What was the most interesting point the author or speaker(s) made?
Sucking the Quileute Dry
By ANGELA R. RILEY FEB. 7, 2010
Los Angeles
ALL the world, it seems, has been bitten by “Twilight.” Conservative
estimates place revenue generated from Stephenie Meyer’s vampire
chronicles — the books, movies and merchandise — in the billion-dollar
range. Scarcely mentioned, however, is the effect that “Twilight” has had on
the tiny Quileute Nation, situated on a postage stamp of a reservation, just
one square mile, in remote La Push, Wash.
To millions of “Twilight” fans, the Quileute are Indians whose (fictional)
ancient treaty transforms young males of the tribe into vampire-fighting
wolves. To the nearly 700 remaining Quileute Indians, “Twilight” is the
reason they are suddenly drawing extraordinary attention from the outside —
while they themselves remain largely excluded from the vampire series’ vast
commercial empire.
Just last month, MSN.com issued an apology to the Quileute for intruding on
its territory while videotaping a “Twilight” virtual tour in September.
MSN.com sought permission from the Chamber of Commerce in nearby
Forks, Wash., but didn’t pay the same courtesy to the Quileute. The video
team trespassed onto a reservation cemetery and taped Quileute graves,
including those of esteemed tribal leaders. These images were then set to
macabre music and, in November, posted on MSN.com. The tribe quickly
persuaded MSN.com to remove the Quileute images.
But this was only one episode in the story of the tribe’s phenomenal, and
apparently increasing, new fame. “Twilight” has made all things Quileute
wildly popular: Nordstrom.com sells items from Quileute hoodies to charms
bearing a supposed Quileute werewolf tattoo. And a tour company hauls
http://msn.com/
busloads of fans onto the Quileute reservation daily. Yet the tribe has received
no payment for this commercial activity. Meanwhile, half of Quileute families
still live in poverty.
It’s important to point out that the outside uses of the Quileute name, from
the “Twilight” books to the tattoo jewelry, are quite likely legal. American
intellectual property laws, except in very specific circumstances, do not
protect indigenous peoples’ collective cultural property.
In fact, many businesses use tribal names without involving the Indians
themselves. Consider, for example, well-known products like Jeep Cherokee
trucks, Oneida flatware and Apache helicopters — none of which are officially
associated with Indian tribes. (The Quileute say they have never been
contacted by Ms. Meyer or any of those who use the Quileute name for
merchandising.)
Neil Swaab
The most significant federal law that addresses the marketing of Indian
cultural goods — the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, passed in 1935 — is meant to
ensure truth in advertising. It requires that any artistic products claiming to
have a tribal origin are in fact produced by that tribe. Hopi kachina dolls, for
example, must be Hopi-made. But it does not come into play for the Quileute
hoodies, jewelry or other goods, because there is no claim they were made by
the Quileute.
So what can be done? Even absent legal protection, the Quileute should be
able to have a say in, and benefit financially from, outsiders’ use of their
cultural property.
Many Indian tribes develop markets for their own cultural property — or at
least the part of it that is not deemed sacred and therefore private. Some have
introduced culturally appropriate commercial products — Navajo rugs, for
example, or Potawatomi porcupine-quill earrings — to educate non-Indians
about their traditions or to earn a living.
The Quileute are likewise eager to share their tribal culture, even if the
interest in it was created primarily by Hollywood. The Quileute welcome
outsiders, as my own interactions with them have confirmed. When hordes of
“Twilight” fans showed up in La Push in 2008, the tribe, as a sovereign
Indian nation, could have closed its reservation, but tribal members chose not
to do so.
At the same time, like indigenous peoples around the globe, the Quileute
want to be meaningful participants in the treatment of their own cultural
property. This means, first and foremost, having their sovereignty and their
culture respected by outsiders. The Quileute’s Web site tells visitors about the
tribal laws that govern Quileute territory. One of these laws specifies that
burial grounds and religious ceremonies are “sacred and not to be entered.”
Had MSN acknowledged the tribe as a sovereign government, it might not
have broken that rule. The Quileute believe that respect for Indian tribal
sovereignty could likewise bridge cultural gaps between other Indian
communities and outsiders.
Going forward, the Quileute should be engaged in the “Twilight”
phenomenon. They should be able, first, to welcome Ms. Meyer to the
reservation and introduce her to the Tribal Council and all the Quileute
people. They should be consulted on projects where the Quileute name and
culture are used to market products. And Quileute elders should be able to
share with the world the true Quileute creation story, in which tribal
members were transformed into humans from wolves (not vampire-fighting
wolves).
Undoubtedly, the Quileute, whose remote reservation leaves them with few
options for economic development, would also welcome “Twilight”-based
profit-sharing arrangements or other opportunities to capitalize on the
phenomenon. They struggle to maintain adequate tribal housing and to
support their tribal school, Elder Center and tribal court, all of which are
integral to ensuring that their culture continues for future generations.
The ultimate choice, regarding not only the Quileute but all indigenous
peoples, is not simply whether outsiders are free to appropriate tribal cultural
property. For the sake of fairness as much as law, indigenous peoples must
play a significant role in decisions regarding their cultural property.
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