Dungeonosophy
Legend
Hi, in this thread I will document the racially and culturally problematic facets of the D&D book GAZ10: The Orcs of Thar (1988). For an overview, see Shannon Appelcline's product write-up at DriveThruRPG.
I write this as a long-time aficionado of D&D, and of the Known World of Mystara.
I recently started another thread on this topic over on the Mystara Piazza: "Passé aspects of Real World-based cultural depictions." There I've experienced a mixture of supportiveness and stiff personal snarkiness. And so I wish to open another venue for discussion here at ENWorld, within a wider community which is not so emotionally tied to the canonical Mystara legacy of previous editions.
I have some experience in the field of cultural amends. A biographical note:
-I have Caucasian physiognomy, and am of primarily Euro-American ancestry (Gaels, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Britons, Franks). Though I have a homeopathic dose of Aniyvwiyaʔi (Cherokee) and PoHaTan (Powhatan) ancestry, I am not a citizen of any present-day Tribal Governance.
-I've done graduate work in American Indian Studies at Montana State University.
-I was one of the main contributors to the Native Land google map, which has gone viral. There's even a text service which will tell you what Traditional Territories you're standing in at the moment. I provided most of the maps for the Traditional Territories in the U.S. (You can see my name here.)
-In a town near Philadelphia, I co-facilitated an amends ceremony which was attended by local representatives of the Lenape Nation.
-I wrote a book The Original Peoples of the Driftless Region.
-The Village of Philmont, N.Y. asked me to write a history of their pre-contact indigenous history.
-I monetarily support the Lakota Waldorf School, on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
I'll share the problematic details of GAZ10 in the following posts.
-Travis Henry
Akron, Ohio
I write this as a long-time aficionado of D&D, and of the Known World of Mystara.
I recently started another thread on this topic over on the Mystara Piazza: "Passé aspects of Real World-based cultural depictions." There I've experienced a mixture of supportiveness and stiff personal snarkiness. And so I wish to open another venue for discussion here at ENWorld, within a wider community which is not so emotionally tied to the canonical Mystara legacy of previous editions.
I have some experience in the field of cultural amends. A biographical note:
-I have Caucasian physiognomy, and am of primarily Euro-American ancestry (Gaels, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Britons, Franks). Though I have a homeopathic dose of Aniyvwiyaʔi (Cherokee) and PoHaTan (Powhatan) ancestry, I am not a citizen of any present-day Tribal Governance.
-I've done graduate work in American Indian Studies at Montana State University.
-I was one of the main contributors to the Native Land google map, which has gone viral. There's even a text service which will tell you what Traditional Territories you're standing in at the moment. I provided most of the maps for the Traditional Territories in the U.S. (You can see my name here.)
-In a town near Philadelphia, I co-facilitated an amends ceremony which was attended by local representatives of the Lenape Nation.
-I wrote a book The Original Peoples of the Driftless Region.
-The Village of Philmont, N.Y. asked me to write a history of their pre-contact indigenous history.
-I monetarily support the Lakota Waldorf School, on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
I'll share the problematic details of GAZ10 in the following posts.
-Travis Henry
Akron, Ohio
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