Today is 1 February – the start of Black History Month. Please take some intentional time to learn about Black history in your communities. Black history is everywhere and important to learn from and experience.

For the past week I’ve cringed before opening my Instagram account. A while ago I commented on a reel with a cute dog is practicing cultural appropriation. There is a TikTok and now IG trend where dog owners use the same syrupy women’s voiceover saying they are their dog’s protector, guardian, and attendant – a Native Hawaiian concept. Many people are not happy with having to think about cultural appropriation. I’m purposefully not linking to any of the reels and keeping the details off the post so people don’t give them extra clicks.

I’m taking a few of the juicy and a few of the eye-roll comments and explaining why I disagree. After reading some of the comments it is also clear cultural appropriation is not widely understood.

My disclosure: I am not Native Hawaiian. I grew up in Hawai’i and continue to maintain strong ties to the people and place. I do not speak for Native Hawaiians in this post or any other writing. My intention and purpose of this post is to focus less on the use of the Native Hawaiian word used and more on the concept of cultural appropriation and its harm.

“The meaning belongs to everyone.” “Life philosophies can transcend cultures.”

The meaning behind something can have universal themes, but that doesn’t mean we can take a very specific cultural concept and language and allow others to claim it as their own. In this case a social media influencer who most likely is not Native Hawaiian is using the Hawaiian language and an Indigenous concept to gain clicks, that will eventually be monetized. How are Native Hawaiians compensated from this arrangement? While the concept is universal the reel and social media usage of the concept is being exploited for personal gain.

“What if I enjoy a coconut [is that cultural appropriation]?” and “You better not eat Italian food or you’re appropriating my culture.”

First, coconuts are not native to Hawai’i. They were imported to the islands. Eating any food from another culture isn’t cultural appropriation. What would be appropriation is if I made Italian food and claimed that I as a non-Italian was doing it better than Italians with no deference to the food’s cultural roots or heritage. There is a line between appreciation and appropriation. Appreciating something is different than claiming it and saying you are doing it better, and not honoring the history or culture behind it.

There is also colonization to consider in how we think about food and its place in culture and appropriating it. Colonization through food happened in the past and continues to happen. This is a deeper topic for a full post of its own. In the meantime, there are a lot of articles on the internet about this topic.

“This is not cultural appropriation, it is merely explaining something this person thinks is wonderful… Can someone not explain something from another culture without it being cultural appropriation.”

Sure, people can explain something from another culture – this leads to innovations and new ways of thinking. My thinking and learning about race and culture have benefited from learning from other people, cultural backgrounds, and histories.

The difference is, when I share what I learned I do my best to honor the history behind it and to pay deference to the original thinkers. For me this means learning from the sources when possible, respecting other people’s spaces and knowing when I shouldn’t share something because it isn’t for me to share – especially around cultural ceremonies, giving credit to the original sources, and paying reparations and working to be in just relations with my POC relations and communities.

In this case, the reel didn’t credit any Native Hawaiians or acknowledge their language or origins – cultural exploitation.

As a side note, February is Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi month in Hawai’i, a time to learn and honor ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, Native Hawaiian language. A great time for the dog person to pay some reparations for the profit she’s making from having a Hawaiian language reel.

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