Cultural appropriation is something spoken about but except for some of the most egregious examples can be difficult to define. Not everything that originates from another culture is appropriation. Cultural exchanges happen, but they must be just that: an exchange. Appropriation happens when the power balance is unequal or the cost is borne by one but the benefit is borne by another. Unfortunately, the legacies of cultural appropriation and colonialism are all too common in paganism.
My three prong test for cultural appropriation is not meant to be the last word on the topic. It is simply my best method for determining what is appropriation and what is exchange, and I find it useful in deciding what I will accept and what I will not.
Benefit
What is the tangible benefit to the cultural property or knowledge? Was there a book written with teachings ascribed to a culture that became a bestseller? A patent on a drug that derives from a treatment used by an indigenous people? A traditional design made into a modern clothing line? A school that teaches classes in traditional crafts?
Not all benefits have to be money. Fame or elevation to the status of expert or influencer is another benefit. In the case of a clothing design, did that popularity bring other commissions and work to the designer?
Receiver of Benefit
Who ultimately received the benefit? Was it members of the culture that taught the medicine/ wisdom/weaving technique? Their descendants? Those who live in the land they inhabited?
Or was the receiver of the benefit a corporation that did not share a portion of its profits with the community? Or the person who wrote the book and became famous?
You can argue a corporation or a marketing savvy or educated individual who knew how to sell the item to a larger audience should benefit from it. But those benefits should be shared with the original culture who the knowledge was learned from.
In the 1619 podcast, episode 3 talks about the story of the origin of minstrel shows. The story is in the 1830’s TD Rice heard a slave groomer singing to a horse and watched the groom move as he sang. This inspired him to don blackface and perform the first America minstrel show, which became the first American pop music. The slave who inspired TD Rice never received any benefit. We don’t even have the groom’s name in the story. Most white minstrel musicians had little contact with black people, and made up songs based on stereotypes. While there eventually were black minstrel performers, the expectations were shaped by white performers and a white audience. Most of the benefit was received by white performers instead of performers of color.
Reaction from the Originating Culture
This one is definitely the trickiest. The first question to ask is do members of that community exist today? The second question to ask is who within that community is regarded as a leader?
The first question can be answered with some work. There are many thriving indigenous communities today for example, but they aren’t always well known. I personally don’t consider the artwork of New Grange being sold as cultural appropriation, for the reason the culture that built Newgrange no longer exists. It was built by pre-Celtic peoples back in the Neolithic so there isn’t a straight line to culture today.
Just because one member of the marginalized group is profiting, or supports it, does not rule out cultural appropriation. One person or a small group can benefit from the use of the cultural property but the rest of the community may not accept it. Those with the loudest voices don’t always represent a majority. Unfortunately, not every member of a marginalized group cares about their group as a whole. Also, many do try to assimilate into the larger culture and end up internalizing the narratives about their people.
To put it bluntly: someone who is part of a marginalized group can still be an asshole.
Figuring out who within a marginalized group that is not very open to outsiders has real authority to speak for their group is tricky. Speaking as a pagan, I know a Thelemite can’t advise on what is breaking a Wiccan oath, a chaos magician isn’t the person to ask how to perform a Heathen rite, and a Celtic reconstructionist won’t know how to make a devotion to Hekate. These all get lumped together under the label as pagan, with non-pagans rarely understanding the differences among the various communities. When you don’t have a centralized authority like a pope, it can be hard for outsiders to understand who is regarded as an authority and words will be followed by others.
To look at the context—is it something that everyone in that culture is taught as children? Or is it knowledge shared by only a select few? Was the knowledge or item given with the understanding it would be shared with the wider world?
As neo-pagans attempt to create and strengthen a living polytheist tradition, I do think there are many things we can learn from the traditions of other cultures. But I also recognize not everyone is interested in teaching. The decision as to what can be shared and what will remain hidden is made by the culture, and not by well meaning but out of touch seekers.
In the nineties when I first began studying paganism there was an overwhelming attitude or take what you can find from whatever tradition and plug it into a Wiccan ritual. I am glad this attitude is being pushed aside and there is far more awareness of cultural appropriation now. But there is definitely a long way to go, even if there is much that has brought me hope.