Glastonbury has added Native American headdresses to the list of items traders cannot sell at the festival as the wearing of them by non-Native Americans is 'disrespectful'.
Apparently this is using an ethnic minority's traditional culture as novelty clothing and is a no-no and some culture academic from the University of Kent has joined in, stating that the eagle feathers in the headdress are revered and worn for specific ceremonial occasions. 'They are not everyday wear' he warns.
As the UK has a Native American population of virtually nil and i doubt if what happens over a long weekend at a music festival in Somerset is unlikely to matter much to Native Americans in the US.
As the headdress is made of beads, cloth and feathers, does that mean all these items are banned or just if they are arranged in a certain way?
I would have thought they would be better off banning U2 and other rock stars who refuse to give up even thought their best days are 30 years behind them.
2 comments:
Around here in Oklahoma there are quite a few Indians, but you wouldn't know it most of the time. Many of the biggest tribes have no blood quantum requirement for membership at all, so you'll run into ordinary white people that are technically considered "Indians" even though they are merely 1/64 or 1/128 blood. These Indians wouldn't even know how to put on a headdress, but those few drops of blood get lots of them large college scholarships funded by their tribes and cool license plates.
They still get called Red Indians over here. Not sure why they are 'Red' Indians or even why they are Indians.
Post a Comment