Cultural Appropriation

APPROPRIATING
CULTURAL HERITAGE
PHILIPPINE CULTURAL POLICIES
Based from
Mr. Carlo B. Ebeo (NCCA Commissioner)
Mr. Leandro Cariño (Cultural Advocate, Curator)
CULTURAL HERITAGE
• Defined as property that is passed

from generation to generation,
protected as cultural property
• Cultural property may be natural or
man- made, tangible or intangible
• Natural cultural heritage/property may
be natural provided there is interaction
with man
Cultural Heritage is the legacy of attributes of a group or
society that are inherited from past generations, maintained
in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future
generations.
CULTURAL
APPROPRIATION
 THE UNACKNOWLEDGED OR INAPPROPRIATE ADOPTION OF THE CUSTOMS, PRACTICES, IDEAS, ETC. OF ONE PEOPLE OR SOCIETY BY
MEMBERS OF ANOTHER AND TYPICALLY MORE DOMINANT PEOPLE OR SOCIETY.
 ADOPTION OR USE OF THE ELEMENTS OF ONE CULTURE BY MEMBERS OF ANOTHER CULTURE.
 OFTEN FRAMED AS CULTURAL MISAPPROPRIATION, IS SOMETIMES PORTRAYED AS HARMFUL, ALTHOUGH IT'S OFTEN HARMLESS,
AND IS CLAIMED TO BE A VIOLATION OF THE COLLECTIVE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OF THE ORIGINATING CULTURE.
 OFTEN UNAVOIDABLE WHEN MULTIPLE CULTURES COME TOGETHER, CULTURAL APPROPRIATION CAN INCLUDE USING OTHER
CULTURES' TRADITIONS, FOOD, FASHION, SYMBOLS, TECHNOLOGY, LANGUAGE, AND CULTURAL SONGS WITHOUT PERMISSION.
OFTEN, THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF THESE CULTURAL ELEMENTS IS LOST OR DISTORTED, AND SUCH DISPLAYS ARE OFTEN VIEWED AS
DISRESPECTFUL BY MEMBERS OF THE ORIGINATING CULTURE, OR EVEN AS A FORM OF DESECRATION. . .
OTHER DEFINITION OF
APPROPRIATION
CULTURAL
• The act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own especially without
showing that you understand or respect this culture (Cambridge)
• “Taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone
else's culture without permission. This can include unauthorized use of another culture's dance,
dress, music, language, folklore, cuisine, traditional medicine, religious symbols, etc. (Scafidi, 2017)
• the illegal, unfair, or unjust usage or taking of something that belongs to someone else. So,
when someone is accused of cultural appropriation, they are accused of taking or using
elements of a culture to which they do not belong.(Cole 2017)
PRACTICES IN THE FASHION
INDUSTRY
• Borrowing
This is readily apparent in the fashion industry, where
• Representing styles of dress or patterns from native cultures, for
example, are appropriated, mass produced, and sold for
• Commodification profit. This is especially upsetting to the groups from
which items or practices are appropriated when they have
• Consumerism special significance. (Cole, 2017)
• Inspiration An unnamed author eloquently explains in a must-read
essay:
...'appropriation' often occurs without any real
understanding of why the original culture took part in
these activities or the meanings behind these activities,
often converting culturally significant artifacts, practices,
and beliefs into 'meaningless' pop-culture or giving them
a significance that is completely different/less nuanced
than they would originally have had.
THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC
OF THE PHILIPPINES
Arts and Culture

• Section 14. The State shall foster the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a
Filipino national culture based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of free artistic
and intellectual expression.
• Section 16. All the country's artistic and historic wealth constitutes the cultural treasure of
the nation and shall be under the protection of the State which may regulate its
disposition.
• Section 18. (1) The State shall ensure equal access to cultural opportunities through the
educational system, public or private cultural entities, scholarships, grants and other
incentives, and community cultural centers, and other public venues.
• (2) The State shall encourage and support researches and studies on the arts and culture.
LAWS THE PROTECT ARTS AND CULTURE
ENABLING
LAWS
The 1987 Philippine
Constitution provides under
Article XIV Section 15 that
“Arts and letters shall enjoy the
patronage of the State. The
State
shall conserve, promote, and
popularize the nation’s historical
heritage and resources as well
as
artistic creations.”
THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR CULTURE AND
THE ARTS ( RA 7356)
•Culture as a
Human
Right
•Culture as a
reflection of
national identity
•Culture is for the
people
• Section 17 of the Constitution states that the State shall recognize, respect, and
protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to preserve and develop their
cultures, traditions, and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation of
national plans and policies.
I P
R A
(INDIGENOUS PE O P LES RIGHTS
ACT)Thrust:
• Certification of Ancestral Domain Tenancy and
• The Preservation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and
Practices
FPIC – A.O. 1&2

