Quote:
Originally Posted by fuzebox
Yeah, you're crazy for even considering it 
Then again, how many sales has ndngirls made thanks to bad publicity over the years  |
exactly
think of the Starbucks vs Haidabucks lawsuit, dropped cuz of public backlash (and the latter were even using a logo extremely similar to the corp). and Starbucks have an actual TM
Native lit is a huge thing in terms of the 'reclaiming identity/culture' thing, one of my aunts is all up in it and sends me books all time at great shipping expense tryna get me to "embrace" that side of myself
some of them are far too on-the-nose/hit you over the head with not a lot of lit merit (imho) but some are fucking brilliant
a wicked one is
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline. so, so good. I've read it to kids in my neighbourhood during our story hours and the message is translatable to any colonized people. the book is a perfect interweaving of the multiple issues faced by those positioned subordinately in a changing world
in checking out the site (which I found in searching your diff site names before you posted it) I noticed that most of the peeps involved are younger. that's a huge plus
the 'Elders' can be stodgy and rigidly conservative and tbh often a hindrance to progressive community development. you know this first hand...you got neg publicity for preying on Native gyals by offering them a paycheck in exchange for legit work in safe, non-exploitative working conditions
due to econ necessity, a lot of women on and off reserve engage in various forms of sex work, and on the porn tip you weren't the first to do it, nor will you be the last
perhaps contact the site, explain who you are, your experience and what your site is, and offer to write a guide for how Native women (and men) can work safely in the biz. to the best of my knowledge nothing like that has been done before
with a simple link back to 'Shimmy from NDNgirls.com' or whatever to establish your credentials and strictly for seo purposes. could also serve as something positive for all involved
may not work, just an idea. but yeah, esp w/o a trademark you're dead in the water. even with one...ethically not sure pursuing it would be the right thing to do. I don't get the sense they were seeking to capitalize off a porn site, NDN gets used a lot in various contexts
dunno man, just some thoughts off the top of my head. good luck