LONDON- It is bad news for Harry Potter fans as their favorite author, J.K Rowling is in trouble. She is facing severe criticism on her latest Harry Potter offering online, History of Magic in North America.
According to the Daily Mail, the world famous author has been accused of ‘cultural appropriation’ as she has adopted Cherokee legends, the ancient belief of Native Americans into the wizarding world of Harry Potter.
Uploaded on Pottermore, the website dedicated to the hugely successful book and film franchise the piece has since received a negative backlash from those who consider its content to be lacking in respect for the beliefs of Native Americans.
In a post response post, Dr Adrienne Keene of the Cherokee Nation, who is a post-doctoral fellow in Native American studies at Brown University, wrote: ‘Native spirituality and religions are not fantasy on the same level as wizards. These beliefs are alive, practiced, and protected.’
Dr Keene, like many others, took offence to Rowling’s inference that the Native world was beyond reality and a source of fantasy, responding: ‘It’s not “your” world. It’s our (real) Native world. And skin walker stories have context, roots, and reality.’
The Pottermore post read: ‘The legend of the Native American ‘skin walker’ – an evil witch or wizard that can transform into an animal at will – has its basis in fact.
Dr. Keene’s blog post continued: ‘We fight so hard every single day as Native peoples to be seen as contemporary, real, full, and complete human beings and to push away from the stereotypes that restrict us in stock categories of mystical-connected-to-nature-shamans or violent-savage-warriors.
‘How in the world could a young person watch this and not make a logical leap that Native peoples belong in the same fictional world as Harry Potter?’
Her comments were supported by many on Twitter. Rowling is yet to respond to the claims.
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