Cultural appropriation generally refers to the adoption of traditional practices, objects, or images by\u00a0a person or group that is not part of the originating culture. Cultural appropriation can become problematic when it is done without permission, serves to\u00a0benefit the dominant group, and erases or further marginalizes the oppressed group. In this way, cultural appropriation can recreate larger structures of inequality.<\/p>\n
On a recent stroll through a duty-free shop, I was introduced to one of these problematic examples in the form of a new Canadian product named “Totem Vodka<\/a>,”\u00a0packaged in a bottle resembling a totem pole.\u00a0Totem Vodka is not a product of Indigenous entrepreneurship. Instead it is\u00a0a form of problematic cultural appropriation. Here’s why:<\/p>\n First Nations Erasure <\/strong><\/p>\n