Cutbead Queen

When pep's ask me to take a photo (mostly whites) I laugh, smile and seriously make the statement while I gently ignore them that, "I don't show up on film!"

Bridging the cultural gap is miniscule when compared to out right theivary.

Several years ago at Rocky Boy Pow-wow, I met this white man that goes around to various pow-wows and thats all he does....takes pictures! I saw thousands of pics he has compiled over the years and he sells them. Oh- did I forget to mention his non-indian wife does beadwork and dances too. She had no conscience in telling me she uses his pictures as reference and inspiration for her own bead work. These people are cultural theives and they use photographs to further their own ambitions. While indians think all they are doing is flattering them by asking to take a pic of them because they are so beautiful or handsome or your daughter is so cute....whatever! Wake up people!

I've had beadwork patterns stolen by other indians too and I have sadly seen half-assed attempts to replicate the beadwork. Makes me sick. My gramma says that these people who steal patterns will never be able to capture the spirit in the design like our family does.... and she is right, so that pacifies my anger somewhat. My family still beads patterns that have been in my family for generations. As far as I'm concerned my families property is just that, my families! I have an obligation to protect it......so if you consider me rude by not allowing a photo because I know what it can lead too, then so be it! A photo of my regalia is priceless to me and my family!

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Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art." - Leonardo Da Vinci

"I found I could say things with my beads that I couldn't say any other way....things I had no words for" - Eva McAdams Eastern Shoshone

charmkin

idk man if i ever saw somebody with my sh*t on them id spit in their face and scratch their eyes out. according to copywrite laws once you create something its yours, so if somebody attempted to duplicate my beadwork, i would murder them.

see here:
http://library.thinkquest.org/J00157...rightinfo.html

i don't see how beadwork would be any different.

furthermore, pictures taking is all personal preference. one shouldn't feel obligated to posing for pictures all the time and who cares if he charges money for it? its just a dollar. photographers can get annoying AND disrepectful. you should admire one's beadwork and style but not harass them about it.

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lo, now my glory smeared in dust &blood
my parks, my walks, my manors that i had
even now forsake me; &of all my lands is nothing
left me but my body's length !
why, what is pomp, rule, reign but earth &dust?
&live we how we can, yet die we must.

Singing Otter

Girl can you hear me now? How bout this raggedy heffa had the nerve to try to copy my stuff and it ain't even finished yet. And how bout hers is jacked up and fugly! I guess she didn't realize I know some folks. Some people's nerve.

As far as stealin........ Some people need to have their tails beat. But what goes around comes around. They may think they're getting away with it,,,, but that stuff aallllllways has a way of coming back.

Dang Walakapi.... that reminded me of my dad. He said that they watched grandpa's grave to make sure folks wouldn't dig him up and steal his stuff. Some people have no decency.

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Singing Otter

That's hella creepy. Woulda been funny if you just turned around and squirted her with holy water. j/k I'm in a warped mood.

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chazziff

yea it is creepy - ppl still tease me about that whole episode! ... dang and the stuff she tried to replicate was to death half azzz to say the least. after i was told about her starin i was real self conscious - sometimes she didnt wait until supperbreak to follow us!! my partner just wanted to yell at her "take a picture maybe you'll get it right!!" lol

one item they tried to replicate was a southern style breatplate (my two older ones danced southern cloth at the time and their breastplates were made by their father/aunt) - the same length on front and back. well we live in canada and women traditional round these parts have breastplates that some down mid calf/ankle area. any hoo - the breastplate they made was mid calf in front and waist length in the back (northern in front/southern in the back) - too weird!! guess she couldnt really get a good look or something

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Singing Otter

lol uhhhhh maybe she needed glasses? j/k

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sltate

LOL that picture taking thing is funny. I remember about 25 years ago, the late Pete Moore, Sr. was at a pow wow and those that knew him know how he used to paint when he danced....anyway, it was really cool. So, he is all painted up and the tourists just mob him and he finally gets a chair and lets them take his picture, pretty soon they start putting their kids on his lap to take a picture and he said to my family, " I feel like g-d Santa Claus" and we all just laughed til we cried. He was a good sport about it. But that is the price you pay when you go to tourist pow wows. LOL

morning water

crazywolf

Hey boozhoo niji,

I thought about that for a while man, and decided to change my ways. I went to Chambers and didnt get swamped with photo ops but the ones that did come, I just said yeah ok. Actually either one doesnt make me feel any better or worse either way, and sometimes it quicker to just let them take the pic than to argue with them about charging them in the first place. *shrugs*

Derek