Great interview. Us well-meaning liberal white people tend to agglomerate "other" voices in a way that, ironically, erases the diversity of opinion and belief within those communities. It's absurd to think all Indigenous people want to be represented, recognized, or supported the same way; yet the loudest, angriest activists rely on overwhelming surface-level solidarity to frighten away even minor disagreement. Ms. Pilotte is almost bafflingly humble and reasonable, perhaps because her understanding is honed by facing nonsensical nuances like not being "legally" Native. (It doesn't escape me, either, that she does not appear to have fallen into the trend of using politics to advance her personal or professional standing.) I hope voices like hers may be heard, metaphorically and literally, as the American theatre stops gazing at its navel and begins to question the mob-ocracy that has privileged outrage and political allegiance over discussion and sharing of different views.
Well said. Unfortunately the entire concept of "equality of outcome" requires dividing people into groups--those advocating for this world view insist that there is diversity and variety within those groups--but frequently there's no diversity of thought or values or opinion, regardless of declarations like that there are 500+ indigenous tribes etc. They all get lumped together within the I in BIPOC.
That is not to say that certain segments of the North American population are not impoverished as a result of long ago conflicts and poorly understood(and enforced) treaties and therefore should be afforded better opportunities to take part in the theatre and film industries. Those opportunities will not materialise through cheap talk including land acknowledgements but through mentorships, outreach programmes and the like. As you point out, raising money and awareness for such programmes would be a better use of everyone's time. And taking the theatre to the reservations etc could broaden everyone's horizons.
To presume there is a single ancient “owner” of land, one rightful, solitary, original “owner” is so ridiculous it’s hard not to just snicker at it. Various peoples, families, tribes, nations have settled on any given land at different times. And all of them were imperfect, cruel, kind, greedy, or magnanimous, regardless of their societal connection.
Let’s just create great art and express our take on the human condition.
Great interview. Us well-meaning liberal white people tend to agglomerate "other" voices in a way that, ironically, erases the diversity of opinion and belief within those communities. It's absurd to think all Indigenous people want to be represented, recognized, or supported the same way; yet the loudest, angriest activists rely on overwhelming surface-level solidarity to frighten away even minor disagreement. Ms. Pilotte is almost bafflingly humble and reasonable, perhaps because her understanding is honed by facing nonsensical nuances like not being "legally" Native. (It doesn't escape me, either, that she does not appear to have fallen into the trend of using politics to advance her personal or professional standing.) I hope voices like hers may be heard, metaphorically and literally, as the American theatre stops gazing at its navel and begins to question the mob-ocracy that has privileged outrage and political allegiance over discussion and sharing of different views.
Well said. Unfortunately the entire concept of "equality of outcome" requires dividing people into groups--those advocating for this world view insist that there is diversity and variety within those groups--but frequently there's no diversity of thought or values or opinion, regardless of declarations like that there are 500+ indigenous tribes etc. They all get lumped together within the I in BIPOC.
This essay/interview reminded me of this essay from 2021, looking at the Myth of Stolen Land. https://historyreclaimed.co.uk/the-myth-of-the-stolen-country/
That is not to say that certain segments of the North American population are not impoverished as a result of long ago conflicts and poorly understood(and enforced) treaties and therefore should be afforded better opportunities to take part in the theatre and film industries. Those opportunities will not materialise through cheap talk including land acknowledgements but through mentorships, outreach programmes and the like. As you point out, raising money and awareness for such programmes would be a better use of everyone's time. And taking the theatre to the reservations etc could broaden everyone's horizons.
To presume there is a single ancient “owner” of land, one rightful, solitary, original “owner” is so ridiculous it’s hard not to just snicker at it. Various peoples, families, tribes, nations have settled on any given land at different times. And all of them were imperfect, cruel, kind, greedy, or magnanimous, regardless of their societal connection.
Let’s just create great art and express our take on the human condition.
Totally agree that in order to make these "acknowledgements" history has to be simplified and dumbed down to a crazy degree.