Week 9 Response


Hello curious student!
I’m one of Mr. Deloria’s research assistants and I’m writing back to you on his behalf. While he appreciates receiving letters from students and does read them all, he doesn’t have time to respond to each one. I am doing research on Native identity in the 21st century though, so I can hopefully provide a few examples to help you keep thinking about these issues.
One trend that cropped up in the past couple of years was the idea of a “spirit animal.” It spread through internet culture until it became a standard fun fact to be said alongside name and where you’re from. Spirit animals are an idea actually maladapted from many different Native American groups whose belief system includes spirit guides or totem animals. The way it was used in pop culture though was as a type of animal that represented a person and it was quickly trivialized with things like “spirit fruits” or “spirit vegetables,” which took spirit animals from appropriation to blatant mocking of a spiritual belief. At the peak of the spirit animal trend, it wasn’t uncommon to see people using their spirit animal as a way to craft or refine their identities, which is an example of whites and others creating identity from Native culture.   
My personal favorite example of the misuse of spirit animal was when model and television personality Kendall Jenner called Tupac Shakur her spirit animal. Not only was she claiming a spirit animal when she has no native background, but she also decided that Tupac, a black icon, was a suitable “animal” for her to claim. It’s a great example of how racism is intersectional, as well as identity.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the topic. Definitely write back to myself or Mr. Deloria if you have any more questions.

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