSE people are saying. Do not add commentary.

Preemptively saying "you're worried" about your South American/Indigenous friends with zero indication that they're bothered? Come the actual fuck on. We are not a monolithic group that you can "be concerned" for to get a pat on the back later as a Good Person. Do not Perform the I'm A Good Person And The Worst Thing You Could Do is CALL Me A Racist dance.

Don't "get ahead of the discourse". Not every conversation needs your fucking input. Shut your mouth.

What is and isn't an Offensive Portrayal of Indigenous Americans is a lot more nuanced than most people who like to perform outrage make it out to be.

We can and will speak up for ourselves. Share our words and our concerns if you must. Do not go and distill our words and turn us into the monolith you hide behind to perpetuate white saviourism and neocolonialism.

We aren't a monolith of poor uneducated people who don't understand what the europeans did that need to be uwu protected.

#long post #indigenous musings #idk what else to tag this

[underground-hip-hop-affiliated]

#ill.be.dat #Muse #indigenous #native

[pinkflipphonez]

art practice w my fave sag award winners + their marvelous dresses

#america ferrera #lily gladstone #sag awards 2024 #we interrupt our regularly scheduled program of hetalia to draw irl ppl #just really wanted to practice full body art #nothing better than the best latina and indigenous rep in hollywood rn to use as muses!! #kikidoodlez

[morgan-greenwood]

I still have no idea how to answer the question, "Are you Native?"

Sort of.

Kinda?

Depends on who you ask.

Depends on what you consider Native American?

I can tell you my whole family history.

I can tell you my mom taught us about it when I was little, but now she just claims to be a white person.

I can tell you about how I talk to myself in Cayuga and Seneca, because there is no one else to hear me and understand.

I can tell you the history of Blood Quantum.

I can tell you about the times I have reached out to other people in the Cayuga and Seneca Nations and was turned away.

I can tell you about the other Indigenous people from other Nations that made me feel more Native than maybe I deserved.

I can tell you about the countless books I have read, and videos I have downloaded from distant family members as an attempt to gleam something, some kind of cultural knowledge I am allowed access to.

I can tell you about silence and why I try to make myself invisible because I don't know how to answer the question...Are you Native?

And maybe I am posting this on social media in hopes someone will come see this and see me and understand everything I am talking about and give me the answer I so desperately want to know.

#Indigenous #nativeamericans #haudenosaunee #musings #identity

[padawan-historian]

when israeli folks start quoting malcom x and james baldin to justify their illegal occupation and genocide. . . of black and brown-skinned people . . .

#our world #ecosystem of white supremacy #in this lovecraft country of ours #politics #free us all #antiracist liberation #indigenous sovereignty #padawan historian #Afronaut Griot #make it make sense #free palestine #girl math #land back does not equal occupation #late night musings

[thesteriuswife]

Llyr mood 💔

#📜 muse's voice #llyr temp tag #I wanna say it's yarne too but while yarne is absolutely indigenous jurys out on whether he's black And indigenous 💔 #Whether or not he can claim the stud label shall be debated by scholars (me)

[trinitymarconeptune]

𝓜𝔂 𝓰𝓸𝓵𝓭𝓮𝓷 𝓯𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻

#the sims 3 #sims 3 #ts3 #the sims #simblr #emile eklund-pare #amina huarea-adu #this caption is a pun to amina's middle name #anacaona #it's also nod to her indigenous american ( taino ) heritage from mom's side #( alright in my universe this part of world is not called america... ah and many indigenous people also survived) #Ok-ok stop with in-depths #from what i know anacaona was a taino chieftain #and a badass woman who sadly had a tragic fate #amina is also a badass lady but her life is much happier #hopefully #i think emile definitely wrote a song at least named a golden flower or mentioned these words in its lyrics #while it is not his usual style but amina soon enough became his muse

[ladyimaginarium]

𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥

#arcana.uploads #arcanacore. #& yes those pics in the middle & middle right are me&!! #native.txt #** settings; horror. #this is obviously for turtle island natives !! #if applicable dont use this as an aes 4 ur muse if they're not turtle island native or nonnative !! #may do more !! bc im&. lowkey sick & tired of no indigenous themed moodboards or aesthetics of ANY genre. #** rpc; aesthetics. #i will survive the violence thrust upon me. #poc horror aesthetics #horror #indigigoth #moodboard #indigenous #indigenous horror #halloween

[aworldofyou]

*chugs my - I love the twilight werewolves and the werewolf canon and no one can take thee away from me - tea*

#[ I saw roshale’s lovely face in my notes and started wandering the other blogs in the twilight fandom ] #[ and saw a lot of OTHER blogs condemning the werewolf canon ] #[ tsk tsk - ] #[ I wander the twilight fandom at times hoping to follow indigenous muses and still find so much negativity :< ] #[ but that’s okay I still love it and I love my twilight verse ] #[ tho I should make a vampire verse - heck I should throw Sophie into it hmmmmm ] #[ or Cruella ] #[ out of character. ] just a shitpost #[ anyway say what you will but that’s the one thing Stephanie did right ] #[ except for the obv imprinting thing ] #[ roshale if you see this ilu ]

[fantasmaz-arc]

this is the most unhinged shit ever 😭 I am literally latino and I grew up surrounded by Chicano culture ,,, I was out there going to barrio block parties and shit. Chicano culture is not a “stereotype” it’s actually very beautiful and not our fault that we’ve been stereotyped for all yalls weird cartel/crime/LA dramas. If you don’t like me incorporated my own culture into my characters you can deep throat a cactus, babe!

#COME OFF ANON AND DROP THE GLOVES. AVER. #no bc seriously this is truly unhinged #anyways I fully advocate for more latino chatacters that embrace their cultures!!! #especially cholo culture idc idc #this shit is so funny #also it’s almost everytime i drop a Latino character i get sent this Shit #as if I’m not absolutely clear that Eye Yam latino and indigenous #therefore why I write so many latino n indigenous muses!!!! #it’s my experience babe #shut the fuck up #hate // #i guess??? #dee declares.

[thevoidwouldbecalling]

I love scrolling through the Namor tag it’s like a free block list

#yt women shouldn’t be allowed to speak on mcu!namor #indigenous characters do not exist to be sex metaphors. #stop being weird. #musings #do not reblog

[nadacwriter]

Hm. No. Asatru and all neopagans have a responsibility to respect the rights and lands of indigenous people.

You go on and on about the evils of christian religion and the crusades and the inquisitions...well...guess who else got forcibly converted to christianity!

Respect the rights of the indigenous! If you want rights to pagan religions but dont respect the rights and lands of indigenous people you're a hypocrite, and an embarrassment to your community.

#musings #respect indigenous peoples rights. #and give them their land back. #this is a bitter vague post about someone on facebook btw.

[underground-hip-hop-affiliated]

#ill.be.dat #Muse #indigenous #native

[honeydipped-crystaltipped]

It’s weird that people are attacking WOC screenwriters (Mindy Kaling is the most recent example I’m seeing lately) for not writing how they expect a person of their ethnicity to write. I don’t like it.

But also, will that be an advantage for someone like me who is super mixed? Like people won’t know what to say my writing *should* sound like because I can’t be categorized into one box?

#honey dipped crystal tipped #musings #screenwriting #woc #indigenous #mexican #cuban #irish #jewish #mixed #mixed girls

[sgterso]

sometimes it’s really exhausting writing a female muse on this site huh

#and jyn is literally a CANON WHITE woman #its so much harder for female muses of color #esp ocs #to get the time of day from other rpers #the only other blog i had as long as jyn was my oc rook #who is an indigenous deaf female oc #and that was only outta spite bc it was literally like pulling teeth to get interactions someday!! #anyway nothing rlly happened in particular im just tired

[padawan-historian]

Some thoughts currently flooding a region of my mind 🪷✨️🌿🍉

#late night musings #our world #ecosystem of white supremacy #politics #this lovecraft country of ours #ugly feminism #padawan historian #barbie #blue maga #solidarity with palestine against apartheid #free us all #indigenous sovereignty #antiracist liberation #antiracism over apartheid #afrofeminism