It’s a pretty good bet that if you grew up watching westerns you were led culturally astray. Many elements of western movies were mythologized. Some depicted blatant misrepresentations particularly of Native American culture. Now they have become somewhat of a staple in American popular fashion. It is impossible to go to events like Coachella without seeing hundreds of buzzing young people wearing these traditional and culturally significant accessories.
The donning of traditional headdresses is offensive and makes the person wearing it look extremely ignorant, insensitive and clueless. Wearing Native American garb as part of a costume or to be cool does nothing to honor the culture. Ignoring the history of Indigenous people to look cute at a college party really isn’t worth the hangover.
Yet few understand the significance and the role of the headdress for certain Native American tribes. It is far more than a fashion accessory. They were generally reserved for tribal leaders. The combination of feathers and leather took years to make. They were used for weddings and other tribal ceremonies, not war. Sadly, few if any of the contemporary wearers of headdresses seem aware of this legacy.
“Cultural appropriation is problematic because it reduces the culture at hand to a one-dimensional, disposable aspect, usually for economical purposes and further disenfranchise underrepresented populations,” said Tran Dinh, multicultural center member and ASUO’s newly elected vice president.
Wearing a headdress is akin to unintentionally pouring salt in the wound that is decades on top of decades of oppression, colonization and genocide. So before you decide to wear a headdress you picked up at Target made of chicken feathers and plastic, think about the cultural implications of your acts.
Emmilee Risling, a University of Oregon student, an enrolled member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and a descendent of the Karuk and Yurok tribes underscored the significance of headdresses in her tribes.
“The regalia was a sign of wealth for the owner and tribe. Its display at ceremonial dances was with great pride and prestige for all,” Risling said. “These items had great value and would only be brought out for the respective ceremony; they were too valuable to be worn for everyday use.”
When someone in a tribe wears a headdress, it signifies how important that person is or was in the tribal hierarchy. Wearing one has profound meaning. When a non-native wears one, they diminish and cheapen the meaning and accomplishments that accompany it. These aren’t simple accessories that are meant to be worn for entertainment. Unfortunately music concerts, Halloween and parties don’t harbor enough meaning to justify wearing one.
Unfortunately for many Coachella attendees and college students wearing tribal print crop tops, moccasins and starving yourself to fit in to those high-wasted acid-wash jean shorts doesn’t qualify you to wear a Native American Headdress.
Ada Ball, the Native American Student Union co-director, sees it as a power trip for non-natives to wear traditional headdresses. The tribes Ball descends from (Shasta/Dakubetede/Modoc/Klamath) are not known for wearing plain style headdresses — but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t still get offended when people wear them.
“This desire to play Native that many people ignorantly succumb to is indicative of the continuous oppressions Indigenous peoples are subjected to in the United States,” Ball said. “This seemingly innocent act only further invisibilizes modern Native peoples and propagates harmful stereotypes.”
Wearing these headdresses is comparable to wearing blackface. It is highly insensitive and diminishes the horrific trials the community has been through. I get it, headdresses are cool looking, but think about how much cooler they were before colonizers snatched them off of Native American heads and replaced them with smallpox-ridden blankets.
How would any of us who are part of the dominant culture feel if military uniforms were paraded about as a form of subtle mockery?
This isn’t a new discussion, or something that has been completely ignored by the general population. Many scholars have worked tirelessly to bring awareness to the ongoing struggles that indigenous civilizations still face. In fact, the University of Oregon recently made it possible for all students to obtain a minor in Native American studies.
Cultural appropriation doesn’t only happen to Native Americans. There is apparently no end to themed college parties that attempt to ostensibly celebrate a culture, but end up disparaging it. Whether it’s sombreros, bindis or kimonos, another culture is being trashed. Maybe we should all start using our heads for a change instead of merely decorating them.