Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Native American dolls

Well, it's Thanksgiving which means Native people are once again kind of on the national radar.  So I thought I'd surf the net and see what I could find.  I can find a few Barbies, some old small action figures and one or two Sandys Native American dolls.  There is a small Cherokee made Native doll on Ebay, and two "Cherokee maidens".  They are reasonably priced.

But what there is most of are non-specific Native American STYLE porcelain dolls and about 98 percent of them are either babies or girls, with some moms carrying "paposes" on their backs.  Ugh!  Same message as Halloween, Native American boys and men are Dangerous!

Another thing I noticed is that all of these dolls, with the exception of those mentioned on Ebay are Non-specific to tribe.  I guess all "Indians" look alike, hu?

Last, (you can sigh with relief) no mixed race Native dolls, either African American, Latino, or European American. 

I guess if you have tan to brown skin, straight dark hair, and an old time outfit of fau suade clothes with some beads or shells scattered around, you're Native.

One more soapbox point, (guess I lied, but didn't mean to) Why all of the arrowhead and fetish and Kachina doll collectors?  I do know it provides a living for some Native artists.  But these are Religious symbols.  I don't buy them because I do not understand them within the context of their own cultures.  Who knows What I might be inviting into my home?  I suppose if one doesn't see them as religious objects, but only as Things, one is somewhat protected.  But as a Buddhist I will Not buy Ritual Buddhist objects specific to certain Asian Buddhist cultures and rituals.  If I have an understanding of the purpose and meaning of something, (a prayer flag, a Buddha statue) I might buy it.  Otherwise, no way.

Ok, so I'm a stuffed shirt, (ouch, hot in here) about the subject.  I just choose to be careful.  When I was a kid we found spear points and a corn grinding rock when my parents ploughed up the garden.  Seeing so many such things for sale on Ebay (a thing I had never considered,) kind of gave me the creeps.  Maybe before I die, if I have time, I need to see that these things are reburried in a place not too far from where we found them as kids.

New subject:  I thank each of you for being patient with my mouth, my faults, and for reading this anyway!  May each of you have a safe, warm, and Happy Thanksgiving!

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