A name change would be a lot of work. Put another way, the only way such a change will occur is if there are volunteers willing to see it through.
Stating the problem with the hopes that somebody else solves it generally doesn't produce a satisfactory outcome. Walter: what are you personally willing to volunteer to do? What is your plan? What resources do you need? - Sam Ruby On Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 9:00 PM Walter Cameron <walter.li...@waltercameron.com> wrote: > > Hello all, > > When the Apache Group named itself and its software Apache, they were > continuing a long-practiced North American settler tradition of > appropriating Native identity as a costume for their own causes. An > environment filled with propaganda including everything from Hollywood > media to music festivals and children’s summer camps enabled them to feel > entitled to play Indian. > > The feather logo, meant to symbolize this community was clearly chosen for > its association with Native people and their cultures. In the US feathers > from many birds are highly regulated by the Feds, a lasting legacy of > attempts at suppressing Indigenous cultures. In the 1970’s the Washington > Redskins had a feather logo. After protests from Native people complaining > about the name and the indignity of a feather being used to represent > people, the team commissioned a Native artist to redraw one of their older > “Indian head” logos instead of doing the right thing and changing the name > and branding entirely. > > There’s no respectful way to use other people, let alone survivors of > genocide, as a costume for your own causes. ASF’s mascotry has spawned its > own niche of digital redface in projects like Apache Geronimo and Apache > Arrow and no doubt inspired many others to use similar stereotyping. It’s > almost a cliché to say but imagine substituting a different group with > different stereotypes to use as branding. > > As a developer I recognize that ASF is involved in some of the most > influential software out there. But as a Tlingit with the privilege of > living on Lingít Aaní I can’t discuss ASF or its projects without cringing. > By now there have been multiple peer-reviewed studies outlining the direct > and indirect harm that Native mascotry causes Native and non-Native people. > Schools, commercial products, and professional sports teams have changed > their names and rebranded. It’s long past time for ASF to do the same. > > Gunalchéesh, > Walter Cameron --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscr...@community.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: dev-h...@community.apache.org
