Thread: It is wrong for us, as Trinidadians, to be upset that indigenous descendants (I'm unsure of the correct terminology here), may be concerned about the use of the headdress. https://twitter.com/korenarebecca/status/1249377557297926144

Their culture & their peoples have been consistently eroded from genocide to the vandalizing of sacred objects. I think we should recognize that struggle.

The white man affected all of us, and they deeply affected the Native Americans nearly ensuring their genocide, and up to now refusing to give them back their lands and wrongfully trying to evict indigenous peoples on the reserve amongst a slew of other things

Now, just as some of us may be uninformed on the history of America, they may be uninformed about ours. Our native people, the Tainos and the Kalinagos may have worn headdresses - there is research pointing to this but it is inconclusive because the Spanish killed them out &

prevented them from preserving their culture and heritage

https://books.google.tt/books?id=CrIGjaQBrqwC&pg=PA482&lpg=PA482&dq=did+the+kalinagos+wear+headdresses&source=bl&ots=Dpq-L71F1z&sig=ACfU3U3rxiYl4E3TQEkVXGiz6TvID_zbpA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiy0s2knOToAhWvUt8KHR23Ds0Q6AEwGnoECA0QJw#v=onepage&q=did%20the%20kalinagos%20wear%20headdresses&f=false

there is research indicating that the Kalinagos wore headdresses as well

As the artist stated in her post, the design was inspired by "Red Indians" this statement holds true:

"Red Indians are supposed to have come over from Venezuela, from a village or area called “Lokain” which is probably Los Caños (Spanish for “drains” or tributaries”) -

the swamps of the Orinoco Delta. Actually, aboriginal Indians of the Guarao, Guarajo, or “Warrahoon tribe from the area brought beads, parrots, hammocks, and other products to Trinidad to barter until the 1920’s when they were prohibited. -

There are settlements of mixed-bloods who claim Warahoon ancestry throughout Trinidad, particularly south of Siparia."

https://www.traditionalmas.com/project/fancy-indian/

Once again we need to understand that the migration patterns of natives, whether north american, south american or caribbean were not properly documented. There is research pointing to a mass exodus to all these areas. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/ancient-dna-confirms-native-americans-deep-roots-north-and-south-america#

Haurholm-Larsen, Steffen (2016). A Grammar Of Garifuna

there would have been back and forth movement from south america to the caribbean - even though research is lacking, with the research we do have, it is safe to assume that

Because of this there would have been the carrying over of cultural identity - whether it be in the form of clothes, language, symbols, artifacts etc.

However, as large groups stayed in specific areas, the cultures, as cultures tend to do, would have evolved and warped

so the culture and institutions of our Amerindian tribes, though they are of Native Indigenous roots, and descent may have changed over the course of time, hence why they do not/may not match the same as Native Americans of the USA

That does not make them any less of a Native. This is a very complex topic, bc in a way they are of the original identity AND are part of a diaspora. One doesn't outweigh the other, because the Amerindians did try to retain their heritage throughout their time in the caribbean

Now the problem arises in the type of headdresses we use as part of our Fancy Indian/Indian traditional ole mass. The Native Americans are of many tribes, with many distinct cultural and spiritual identities. Clothes and headwear being one of them.

Because we ourselves do not know for certain HOW our Native Amerindians wore and created their headwear, it may be very messy to take from the Native Americans ESPECIALLY since it was said that transpiration was taken from the portrayal of Native Americans in Western cinema

If you all did not know the portrayal of Native Americans in Western TV and cinema was wrong. wrong. wrong. It can easily be said to be propaganda to stimulate hatred of them, and to propagate the ideology that they were ferocious, and evil, and primitive

I really and truly do not think I need to put links for this as Google is free, and quite frankly we are witnessing it right now in another form with the way in which Trump and Boris are treating immigrants and poc, specifically black people

like just for example, think about the way black persons in media when they're in a crime investigation (whether they are innocent are not) are portrayed. Look at the pictures media uses, and the words they use and the tone of said words.

Anyway back to the topic at hand. Because we do not know for certain what type of headdresses were used, and because Western cinema and the USA up to now misappropriate and corrupt Native culture it may not be right for us to use headdresses closely resembling their own

Using the example of locs for instance - White people should not wear locs. Why? Because hair is a very prominent part of African culture. Because Africans have been discriminated, victimized, and brutalized over their hair.

Because colonizers eroded, degraded, corrupted, ridiculed, denied the sustenance of not only their culture, but their people. Even up to now, this bias is in their institutions such as judicial and educational. Because the Western world is still very much a White Man's World.

I think we can all see that.

I hope that we can also all see the parallel that I am trying to draw here as to why it may not be good on our part to use headdresses similar to those of Native Americans or based on Western portrayal.

We need to use headdresses based on our own peoples. Not theirs.