Luxury Craftsmanship as an Alternative to Building Social …
109
3 Can Ancestral Crafts Flourish in a Capitalist World?
The first interactions between indigenous people from America with western culture
were not friendly nor voluntarily accepted. From the very beginning of this interaction, colonialism forced radical life shifts on peoples. Those shifts involved different
social and political models, religions, and even language. Notwithstanding, ancestral communities found means to safeguard their history and traditions. They did it
through art, music, and crafts. They embodied their culture in each piece of craft they
conceived, and in each piece of clothing, they made and wore. They passed down
history to new generations through oral traditions such as craft-making [12].
Currently, the ancestral techniques put into the handmade work of each craft have
been subject to permanent rights violations, cultural appropriation, and plagiarism.
These violations are mainly due to the general ignorance of ancestral meanings
united to a lack of legal protection for its material production. Although their crafts
helped them to keep their culture alive, today, these communities fight for respect
and protection.
When capitalism is imposed as the only economic system that appears to work,
often its strategy is to urge the transformation of community structures. This transformation usually urges new processes that instead of promoting development and independence, promote economic dependence and a culture of humanitarian assistance.
These new processes undoubtedly are damaging communities.
Developing countries receiving high quantities of second-hand clothing as part
of humanitarian aid programs are an example of dependence promotion programs.
These countries rarely receive investments to improve infrastructure, implement
environmental policies, promote exports, support local businesses to push local
development, or to provide a significant increase in job creation [41].
The promotion of a dependant economy enables, among others, cases of cultural
appropriation. In recent years, many have occurred in different Latin American countries, physically and intellectually transgressing indigenous communities and their
processes of creation and social transformation.
In the concrete case of the fashion industry, a positive social, economic, and political impact could be generated by paying fair wages and promoting artisanship by
acknowledging their authority and ownership over their crafts and ancestral meanings. Nonetheless, their work has been lagged, only recognizing famous designers
and big brands, thus forgetting that each element used in a garment makes an essential
part of the identity of the maker as well as the wearer [16].
These capitalist dynamics and the lack of visibility and recognition of ancestral
practices through crafts have allowed the cultural appropriation of ancestral knowledge by local and foreign actors. Such crafts establish themselves in a market that,
although values these art forms, is unaware of its history, spiritual meaning, and creation process. The hands of the person who performs it, and the sense of belonging
that it grants to each indigenous community goes unknown [42].
Over recent years, we have seen continual growth in the interest of purchasers to
acquire pieces that reflect the history and tradition of ancestral peoples. With this
109
3 Can Ancestral Crafts Flourish in a Capitalist World?
The first interactions between indigenous people from America with western culture
were not friendly nor voluntarily accepted. From the very beginning of this interaction, colonialism forced radical life shifts on peoples. Those shifts involved different
social and political models, religions, and even language. Notwithstanding, ancestral communities found means to safeguard their history and traditions. They did it
through art, music, and crafts. They embodied their culture in each piece of craft they
conceived, and in each piece of clothing, they made and wore. They passed down
history to new generations through oral traditions such as craft-making [12].
Currently, the ancestral techniques put into the handmade work of each craft have
been subject to permanent rights violations, cultural appropriation, and plagiarism.
These violations are mainly due to the general ignorance of ancestral meanings
united to a lack of legal protection for its material production. Although their crafts
helped them to keep their culture alive, today, these communities fight for respect
and protection.
When capitalism is imposed as the only economic system that appears to work,
often its strategy is to urge the transformation of community structures. This transformation usually urges new processes that instead of promoting development and independence, promote economic dependence and a culture of humanitarian assistance.
These new processes undoubtedly are damaging communities.
Developing countries receiving high quantities of second-hand clothing as part
of humanitarian aid programs are an example of dependence promotion programs.
These countries rarely receive investments to improve infrastructure, implement
environmental policies, promote exports, support local businesses to push local
development, or to provide a significant increase in job creation [41].
The promotion of a dependant economy enables, among others, cases of cultural
appropriation. In recent years, many have occurred in different Latin American countries, physically and intellectually transgressing indigenous communities and their
processes of creation and social transformation.
In the concrete case of the fashion industry, a positive social, economic, and political impact could be generated by paying fair wages and promoting artisanship by
acknowledging their authority and ownership over their crafts and ancestral meanings. Nonetheless, their work has been lagged, only recognizing famous designers
and big brands, thus forgetting that each element used in a garment makes an essential
part of the identity of the maker as well as the wearer [16].
These capitalist dynamics and the lack of visibility and recognition of ancestral
practices through crafts have allowed the cultural appropriation of ancestral knowledge by local and foreign actors. Such crafts establish themselves in a market that,
although values these art forms, is unaware of its history, spiritual meaning, and creation process. The hands of the person who performs it, and the sense of belonging
that it grants to each indigenous community goes unknown [42].
Over recent years, we have seen continual growth in the interest of purchasers to
acquire pieces that reflect the history and tradition of ancestral peoples. With this