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“People make a lot of poor decisions at festivals: drinking too much, letting their skin burn to a lobster-red crisp and committing an act of cultural appropriation that has been PO’ing Native people for years. … We’ll let that last one sink in for a few.
Although there’s probably little they can do about sunburns, one Canadian fest is taking a stand against cultural appropriation, placing a ban on festival-goers sporting anything resembling a war bonnet.
The Bass Coast Festival announced its decision to nix Native American headdresses via a Facebook post this week stating, “We understand why people are attracted to war bonnets. They have a magnificent aesthetic. But their spiritual, cultural and aesthetic significance cannot be separated.”
Paul Brooks, communications manager for Bass Coast Festival, told MTV News that the decision has been years in the making, as the festival takes place on indigenous land where aboriginal people such as the Coldwater Indian Band and the Lower Nicola Indian Band reside.
“We’ve been working with some of these bands and they expressed that they would like to see this policy in place,” Brooks said. “We decided to take a stand on this issue.”
According to Brooks, feathered headpieces haven’t been much of an issue at Bass Coast, an electronic music and art festival that launched in 2009. The festival moved to its current location in Merritt, British Columbia, in 2013.
“The intention of this is not to bring other festivals into it,” Brooks explained. “This is our personal decision. Because of the circumstances of our location we felt the need to do this. … For us, it comes down to an issue of respect and safety. … It’s a very minor restriction to place on people.”“
– MTV News, Here’s Why One Music Festival Banned Native American Headdresses .
“Native American headdresses have become one of the more troubling fashion trends recently, but it looks like one Canadian fest is trying to put a stop to it. Canada’s EDM festival Bass Coast has banned attendees from wearing the accessory. In a statement, they said, “We understand why people are attracted to war bonnets. They have a magnificent aesthetic. But their spiritual, cultural and aesthetic significance cannot be separated … Bass Coast festival takes place on indigenous land and … we feel our policy aligns with [aboriginal peoples’] views and wishes regarding the subject. Their opinion is what matters to us.” Both Pharrell and Wayne Coyne have come under fire for this kind of cultural appropriation, which has become a fad among the Instagram-chic crowd, who coincidentally are mostly the people attending EDM festivals. Security guards will be enforcing the ban. This year’s Bass Coast takes place from 8/1 through 8/4.”
– Stereogum, Canadian Music Festival Bans Native American Headresses.
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Download the 18″x24″ poster (.pdf), Indian Country 52 #30 – Hipster’s Paradise (No Headdress).
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
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This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
