Cultural Appropriation is a difficult topic in Pagan spaces. On the one hand, it’s difficult because there are many vested interests in obscuring its meaning and minimizing its impact on other faiths; on the other hand, it’s can be used as a weapon by white people to destroy other white people.
The Troth isn’t immune from this. Many members, even those who have held offices with The Troth, have been accused of cultural appropriation. But what does that mean? And are we centering the experiences of those whose cultural is being appropriated?
In order to create good policy for our organization and our members, we need to have the conversation to explore this topic by understanding its real impact on religious communities.
We will go through real examples of this Spiritual Genocide, Cultural Appropriation and talk about how each effects Indigenous religious communities. We will talk about some general principles of what to avoid when encountering Indigenous faith traditions. Finally, we will talk about how we support our Indigenous friends and neighbors and their quest to restore their religious traditions, defend their treaty rights and join their struggle for human rights.
As this event has to do with sensitive subject matter, we will have a closed members only audience for the live broadcast and the Q&A session, but as it’s also important subject matter for the general community, we will be sure to record it for public viewing.
