Bass Coast Festival Bans Attendees From Wearing Native American Headdresses

The Bass Coast Festival recently announced a ban on a popular accessory worn by festival goers.

According to Billboard, attendees at this year's festival will not be allowed to wear Native American-style headdresses and war bonnets to the festivities. Native Americans view the headdresses as sacred garments worn by chiefs and warriors.

The EDM fest is slated to hit Merrit, British Columbia, Aug. 1-4.

The Canadian festival broke the news Friday (July 25) in a Facebook post.

The post reads, "For various reasons, Bass Coast Festival is banning feathered war bonnets, or anything resembling them, onsite. Our security team will be enforcing this policy.

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 respect the dignity of aboriginal people. We have consulted with aboriginal people in British Columbia on this issue and we feel our policy aligns with their views and wishes regarding the subject. Their opinion is what matters to us."

The magazine's site also reports the Ottawa-based, aboriginal trio A Tribe Called Red, which infuses EDM music with Native American influences, will be apart of this year's lineup. And bandmember Ian Campeau had strong words for people wearing the war bonnets, telling Huffington Post Canada, "I have yet to speak to someone who is First Nation who wears fake headdresses and war paint to EDM concerts. It's 'redface.' Just like 'blackface."

This is hardly the first time musicans have made news wearing Native American headdresses. Earlier this year, Pharrell came under fire after posing in a war bonnet on the cover of Elle UK. He has since apologized saying, "I respect and honor every kind of race, background and culture. I am genuinely sorry."

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin's daughter Christina Fallin, singer in techno outfit Pink Pony, outraged members of the Muscogee Creek Nation in March when she posted a photo of herself in a feathered headdress to Facbook, with the caption "Appropriate Culturation" (a play on the term "cultural appropriation"). She then issued an apology to Native Americans, saying "Please forgive us if we innocently adorn ourselves with your beautiful things."

And according to Rolling Stone, in late 2012 No Doubt pulled the video for "Looking Hot," which had a Wild West theme including tee-pees, smoke signals and headdresses.

Tags

Pharrell, No Doubt