Cultural Appropriation in the Mankind Project | Real or Imagined?

04/28/23 • 46 min

Last Sunday, a man reached out to the Real Men Feel page on Facebook and said - I would like to appear on your show and debate "cultural appropriation in MKP." That man, B Crittenden Freeman, is my guest today.

Crittenden has been a member of the ManKind Project for 30 years holding multiple positions, Center Director, Elder, Leader In Training, and Recording Secretary for the MKP USA Board. He was responsible for the occurrence of the 1st NWTA Urban Adventure.

Initially, I thought this subject had been played out. I've done two shows about it, but they were me alone, and I did ask for people to step forward and discuss this with me. So, here we are. I don't think we are on opposite sides of any issue for a brawling debate, but let's find out.

To follow our conversation, you'll need to know a few acronyms; MKP is the ManKind Project, NWTA is their New Warrior Training Adventure weekend, and LKS is the Lodge Keepers Society, the group within MKP responsible for building and running sweat lodges.

Topics and Questions

1:22 - Could you lay the groundwork; what is the controversy around cultural appropriation and MKP?
4:55 - Andy's experience of the NWTA in 2016
5:38 - Have indigenous people claimed MKP has been ripping them off from the beginning or only recently?
6:25 - What happened last year to make this a big issue and result in changes?
7:55 - Andy was ready to staff an NWTA last fall, but MKP halted everything.
9:51 - The millions being made.
13:14 - How MKP learned to put on sweat lodges.
16:56 - The shadow elements of the situation.
21:20 - Cultural appropriation in the melting pot of the United States.
23:57 - Are you good with the outcome but oppose the communication around it?
26:01 - With the changes made, are you in or out with MKP?
30:24 - What's your ideal scenario for resolution?
31:45 - Andy's experience with the updated MKP weekend.
33:45 - What drove your 30 years of participation with MKP?
36:42 - Tell me about the first Urban NWTA.
41:43 - Anything else you want to share?
42:57 - How can people connect with you?
43:37 - Is there a way to get off the limited activities list?