2 ms·

I always wonder about this. Many Navajo people I know view the whole idea of selling traditional native foods to the general population as basically selling ou

I always wonder about this. Many Navajo people I know view the whole idea of selling traditional native foods to the general population as basically selling out, and just fundamentally won't do it. There are s lot of restaurants and stands on the reservation though (and at events) which target natives. I recently heard my mother in law (who is Navajo and a cook for her job) tell me her work regularly tries to get her to make Navajo food (which is very good) but she absolutely refuses. Nstives have strong views about protecting their culture and view everything from food to religion to music as a part of that...

nthcolumn 9y ago
They think that if they share it / sell out that it will be somehow changed or diluted and ultimately lost? That is probably 100% correct. This is the first defensible argument for closed source I have ever heard. I came to say I was surprised the company used the the term 'Indian' taco but maybe that is better than say 'Navajo-style' taco which might just become Navajo-taco. The term 'Indian' is not useful generally. That taco looks so tasty.
- williamstein 9y ago
  Yes, if you try to see things from their perspective, regarding how they have been treated over the centuries, it makes sense. Regarding closed source -- my wife is teaching a class on indigenous intellectual property in the iSchool at Univ of Washington right now, and it is mostly about protecting traditional knowledge from exploitation. A lot of what she says and her perspectives takes me a while to process, since I'm a big open source software advocate (e.g., I founded SageMath).
2muchcoffeeman 9y ago
That's too bad. If I were to ask someone to name an American they might say Taylor Swift, or Barack Obama. If I asked someone to name an Australian they might name Kylie Minogue or Hugh Jackman.Outside of a history book, how often are the native people associated with these countries? We'll lose these cultures completely if we don't start sharing them. And what better way than food!

nthcolumn 9y ago

They think that if they share it / sell out that it will be somehow changed or diluted and ultimately lost? That is probably 100% correct. This is the first defensible argument for closed source I have ever heard. I came to say I was surprised the company used the the term 'Indian' taco but maybe that is better than say 'Navajo-style' taco which might just become Navajo-taco. The term 'Indian' is not useful generally. That taco looks so tasty.

williamstein 9y ago
Yes, if you try to see things from their perspective, regarding how they have been treated over the centuries, it makes sense. Regarding closed source -- my wife is teaching a class on indigenous intellectual property in the iSchool at Univ of Washington right now, and it is mostly about protecting traditional knowledge from exploitation. A lot of what she says and her perspectives takes me a while to process, since I'm a big open source software advocate (e.g., I founded SageMath).

2muchcoffeeman 9y ago

That's too bad. If I were to ask someone to name an American they might say Taylor Swift, or Barack Obama. If I asked someone to name an Australian they might name Kylie Minogue or Hugh Jackman.Outside of a history book, how often are the native people associated with these countries? We'll lose these cultures completely if we don't start sharing them. And what better way than food!