Although this project is not from elementary or middle school, I still thought it would be a good addition to show what cultural appropriation can look like. In this project, we needed to create a skull from clay and decorate it in the style of Dias De Los Muertos.

I believe this project is cultural appropriation since we did not learn about the culture or traditions behind Dias De Los Muertos and just took the designs and ideas from their sugar skulls into our artwork. The teacher created worksheets and papers to help practice painting when working on the assignment, which did not deepen our learning on the holiday or Mexican culture. We were told that it was like Halloween since they happened at the same time of year. Additionally, we were not taking traditional Mexican culture and appreciating the tradition that has been done for years, but we were creating our own design, which did not align with the history of the skulls. We were doing it to make cool art pieces rather than appreciate the holiday and celebrations.

To make this art project more appreciative, I would have students investigate the holiday’s history and understand the meaning behind the designs and appearances. In addition, I would try to incorporate Mexican knowledge into the holiday. Finally, if we were allowed to recreate some of their traditional designs, I would try and have students incorporate them into their art pieces and learn its history.

To shift consciousness using one of Gorski (2008) ’s steps, I would use “shift no. 1: cultural awareness is not enough” (Gorski, 2008). When the teacher introduced the project, she was very passionate about incorporating Mexican culture into the class. However, just because you bring awareness of culture into the classroom does not mean the culture is not being appropriated. The teacher and her students were still white and held power over Mexican culture; by bringing this assignment into the classroom, we are not committing to social justice instead of contributing to the oppressive norm (Gorski, 2008).

Gorski, P. C. (2008). Good intentions are not enough: A decolonizing intercultural education. Intercultural Education, 19(6), 515–525. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675980802568319