Henna Tattoos or Ritualistic Adornments?

While reading the article “Con-Fusing” Exotica” I realized how much of Indian culture is actually present in American society. Many aspects of Indian culture have been dissociated from their race and have been sold as “American” products. One idea that has been Americanized is henna tattoos. These tattoos were originally seen in Indian culture and they were actually viewed as ritualistic adornments called bindis and mehndi. By marketing these designs as something else, and not informing the consumer, one is taking away any form of identity or presence Indian culture has in America. “It is a kind of an apolitical exoticism and uniformed ethnic chic that is both calculated and successful-after all, what better way of stripping people of their histories and their art …transforming them into a First World consumer good.” (278). I find it interesting that on many occasions American society has been incorrectly informed of the influence India has on our world, creating an unrealistic picture of their race as a whole. They are not represented or acknowledged for much of their work that is eventually marketed as an “American” product. Is it so hard to get a henna tattoo and call it by its actual name instead of marketing it as something new and unheard of? I’m not quite sure what America would lose by giving the Indian culture the respect of claiming their products as their own, rather than covering it up as an American product.