Music festivals across Canada are banning visitors from wearing aboriginal headdresses out of respect for First Nations cultures.
âAt this time of greater awareness, (we) would like to ask our patrons to respect First Nations cultures,â organizers of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. âSuch headdresses have a sacred, cultural meaning and we ask that you respect and honour that by not using them as a fashion accessory.â
These items, the post added, would be confiscated by security if seen on festival grounds.
The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival in Montreal has also banned headdresses, asking fans and artists to respect the âspiritual and culturalâ significance of the item. The Bass Music Festival in British Columbia and the Winnipeg Folk Festival have put in place similar policies.
The Calgary Folk Festival and Winnipeg Folk Festival said they would not impose an official ban, but they are asking patrons to avoid wearing headdresses.
Aboriginal leaders say the ban is a welcomed, but long overdue change in the way Canadian society treats indigenous cultures.
âI think itâs very disrespectful for people to be donning a headdress or what looks like a headdress,â said Manitobaâs Grand Chief Derek Nepinak. âItâs almost a passive form of violence against indigenous people and an insult towards and ceremonies and our history.â
âIf it would come down to it I would support rules and regulations against this but itâs too bad we have to get to that stage,â he said.
In recent years, the fashion industry has been trying to capitalize on headdresses with celebrities such as Jessica Simpson, Pharrell Williams, Gwen Stefani, and Susan Boyle donning imitations of the cultural symbol in videos and runway appearances.
Demand for the item has grown as a result. Headdresses have become especially popular accessories at music and arts festivals.
âThey want to wear them,â said Teekca Spencer who runs an aboriginal boutique in Winnipeg. âThey ask if they can try them on and get some pictures and we say no because itâs not appropriate. Itâs a really sacred and restricted item.â
This isnât the first time the fashion industryâs use of headdresses has caused controversy.
In 2013, clothing retailer H&M removed faux headdresses from its Canadian stores after widespread criticism from aboriginal groups and indigenous rights activists who said the practice was disrespectful towards First Nations cultures.
Nepinak said a headdress shouldnât be something that can be bought.
â(A headdress) is acquired through sacred and ceremonial processes that are beyond the material culture that exists in broader Canadian society,â he said.
And while imitation headdress has become an almost ubiquitous fashion accessory at many outdoor music festivals, it looks like this year, many festivalgoers will have to find alternative headwear.