Definitions Please!!

[momme]

There has been a lot of talk about Hobbiests, wannabees, plastic medicine men, twinkies and whatever all else.
Was wondering what everyone's definitions for all of these were?
Is there a fine line in there anywhere that throws a person from one category to another?
Can you rank them from bad to worse?
Is there anything a white person can do (or not do) to be involved in dancing/singing/powwows and not be in one of these categories?

Just wondering if everyone's definitions matched, or if there were different levels through all of this.

Inquiring minds want to know
Sarah

[Mato Winyan]

Hobbiests, wannabees, plastic medicine men, twinkies

I'll take a stab at it..... Plastic medicine men to me are ones who are not true medicine men. But are imitators of a true medicine man. One in it for the money. They can cause harm on so many levels. If I had to pick one to be the worse.... I guess this would be it.

Twinkie..... I don't think anyone takes a twinkie serious... well.... maybe another twinkie. They are so far out there..... damn..... all I can say is damn......they can range from the OMG!! to the scarey degree...... or OMG!! I usually lump this group in with the freaks. FYI! If you find youself at a powwow with let's say ......more than two or so.... ya may wanna find another powwow. If you find yourself attending a powwow full of em...... you need to be pimp slapped for being there in the first place!

Wannabes and hobbyists...... Some lump these together....like some generic term. I think some hobbyists are wannabes... but not all. Some wannabes are hobbyists. I happen to think there are different degrees of each of these. Wannabes can range from people just wanting to be a part of a culture they admire and leave it at that ...... to idiots wanting that so much they do strange things to try to make people believe they are something they are not and never will be. Some will say wannabes don't have any native blood....I've seen some that have blood that are nothing more than wanting to be a part of something they make up stuff on their own to make a world they live in and actually believe it is real.
Hobbyists....... dang.... that's a hard one. Some say they are ones that do the indian thing as a hobby on weekends then go back to their own world during the week. Some say they are harmless...... others say they are culture theives.

This brings me to the next definition that you didn't add. Culture theives. These are the ones that are from a different culture background ...... take things from the native culture and turn, twist and ba$tardize it to make a buck off it.... or to get some kind of high from having fame and glory ( for lack of better terms) from people that think they have some knowledge or wisdom and know what they are talking about. These people, like the plastic medicine men cause great harm ... damn....... "harm" ..... that word so does not fit. These are the people that should be dealt with the hardest. It should be such a way you can do mean and horrible things to them and get away with it...... no ........ actually get rewarded for doing mean things to them.

Well ....... guess that is about it. Oh........ you asked..... if there was a way a white person can be involved in dancing and singing at powwows and not be lumped into any of these categories......... first thing that comes to my mind is for them to be a spectator and watch. Then there are those that are white...... say they are white...... but still have been brought into the powwow circle by a native and have been welcomed and accepted. These people are always respectful and really do try to do things in a good way. Still at the best...... they are only accepted some of the time. No matter what........ they will never be accepted by all natives..... never ..... ever...... in this life. That's a fact and way of life. And these people respect that. They go where they are accepted and know their boundries.

For some ....... anyone not having a tribal enrollment card that attends a powwow is lumped in one of these categories. For them......that's it.... end of story. That's about it for me..... It'll be good to see how others defiine them.

[Blackbear]

Hmm.. she did a pretty good job there. Ditto

[kiowakat]

hey mato LMAO liked how you broke it down LMAO i was short and sweet and to the point ...

terminology as I understand it:

Super hobbiest: a white peron that claims to have no native heritage but thinks they know it all about the native heritage and then some. I call these people cultural thieves.

Enthusiast: a white person that claims no native heritage and attends weekend pow-wows, very fun poeple in my eyes!!

Wannabe's: a white person that claims native heritage, with no proof. I call these poeple pathetic.

of course the comments I make are my opinion only lol

[hywalker]

i found these terms from a link on AIHSC's website -

Apple: An insulting term used to demean a Native American. Being referred to as an "apple" means that you are being called "red on the outside but white on the inside."

Redskin: A term once used when referring to a scalp which had been cut from the head of a Native American. In times past, it was common to trade the fur of animals and scalps at trading posts. It is said that delicate and sensitive non-Indian women couldn't bear to hear a "scalp" referred to as a "scalp," so the term "redskin" was adopted in its place. Thus, a trader would refer to the "animals" he had killed as (for example) deerskins, coonskins, and redskins.

Shaman: An Asian Native term for a religious and social figure in Siberia/extreme Northern Europe. The precise etymology of the word is uncertain. It has been traced to the Pali word *sramana,* meaning "to know," and translated as "[the] One Who Knows." A well known group of People who looked to shamen for guidance were the Samik (Lapps) of Northern Europe. This Tribe, traditionally, were hunters and reindeer herders. Today they have been, for the most part, assimilated.
In America, the word "shaman" is used to indicate someone who is involved in some way with the occult "scene." "Shamanism" is now an all-inclusive term which could be used for any "occult profession." It is often erroneously applied to American Indian healers, medicine-people, etc.

Shame-on: A term used to mock online "shamen." It of course means "shame on you."

Sq#*w: A derogatory term applied to American Indian females. It refers to a private part of a woman's body. At one time, this is how American Indian Women were thought of in America. American Indians often refuse to utter this word, instead referring to it as the "S-word."

Twinkie: A term used for non-Indian People who teach, practice, or promote non-Indian beliefs while believing their actions/beliefs to be "authentic Indian beliefs." It is used as an insult.

Wannabe: A term used to describe persons who "want - to - be" (wannabe) American Indians. It is used as an insult.

Statement On Reproducing Or Reprinting This Text, Copyright 2000, Our Red Earth Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this work in its entirety, providing that the source of origin is acknowledged (i.e. this website).

http://www.geocities.com/ourredearth/exploiters.html

http://home.aihsc.info/index.html

[momme]

Thanks for the input. The definitions are about what i expected, and it's good to see that there is little differences in the definitions ( i thought there might be just from different posts but wasn't sure).
Thank you Mato, KiowaKat and Hywalker, for your definitions and Thank you too BlackBear for your ditto of Mato's post.
Sarah

[chickendad]

Twinkie is a scary word. Because twinkies don't rot, they last forever. Hopefully someday these twinkies will disapear and be replaced by the real thing in everyday life.

[badmaninc]

Twinkie is a scary word. Because twinkies don't rot, they last forever. Hopefully someday these twinkies will disapear and be replaced by the real thing in everyday life.

Dude, when I read this it could be an ad for viagra.

[Blackbear]

Also Twinkie and Banana are used for Asians like they use Apple for Natives. I never knew other races had terms like that as well. took me by surprise.

[momme]

I would guess across most strongly defined and still somewhat traditional cultures that there are always people who are not enough of what defines the people. It is very interesting though. Not sure i'll look and apples and twinkies in the same way.
Sarah