Cultural genocide
Cultural genocide refers to the intentional and systematic eradication of a culture. This concept highlights the ethical concerns surrounding the destruction or alteration of another group's cultural practices without their consent. Each culture is seen as deserving of respect and evaluation based on its own standards, unless its practices pose a threat to others' well-being. Historical examples illustrate the impact of cultural genocide, such as the Canadian government's outlawing of the potlatch among the Kwakwaka'wakw people, which led to significant social issues within their community. Similarly, during the Berlin Conference of 1884, European powers imposed their views and practices on African societies, resulting in the destruction of indigenous cultural artifacts and traditions. In the context of American slavery, efforts were made to suppress African cultural expressions to prevent potential uprisings, leading to a loss of cultural identity among descendants. Ultimately, the imposition of one culture over another raises questions about cultural arrogance and the fundamental rights of peoples to maintain their cultural integrity.
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Cultural genocide
Significance: Acts of cultural genocide raise various ethical questions regarding such issues as human rights, civil rights, equality, and sovereignty.
Cultural genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a culture. It is not ethical to destroy the culture of another group of human beings or change it without their consent. Each culture should be judged by its own standards of excellence and morality, unless its cultural practices threaten to harm others physically or mentally.
The Canadian government outlawed many indigenous customs of the Kwakwaka'wakw (sometimes called Kwakiutl) people of Canada's Northwest Coast in an effort to convert them to a more Euro-Canadian lifestyle. The Kwakwaka'wakw were renowned for a unique custom that they called the potlatch. Kwakwaka'wakw chiefs competed with one another for status and power through this custom. It involved accumulating vast wealth in the form of artistic items known as “coppers,” blankets, and food. After accumulating a fortune, a chief would invite his rival and the rival’s followers to a feast. During this feast, the host would wine and dine all of his guests lavishly. Dancers would entertain them. At a prearranged time, the host would conspicuously destroy the valuable coppers and other treasures to demonstrate that he could afford to do so. He would challenge his guest to top this feat or accept inferior status. Upon leaving the feast, guests were given many blankets and food to take home with them. The Canadian government viewed this practice as a wanton and savage destruction of valuable property and a waste of labor, so they outlawed the potlatch.
Anthropologists have argued that, in addition to serving the overt function of leveling individuals, the potlatch served a covert or hidden function by redistributing wealth from areas that had accumulated a surplus to areas that had experienced shortages during bad years. The destruction of this and other pivotal institutions caused the Kwakwaka'wakw culture to collapse, leaving in its wake a vacuum that was soon filled by alcoholism, dysfunctional families, and other social problems.
Another example of cultural genocide comes from Africa. In 1884, at the Berlin Conference, European powers unilaterally carved up the African continent into territories that they claimed for themselves. Africans were not invited to this meeting. These European powers pledged to support the “civilizing” of Africans by Christian missionaries, which was “calculated to educate the natives and to teach them to understand and appreciate the benefits of civilization.” The missionaries immediately declared traditional religions “devil worship.” They collected all indigenous statues, relics, and artifacts and destroyed them. They fought to outlaw clitoridectomy, polygyny, and other native customs that they found “repugnant.” These acts led to a clash of cultures and to an identity crisis for many Africans.
The classic example of cultural genocide in North America grew out of slavery. Plantation owners feared that allowing African slaves to speak their own languages, use African names to identify themselves, or practice African culture would encourage slave revolts. Consequently, every effort was made to stamp out African culture in the United States. The people survived, but much of their culture was destroyed. Today, African Americans are culturally more like other Americans than they are like Africans, despite strong physical similarities and a common ancestry.
The assumption that one’s own culture is better for others than theirs is constitutes the ultimate cultural arrogance. It assumes that one’s own culture is superior and that one has the right to impose one’s values on others. This imposition is unfair and unethical. Cultures, like individuals, have a right to life unless their customs threaten the lives of others.
Bibliography
Butcher, Thomas M. "A 'Synchronized Attack': On Raphael Lemkin's Holistic Conception of Genocide." Journal of Genocide Research 15.3 (2013): 253–71. Print.
Davidson, Lawrence. Cultural Genocide. New Brunswick: Rugters UP, 2012. Print.
Mako, Shamiran. "Cultural Genocide and Key International Instruments: Framing the Indigenous Experience." International Journal on Minority and Group Rights 19.2 (2012): 175–94. Print.
Moses, A. Dirk, ed. Empire, Colony, Genocide: Conquest, Occupation, and Subaltern Resistance in World History. New York: Berghahn, 2008. Print.
Woolford, Andrew, Jeff Benvenuto, and Alexander Laban Hinton, eds. Colonial Genocide in Indigenous North America. Durham: Duke UP, 2014. Print.