Im from EU, and I'm sorry if this is a sensitive topic... But I don't get why references to their culture is excluded from american games.
So if you can help me understand what kind of issues will this skin raise, i will appreciate it:
http://apollo-na-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1408541874551/tumblr_n8by04NhNw1s65cbio1_1280.jpg
I would love a native american skin line, and i hate not knowing why i cant get any skins with this theme.
Mostly because Native American themed characters in media have historically been portrayed in a very insulting way, often making the character appear less than human. Is there anything wrong with making a Native American themed skin? Absolutely not. But due to the bad history, Rito would have to put extra effort into making sure that skin was portrayed in the correct manner.
For many reasons that others have outlined (historically portrayed insultingly, stereotyping, being displayed as less-than-human) along with one they haven't, which is found in the term "Native American" itself.
Saying a "Native American" skin is like saying a "European" skin. There were so many, still are so many, Native tribes and nations in North America -- some share ideologies and beliefs and cultural practices, others don't. When someone creates a "Native American" anything in media of some sort, they are actually saying "this is what I think Native Americans are like, and what they think, and how they act, and this is how I'm going to portray it."
Looking at that Sejuani alone, she is wearing a feathered war bonnet. This is common among the Plains Indians, a group of Native American and First Nations tribes, but is only worn by men who have earned a lot of respect in their tribe. Doesn't apply to all Native Americans though. See how her boar has a dreamcatcher on it? Dreamcatchers (are believed to have) originated from the Ojibwe people, and was later adopted in the 1960s and 1970s by many, though not all, Native American tribes and Nations as a symbol of solidarity between the Native peoples of the Americas. There is a significant number of native people who feel dreamcatchers are used incorrectly and have had their cultural significance forgotten, especially by non-Natives who just buy them and have them because it's what they're into that month. This Sejuani is also wearing an (extended?) breast plate with hair pipe, but the hair pipe beads were not typically used for armor - they were decorative in nature primarily. And they were not used across all Native tribes and Nations in the Americas.
I hope this has provided insight the other posts might not have.
If Riot was interested in making a skin inspired by a Native American tribe, I would hope they get into contact with a representative from their target tribe or Nation before appropriating symbols (especially sacred ones!) into a character skin.
In many respects Native Americans are to this day badly abused by the united states government, and their culture is misrepresented and cc-opted, Also remember that one of the biggest complaints against hollywood is that they keep casting white actors to play them, to put it simply dressing a white or asian champion up like that is the equivalent of using black face, allot of people simply will not stand for it, nor should they, if Riot wants to release a Champion who is the LoL equivalent of Native american and then give them skins based on different tribes that would be fine, but unlike native south americans, native north americans continue to be subjugated and mistreated, by a majority immigrant population, so they aren't as easy to work around,
We slaughtered them, and when they are portrayed in the media it's often done in a way that makes them look uncivilized or stupid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_at9dOElQk because of shit like this lol.
people are too sensitive its just stupid really
bottom line is: people don't know shit about native americans because there are so few of them left, and what little they do know is wrong
so it's very difficult to portray them in ways that don't reduce them to caricatures
What about Nidalee base? Thats pretty native if you ask me.
+1 for the beautiful drawing though.
It's just a tough line to walk without seeming like you're pandering or marginalizing/profiling. Also there are a lot of tribes with lots of variance in belief and aesthetic so it's hard (probably impossible) to do something that represents "native americans" as a whole.
I think you're right though, there could be something there. And Riot has borrowed from cultures to make skins before.
Just a question but don't the "Woad" skins represent Native Europeans? Like Pictish/Celtic peoples? The reason they get away with those skins is because for the most part those people don't exist to complain about it anymore. (Some can trace their heritage to those people groups, and voluntarily claim them, but largely they're extinct, a pure relic of the past, many Native American tribes still exist.)
I think the problem is that Native Americans are still around to complain about how they're represented, and because of the history between them and modern America, they essentially have the right to. Americans are just really good at complaining about things, and that includes Native Americans.
Riot could probably only get away with it if they selected a specific tribe to represent, and then you may draw flack for not representing other tribes.
That Sejuani skin is beautiful though, I'd buy it if it existed.
Because Americans don't like topics they have fucked up...also they don't wanna be reminded that they robbed their country from the native americans.
It's important to consult actual Native Americans before creating anything potentially insulting. And even after that, it seems hard to make a "Native American Themed" skin without making sweeping generalizations about a diverse people that has been historically mistreated.
If you can have black champs, why no Indians?
I feel like it is a well deserved skin line. The native cultures have a rich and deep background. I'm sure Riot could do something respectful.
Because of "racism".
Americans as a whole are so hypersensitive to race (because we are the most racially diverse country in the world at the moment) that any reference to a specific ethnic group the is still currently existent is considered offensive for no real reason. I mean, we use norse mythos and design for freiljord, we use greek inherited design for pantheon, egyptian for Shurima, victorian era steampunk for piltover and Zaun, feudal europe for Demacia/Noxus, Asia for Ionia, even Amazonian jungle tribes as inspiration for some champions.
Basically, since there are still Native americans in North America right now, they won't make anything based off of them, lest they accidentally insult them (although from my experience having met various native americans, the only ones who give a crap are the ones who are like 1/16th native american or less and are super up-tight about it because they feel the need to compensate for the fact that they aren't really Native Americans at all).
In the past, Indians/Native Americans/Aboriginal people (the current politically correct term) have been portrayed as the villains or bad guys in a lot of American media, but that is just faulty stereotyping that NOBODY actually believes or would care about. Native Americans are and have always been much more respected than any race other than Whites in America (in terms of personal respect, especially compared to Blacks, something you can see in the biography of Booker T. Washington), and while it is a shame that white men have been so generally unfair in their treatment of other races in America, I'd say at this point, not making any Native american themed skins would be more insulting to them in not recognizing them within the game.
We currently have a roster dominated by white individuals with a smattering of Asian and Black champions, so the least Riot could do would be to make some skins, if not a whole champion paying homage to the Native American peoples.
My god that is a beautiful skin... I think riot can do it, other games have. Look at WoW, they have an entire race of walking cows dressed up and acting like stereotypical native Americans. Even the 3rd Assassin's creed game, main character is a native. As long as they aren't portrayed as savages, it would be Ok.
Im from EU, and I'm sorry if this is a sensitive topic... But I don't get why references to their culture is excluded from american games.
So if you can help me understand what kind of issues will this skin raise, i will appreciate it:
http://apollo-na-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1408541874551/tumblr_n8by04NhNw1s65cbio1_1280.jpg
I would love a native american skin line, and i hate not knowing why i cant get any skins with this theme.
Because people will bitch and no it won't be the native americans that did.It would be the SJWS.The weekend warriors.Look at el Tigre Braum.Do you see any mexicans complaining?
You are not even from EUW lol why would anyone take people like you seriously no matter what you say youre from EUNE
I feel we could do an accurate skin(s) by showing multiple concepts to multiple native american peoples and getting theyŕe feed back on the concept or even better having them aid in the concepting of the design
Because cultural appropriation is a thing.
Because indians get angry when you make their people sexual targets or something. Same thing happened with smite and that one char kalia or something.