THE CULTURAL HERITAGE ACT
• 2009
• Codified practices in conservation
• Allocated jurisdictions and instituted legal
remedies and quasi-judicial processes to
prevent destruction of heritage (cease&desist
order)
• Unintentionally created the practice of heritage
law
REPUBLIC ACT 10066. CULTURAL HERITAGE ACT
OF 2009
•An Act providing for the •Strengthening the NCCA and

protection and conservation of Other Cultural Agencies and
the National Cultural Heritage other purposes
- •Protect Cultural Workers and
its property and Ensure their Professional
Well Being
histories and the
ethnicity of
local
IMPORTANT PROVISIONS:
Article 3, Section 5: “For purposes

of protecting a cultural property
against exportation, modification
or demolition, the following
shall be considered Important
Cultural Property, unless declared
otherwise by the pertinent cultural
agency.”
Cultural property would include works such as “those by
Manlilikha ng Bayan and National Artists, archeological and
traditional ethnographic materials; those by
heroes; marked structures and structures dating at least
50
years old; and archival material/documents at least 50 years
old.”
Mandate to the NCCA, DTI and DOT, involved directly
or indirectly . .
THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR
CULTURE AND THE
ARTS
 Administers the heritage act

 Supervises all cultural agencies, including the National Museum
 Is mandated to protect, conserve and popularize cultural heritage
 Quasi-judicial agency
 In charge of repatriation of cultural property
WHAT ARE THE RELATED ISSUES IN APPROPRIATING
CULTURE?
• Ethics vis-a-vis
Aesthetic CREATIVITY
• sContext and Praxis
AND
(Cultural Sensitivity)
INNOVATIONS
• Approaches and
Methods
COMMON ISSUES AGAINST
CULTURAL HERITAGE APPROPRIATION
INDIGENOUS
1. Loss of indigenous knowledge, artifacts and resources
2. Individuals or communities choose not to pass down customs and traditions
3. Lack of awareness and appreciation of one’s cultural heritage
4. Assimilation of outside culture (e.g. language, lifeways)
5. Globalization
6. Illegal trade of artifacts and materials
7. Ecological Destruction
8. Commercialization and commodification of culture
9. Bastardization of culture (uncontextual et al)
10. Failure to comply with intellectual property rights (FPIC: Free Prior Informed Consent)
WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO?
• Section 18 of the Philippine Constitution states that. (1)

The State shall ensure equal access to cultural
opportunities through the educational system, public or
private cultural entities, scholarships, grants and other
incentives, and community cultural centers, and other
public venues.
• (2) The State shall encourage and support researches
and studies on the arts and culture.
SEC. 41: CULTURAL EDUCATION
A QUICK PRIMER FOR ETHICS IN
DESIGN
HTTP://MLAB.UIAH.FI/POLUT/YHTEISKUNNALLISET/LISATIETO_ETHICS_PRIMER.HTML
Ethics in goals Multiculturality

Do you think it creates a better Are your goals bound by cultural
To who?
world? Which and why?
imperatives?
How Should you change
W
? hy Should you make your design solution local
them?
Is someone's good someone
? (works for specific cultures) or global (works
bad
else's as many cultures as
in
? possible)?
Innovation and Tradition
If you innovate you force people to change
traditional
ways
Imposing change vs. Introducing Alternative Ways of
using
Should you bow to tradition just because it is?
BEFORE YOU GET INSPIRED WITH YOUR CREATIONS, ASK
YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS (BROWNTURAGE AND MOJUICY)
• What culture does this style • Again, Is it Ethics or

reference, and what is my relation to
that culture/practice? Aesthetics? Context or
• Why am I wearing it or make it? Praxis. . .Are you
• Who made the product, and
who's selling it?
culturally sensitive with
• How accurate/respectful is it to the cultural property
the of your inspiration?
source?

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APPROPRIATING

• Defined as property that is passed

Arts and Culture

FPIC – A.O. 1&2

•An Act providing for the •Strengthening the NCCA and

Article 3, Section 5: “For purposes

 Administers the heritage act

• Section 18 of the Philippine Constitution states that. (1)

Ethics in goals Multiculturality

• What culture does this style • Again, Is it Ethics or

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