Hot Lakota Love Talk... about Ferrets

[Defend the Sacred]

OK, this is so horrible and bizarre I had to share *ducks*: http://www.newsweek.com/id/94543

This racist romance novelist plagiarized another writer's dry writings about ferrets... as her idea of what the hawt Lakota guy and heaving-bosomed white woman talk about after sex.

You can't make this stuff up...

[debbieredbear]

I've got a local funny about edwards. She called up the Suquamish Tribal Center to "learn about Suquamish culture" for one of her books. A few months later, it came out complete with a birch bark canoe on the cover. Er, they have cedar canoes here, made from a single cedar log. No bark. Oh, and the studly "Indian" hero who has a 5 o'clock shadow? Hello? Only light skinned people get those. So anyway, a month or two after that she shows up in Suquamish and attends a council meeting. Presents the tribe with a signed copy of her book (which had been dedicate to the then tribal chairwoman) and a poster of the cover. Then she leaves. They were polite to her, Probably didn't know what to say. Anyway, they sat staring at one another and one Elder, who has passed on and shall remain nameless. finally spoke up. "Who is this guy on the cover? I have never seen anyone around here that looks like him! He is one hot stud!" (she was 75 at the time) So they gave her the poster. She said they could have the book.

[Defend the Sacred]

*laughs*  Well, I hope she got some, er, enjoyment out of it ;-)

Looks like Edwards is going to have some lawyers to talk to now. Maybe no more birch bark canoes or hot ferret experts for her...

[Laurel]

This gets less funny the longer it goes on.  Edwards has plagiarized (among others) Luther Standing Bear, Oliver LaFarge and Longfellow's "Hiawatha."  Not about ferrets, either, obviously--about Native Americans. 

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2008/01/15/the-new-pp-professionalism-and-plagiarism-a-not-so-classic-tale-of-romance/#comment-121602

Maybe I'm hypersensitive because I'm a writer who teaches college English.  This would chap my ass no end even if it weren't passing along made-up Noble Savage bullshit.

[debbieredbear]

Actually, it in't funny in that she plagiarizes and passes on her racist crap. I read one of her books once. Standard formula: All the Indian women are slutty and nasty. The white woman is usually a virgin. The Indian man loves her in spite of all the tribe's being mad at him for it. White woman saves the whole tribe and becomes the heroine. But that ios the stuff of MANY of this genre. And it sells. Big time.

[Defend the Sacred]

Ick. Yeah, I agree it's disgusting and racist, and I'm not surprised to hear she's doing this in other crappy books. She sounds pretty deranged. And it's very upsetting that that crap sells.

(BTW, my "I hope she got some enjoyment out of it" was about the elder who wanted the poster, not this creepy writer. All I hope for her is that she gets sued and shamed.)

But I'm also going to laugh at this creep for being such a moron.

Some days, the same thing that would make me rage or cry makes me laugh at the person's stupidity. I guess it just depends on what coping mechanism kicks in first.

[Defend the Sacred]

This gets less funny the longer it goes on.  Edwards has plagiarized (among others) Luther Standing Bear, Oliver LaFarge and Longfellow's "Hiawatha."  Not about ferrets, either, obviously--about Native Americans. 

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2008/01/15/the-new-pp-professionalism-and-plagiarism-a-not-so-classic-tale-of-romance/#comment-121602

Wow. That's some ugly stuff. You're right. Not funny.

Maybe I'm hypersensitive because I'm a writer who teaches college English.  This would chap my ass no end even if it weren't passing along made-up Noble Savage bullshit. 

You're not being hypersensitive, Laurel. This stuff is important. I've been plagiarized by copy-and-pasters before. I started an online group to try and deal with it. We did succeed in getting some YahooGroups with endemic plagiarism shut down, but it doesn't always work with websites. There are still some Geocities pages up we haven't been able to shut down.

Perhaps the only good thing about Edwards' recent plagiarism is that it will bring some exposure to the broader issues of racism and plagiarism that she, and others, are guilty of.

[frederica]

And what gets you is there is a large market for this junk. Nothing like proping up the stereotype. It's like the plates, if I see another plate with a half-dressed Ndn woman running or sitting in the bushes with an animal, ferret or not, I may scream.

[bonestyx]

And don't forget the ceramic tipis and other types of traditional dwellings...especially the ones that are incense burners (http://www.mysticunicorn.com/ytc6070.html  and  http://tinyurl.com/3yjpbo). Enough to incense anyone with any sense! ;-)

[frederica]

I remember those things, use to be sold at every trader tourist trap on the old highway next to the concrete tipi motels. Things don't change much just graduate to EBay.

[bonestyx]

Funny thing is, such motels do still exist and are in operation.

I was passing through Holbrook, AZ recently, and my babe actually came across one of these. Knowing I would get a chuckle (and would shake my head in utter disgust, as I do when things like this come to my attention...like the gal with the "Native American Shaman" sign on the highway in Mount Shasta, CA that I knew would fit right in here), he drove me by the Wigwam Motel ("Have you slept in a Wigam lately?"). I could hardly believe that such a thing was still allowed to exist!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wigwam_Motel

Since the place is on the national register of historic places, however, it's probably going to be around for a while longer. Old cars included. Ugh!

[Laurel]

I'm afraid the link I provided gave an incomplete account of all her stealing; I found links to all the examples I mentioned via FandomWank.  As for this bringing attention to the problem, we can only hope.

The internet is full of people who seem to have no problem at all with using the work of others without giving them credit.  It's practically an epidemic in the Neopagan community as far as I can see, especially among the plethora of "Wicca 101" sites. 

You're not being hypersensitive, Laurel. This stuff is important. I've been plagiarized by copy-and-pasters before. I started an online group to try and deal with it. We did succeed in getting some YahooGroups with endemic plagiarism shut down, but it doesn't always work with websites. There are still some Geocities pages up we haven't been able to shut down.

Perhaps the only good thing about Edwards' recent plagiarism is that it will bring some exposure to the broader issues of racism and plagiarism that she, and others, are guilty of.