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A few days ago the Carnival clothing brand, which makes clothes for special occasions, launched a new line that is inspired by the Selknam culture, which was a native of Tierra del Fuego, a situation that has not gone down well with some users of social networks.
Initially, the company indicated that they had been inspired by the history of this American people, which began to disappear at the beginning of the 20th century.
“The project was a team effort, where we were inspired by each history of the Selknam culture to create costumes ‘Halaháche, Ulen and Jóichik’. In the packaging you will also find a little story about each one ”, they expressed on social networks.
However, the situation did not go down very well among users of social networks, who criticized the initiative and accused the creators of a alleged cultural appropriation.
“How is it possible that they use representations of Selknam deities and spirits to creating a product like this is unpresentable ”, indicated a user on Facebook.
“I find it really embarrassing that representations of Selknam deities and spirits are used to make a costume, These body paintings were used for sacred rituals and this group that called themselves ‘crack designers’ has the audacity to create this unpresentable ‘product’ as if nothing else. Let’s talk about the shame of others and cultural appropriation, ”added another person.
Although, on the contrary, there were also people who downplayed the validity of the complaint initiated on social networks, indicating that similar situations have occurred with the Mapuche culture.
“There are designers who use Mapuche jewelry and garments in their collections, other elements from other indigenous peoples, It seems more serious to me to forget these peoples ”, held a user.
“We have been inspired by all our existence in cultures around the world (Romans, Egyptians, Amazons, Redskins, Arabs, etc) Why so angry with this? I find that it is too much exaggeration ”, indicated another user.
The series of criticisms prompted the brand to make a public statement, where they explained that they wanted to give value to the outfits of various Chilean cultures.
“As a company we approach this project, since we see as year after year, during the month of September, both schools such as kindergartens perform dances and presentations for National Holidays. This is how mothers, fathers and / or caregivers find themselves in the need to buy these suits, which in many cases are of low quality, which are only used for presentation and then remain unusable in a drawer or simply in the garbage ” , they indicated.
“Before this we saw two problems. On the one hand, the excessive spending of money on single-use suits and on the other, as costumes that show the multiculturalism of the country are hidden in a drawer and unusable. In this way we wanted to value these indigenous cultures, designing costumes that respected the symbols of each one and that, in turn, could be used on other occasions, giving them the respect and value they deserve ”, they added.
“We want to make it clear that this was a project of months, where there was a long investigation involved, started on the problem previously exposed. Also explain that We know the history of the Selknam people and in no case has there been any exploitation of a genocide as was said in many comments. As a team we are open to discuss and explain each project we carry out, as long as it is from a sphere of respect and awareness of the work behind each product created. However, we believe that this time it was necessary to explain the context that led us to build this project, in order to understand that we are doing it with the best of intentions ”, they concluded.
For its part, the Selknam Corporation of Chile indicated on social networks that what was done by the Carnaval brand would be a use of its heritage.
“With this form of cultural appropriation, a whole people transgresses their ancestors and their spirituality. The way we use our spirits is terrible for us: Halaháche, Ulen and Jóichik ”, they indicated
“The Selknam of the present repudiate all kinds of misuse of our material heritage for indiscriminate commercialization,” they added.
“Unfortunately, This is not the only aggression that we are currently suffering, and that is added to the genocide and historical mistreatment of our people. That is why we ask the State and the Government to promptly promote the bill that recognizes the Selknam people and incorporate it into the unworthy law, “they concluded.
According to the above, the document was signed by the deputies Claudia Mix, Camila Rojas and Emilia Nuyado.
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