Owning my Cultural Appropriation Mistake

A week or so ago, I chugged some coffee and got to work quickly designing an invitation for James’ and Ian’s combined birthday party that’ll be here before I know it. I used Zazzle because it’s affordable and I prefer the editing sites where I can move the graphics around and change things to my liking. (I actually really enjoy doing these type of projects.) Kyle was out of town at the time and I breezed through it, feeling pretty proud of myself. On it is a little lion with 3d glasses, a giraffe blowing a bubble with gum and a cute elephant with a little flower crown thing.

Except when I received the order, I looked down and let out a few words I would even get on to my youth girls about. Do you see the issue?

Here we have a little elephant not in an adorable flower crown, but in a traditional Native American headdress. Should it have been just feathers, I probably wouldn’t have made a big deal about it, but the headband is undeniably rooted in Native American heritage.

So, I sat on it for a bit. I wondered whether I was making a big deal about it. Kyle reminded me that if I were to send it out, it’s very unlikely no one would notice, let alone be offended. I considered that. I really did. But eventually I came to the conclusion that looking past it, hoping no one notices perpetuates the problem with cultural appropriation. A decision to not correct it would imply that this is ok when it’s not.

What is cultural appropriation? It’s considered “the adoption of elements of one culture by members of another culture.” Essentially, it’s taking something from another culture (almost always minorities) and making it into something “cute” or fun. While we on occasion see someone getting called out for it in the media, there are lots of small ways to accidentally appropriate, especially within mom culture. Sugar skulls, sombreros and mustaches, teepees (instead of tents) are all things I personally say no to. So, when I open up the envelope and see an adorable elephant wearing a traditional Native American headpiece made to look “cute,” my heart sunk. This is cultural appropriation and somehow I missed it.

Rather than reorder, I was able to fix it with just one, red crayon. I did some quick doodling and made the headband into a flower headband.

I wanted to write this not to call out others, not as a preachy moment, but because I believe it’s important as a white woman, I own my mistake and share what I learned from it. I hope others are able to takeaway something from this experience, too.

I do plan on reaching out to both Zazzle and the artist.