January 23, 2007

Imitation isn't flattery

Native American film series concludes

Commercialization of American Indian religion highlightedDirectors Macy and Hart said American Indians can get quite bothered when their religious practices are not taken seriously.

"Many people tend to think copying and imitating American Indians can be a way to possibly flatter them, but in fact it can be quite upsetting," Colleen Boyd, Ball State University assistant professor of anthropology and director of the Native American studies minor, said.

Some American Indians believe that when people imitate their religious practices the balance of the universe is thrown off, Boyd said.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Outright and shameless imitation is extremely disrespectful and probably bad luck too.

Anonymous said...

Exactly. I also felt that the saying "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" to a load of crap or at least overrated since nine times out of ten, the target of imitation is getting lampooned/ridiculed, belittle,and blasted for the sake of wrongdoing.