Informative Speech: An Examples Of Cultural Appropriation Speech

Cultural Appropriation Speech

Introduction

Imagine this scenario, your family comes from a Native American background, and is very connected to the cultural beliefs and religion of this community. One of the main traditional symbols in your culture, is wearing a feathered, war bonnet, or more commonly known as a Native American headdress. When it is worn, it represents something of huge significance to the Natives that fought in the wars, and died for the peace and justice they deserved. They died in sacrifice of their community, their families, friends, and loved ones. How would you feel if one day, you walked into school, and saw that a few of your classmates, who are not Native American, were wearing a replica of this exact war bonnet? For me, it would be extremely hurtful, inappropriate, and embarrassing. Good morning / afternoon friends, students, and teachers, my name is Melissa, and today, I will be informing you on a real issue we have in our society, that I believe is something extremely important we should all be using to educate and lead ourselves to become better people.

No matter what culture you come from, your culture is not a trend. ___________________________

This is not a term many of us hear often, in fact, this may be your first time hearing these words. Cultural Appropriation. Cultural Appropriation can be basically described as, when someone uses or wears something from another culture that isn't theirs. For example, actress, Vanessa Hudgens posted several pictures of herself on Instagram, of her wearing a bindi, a religious forehead decoration, and spiritual symbol worn by Hindu women. This occurred while she attended a very popular music and arts festival, called "Coachella". However, it's not unusual f...

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...s a costume.

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Therefore, what I am asking you to do is educate yourself on certain things you wear that you know came from a history of someone else's culture. Treat other cultures like you would want people to treat your own. Lastly, if you are not educated on, for example, the Native American culture, don't buy that headdress you see on display, at the mall. Now that you know better, the next time you see this, you'll be disappointed in that company for trying to make a profit off someone's culture.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, always try your best to be respectful, and considerate of others. Don't be afraid to learn a few things along the way, and listen to other people's thoughts before you speak your own.

Thank you for listening to my speech, and I hope you've learned something about cultural appropriation, and its true effect on our society.