Protect the Sacred
If you feel like you have a "tribal spirit', have ever worn a headdress to a festival (or wanted to), this article is for you...
Cultural appropriation is often a hot topic in our culture and has led to bans of certain garments (especially headdresses) from some festivals. However we understand that people within our community have genuinely felt "inspired" by tribal cultures. Great! - let's take it a little farther though. If you are wearing these tribal symbols, or garments, or headdresses, maybe you should make an attempt to be a good representative of those values, and the tribal people you are inspired by, outside of the festival.
We greatly appreciate both the spirit of PLURWarrior co-founder, Lady Casa, and the PLURWarrior movement which has been about sharing PLUR (peace, love, unity, and respect) values. PLURWarriors, in addition to spreading PLUR values online and at festivals, have gathered together in cities across the nation to share PLUR and create donation drives. They are examples of both PLUR and EMA values in action.
Right now, real tribal cultures are under duress as they stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). This time, siding with corporate oil interests, once again our government is not upholding treaties with original people and protectors of this land. Sacred burial sites have already been destroyed but the Sioux are standing strong because what is at stake is not just about land and water, but the future of the planet. What they are really standing up against is a dangerous trend of society choosing dirty fossil fuels over clean renewable energy, or money over our sacred Earth. The fossil fuels in this case will not just dirty the sky but will leak and contaminate a river that provides water to thousands and thousands of people and animals downstream. This pipeline and many others will only continue to contribute to climate change which will show us more global disasters via more extreme weather such as the recent floods in Louisiana and Hurricane Matthew which has devasted Haiti.
So, we wanted to give a shout out to Lady Casa for not just being a good role model, which is part of her mission with PLURWarriors, but for taking a stand on this issue especially since her movement embodies inspiration from tribal cultures. We thank her for playing it fwd by using her public profile for the greater good and sharing information about their stance of NO on the Dakota Access DAPL. It is artists like Lady Casa, and others like Raver J or those featured on accounts such as Culture Strike that will inspire more people to get involved with the future of our planet.
We also want to thank The Do Lab and Symbiosis as they have teamed up to spread awareness about DAPL and also stand in solidarity with the Sioux. The Do Lab has a GREAT article on their webiste about exactly how to help - supplies needed, numbers to call. Visit that blog posting HERE.
If you would like to sign a petition, we recommend signing the one with Earthjustice. SIGN HERE.
