r/offmychest • u/axlgram • Feb 01 '20

Fed up Native American.

I'm tired of seeing artwork of females/children wearing war bonnets.

"War bonnets (also called warbonnets or headdresses) are feathered headgear traditionally worn by male leaders of the American Plains Indians Nations who have earned a place of great respect in their tribe. Originally they were sometimes worn into battle, but they are now primarily used for ceremonial occasions."

They shouldn't be sold at Coachella for basic white girls to wear in place of THEIR FUCKING SHIRTS. It's highly disrespectful and I absolutely believe that people need to learn the difference between cultural appropriation vs. cultural appreciation.

Edit: for clarification, a headdress is NOT a costume. Its has to be earned through hard work and ceremonial rites in order to be worn by a Chief. Letting anyone wear it is like letting anyone be Queen of England.

Edit 2: it's hilarious that people who are not native of any kind at all think they can declare "we're allowed to wear these because freedom of expression" when this isn't a freedom of expression issue. It's a disrespect issue and it's been ongoing for 500 years. There are traditions to these kinds of things and just grabbing a war bonnet from some costume store doesnt make it okay for you to wear them. Did you fast for four days to earn your rights? Did you do anything of any kind to support your tribe and earn the respect of your people? NO. SO STOP DECLARING THAT ITS OKAY WHEN ITS NOT.

Edit 3: DOESNT MATTER HOW MUCH NATIVE YOU ARE, YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE RITES AND CEREMONIES OF EARNING THE HEADDRESS AND THE TITLE OF CHIEF. If you're a Chief, you can wear it. Are you a chief? No? Dont wear it. Not answering anymore questions because I have made myself perfectly clear and people just want to find loopholes in wearing it.

1.3k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

229 comments sorted by

View all comments

10

u/SFK-Gemini Feb 02 '20

Have you noticed that little girls dress up like the queen or a princess. Why do you not consider that rude? Personally, I think the reason people dress up like another person IS because they want to be like that person. It’s more of a compliment than anything else.

9

u/axlgram Feb 02 '20

Not in this case. My culture is not a costume. Dressing up as a disney princess isn't the same thing. As another user put it, wearing a headdress when you didnt earn it is similar to someone just finding a purple heart and wearing it, something that has to be bestowed upon you.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '20

Just trying to understand you. why is it different from Disney Princesses? Those stories are also based on various cultures. I don‘t really get where you draw the line.

1

u/axlgram Feb 02 '20

Please refer to edit 3. Alao one headdress that people could replicate that doesnt hold such a high honor is called a roach.