on piper and feathers
this was definitely not something that i loved waking up to, but i feel obligated as a cherokee reader to break down rick’s response to concerns about stereotypes in piper’s character. so let’s go through this point by point.
let’s get one thing straight first of all. these questions and concerns are coming in majority from native readers. not some randoms on twitter. every native reader i have ever met in the heroes of olympus fanbase has had something negative to say about how piper is written, especially in regards to the cultural aspects of her character, and as a cherokee, i can easily say that their concerns are mine, because i’d be hard-pressed to find anything about piper’s character that accurately portrays cherokee girls today. so let’s not gloss over the fact that the readers in question are in large part native, and are otherwise people who are not native, but who have listened to our opinions on why we think piper is bad representation and are repeating what we have been trying to say for years.
second, piper is not half cherokee. she’s cherokee. blood quantum is a colonial farce made to further the genocide of my people by tracking our bloodlines like dogs. being native is about more than blood, it is about culture and community. don’t say she’s half cherokee.
third, i was one of those kids who first read the heroes of olympus and rejoiced over piper’s character. i was also 11, incredibly depressed because i had been taken away from any connection to my culture at a young age, and desperate for any kind of representation. i saw myself in piper from the unique perspective of a cherokee kid who was disconnected and struggling, just like she was. i’m not saying this is the experience of every native kid who read these books, but what i am saying is that kids don’t typically view the media they’re consuming with a critical eye. when i was a child, i watched the movie pocahontas, and i liked it. i thought it was good because i wasn’t old enough to understand how dangerous that kind of depiction of a native woman is, or how disney had bastardized the story of matoaka. looking back on the movie now, i refuse to ever watch it again because it disgusts me. critical thinking is something you develop as you grow up.
(and just to point out, if you’re trying to have a conversation about an issue in good faith, don’t say “but THESE natives said they were happy with my writing and that this character is really important to them.” because it feels like you’re trying to absolve yourself of full accountability.)
finally, i don’t care that you read a bunch of books about cherokee culture back in the day. james mooney is not our keeper. i don’t even care that you read a couple books about our culture by cherokees. that’s all well and good, for background information. what i care about is the fact that the thought of having a cherokee today read over your work didn’t even cross your mind. yes, history is important, and having these cultural resources helps to preserve us as a people, but they don’t offer any incite on the modern day life of a cherokee girl. point to me a cherokee girl who casually wears eagle feathers, which are sacred and are meant to be used in medicine or worn in ceromonies, in her hair. point to me a cherokee girl who casually wears real feathers in her hair period, or any native girl who would do so for that matter. now, i’m sure they’re out there. i don’t doubt it. but for one, it’s not very common, at least where i’m from in the southern appalachias, and for another, there are other, more appropriate ways to go about showing piper’s connection to her culture than by trying and failing to subvert a stereotype because you are a white man writing about a native girl. you can’t subvert a racial stereotype as a white writer. piper is not real, but we are, and perpetuating stereotypes is harmful to us. g-d knows how many times i’ve come across gross fan depictions of piper, or how many white fans have clawed at my throat for telling them that they’re being racist for adamantly defending these stereotypes just because it’s canon. other native fans who have spoken out about the issues with piper’s character in the past have been endlessly harrassed. pretending that this is a non-issue that can’t be fixed isn’t going to get us anywhere.
obviously, you can’t just go back and rewrite the books, but can you promise you won’t utilize these stereotypes in future books and adaptations? how about in future official art, if you ever commission new art? does it end with this statement, or do you go right back to ignoring to inherent racism in your depiction of native girls? let’s get off the subject of feathers for a second. did you know that natives are often stereotyped as thieves? that we have one of the highest victim rates of police brutality due to the racial profiling that is rooted in stereotypes such as this? if so, why did you make piper, a brown skinned native girl, a kleptomaniac? why did she steal a car? was it necessary? did you know that eurocentric beauty standards demand light eyes and complexions from women of color, and have determined our dark eyes and complexions to be ugly? why do piper, and let’s not forget hazel, have light eyes? why are the other women of color in your books, such as reyna and drew, who have dark eyes, seen as cold, or mean? did you know that 4 out of 5 native american women are affected by violence, and that our murder rates are 10 times higher than the national average? that 94% of native american women will, without question, experience sexual assault in their lifetime? why was piper grossly sexualized in her claiming? are you aware of the missing and murdered indigenous women crisis? just this week, i’ve seen two posts calling for oklahoma natives to be on the look out for two missing sisters, both cherokee. do you think piper is unaware of the dangers she faces as a native girl in america? that, realistically, it would explain her aversion towards femininity or even towards her own culture? do you understand the gravity of which all this implies? do you understand that the problem doesn’t begin and end with feathers? do you understand why native people have an issue with how we’re being represented by you in your work?
the bottom line is, listen to native people. do better.
