This week, Montreal's Osheaga Music Festival made headlines when it announced a ban on First Nations-style headdresses — and now two other major Canadian festivals are following suit.
The Edmonton Folk Festival has announced that the headdresses won't be allowed as a fashion accessory, and will be confiscated.
"Such headdresses have a sacred, cultural meaning and we ask that you respect and honour that by not using them as a fashion accessory," announced a post on the Edmonton Folk Fest Facebook page.
The Winnipeg Folk Festival has stopped short of an outright ban, but plans to ask next year's festival goers leave the faux fashion accessories at home. The move comes after a patron at this year's festival was shamed on social media for donning a headdress as well as face paint.
"We have been in conversation with members of our aboriginal community and see this isolated incident of a woman wearing a headdress as an opportunity for education and cultural sharing," wrote the fest in a statement to CBC.
"Given the festival is now over for the year we are taking time for dialogue with our Aboriginal Advisory Committee to discuss this issue and our next steps, however we will certainly be asking patrons to not wear headdresses."
The Calgary Folk Festival, however, has said that they aren't planning a ban, because they haven't seen people don the headdresses at past fests. Still, they are asking patrons to carefully consider their actions — and their attire.
"First Nations artists do not consider it respectful when people wear headdresses, which they are not culturally entitled to wear," festival executive director Debbie Salmonsen told CBC. "So we would hope in respect for both our aboriginal audience members and artists that people will respect that."
The headdress-as-fashion issue came under the international microscope earlier this week when a David Guetta show in Ibiza, Spain, featured live horses and dancers dressed in North American native-style headdresses and costumes.
Related:
Osheaga music festival bans First Nations-style headdresses
Deadmau5 slams superstar DJ David Guetta for bringing live horses on stage
Fashion crimes of the festival circuit
by Jennifer Van Evra via Electronic RSS
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