Electric Forest, the festival that brings thousands of Bassheads and other electronic dance music and jam band fans deep into the woods of Rothbury, Michigan every summer, has prohibited the wearing of American Indian-inspired headdresses for its 2016 edition.
As Run the Trap reports, festival organizers have updated the list of items forbidden from the festival to include American Indian headdresses and any "threatening signs or apparel." Both new items are accompanied by the following note:
"at Electric Forest, all should feel safe, comfortable, and welcome. In this spirit, HQ requests that those who would bring American Indian Headdresses to the festival leave them at home. Out of respect for this community, it is inappropriate to wear headdresses outside of traditional ceremony. Additionally, while HQ supports diversity in signs, totems, and articles of clothing, words or images that threaten harm to others are not welcome at the festival."
The organizers also assert that "these requests will open up new, more inclusive creative opportunities for all who attend." Watch the festival's 2015 recap video, below, to get an idea of the millions of creative ways in which one can express themselves at Electric Forest without offending anyone.
As EDM Sauce reports, festival organizers were likely inspired to update the festival rules after one attendee decided to wave a Confederate flag totem around in a crowd of otherwise peace-loving festival attendees this past summer. That guy, of course, got punched by others in the crowd, probably because it's nearly impossible to start a calm dialogue about the offensive symbol when the bass is thumping. While fighting never resolves anything, the guy's bloody mug went viral this summer and at the very least prompted discussions about what is and is not okay at festivals: the consensus seems to agree that festivals are not the time nor place for any negative vibes, whatsoever.
While no space on Earth can be truly "safe," or free from oppression, one would hope that a music, arts and culture festival could at least actively work towards the goal of creating a safer space in which everyone can have the most epic experience imaginable for one long weekend out of the year. Within a safer space, all community members are actively mindful of their speech and actions and the effects (both positive and negative) they may have on others. While it's basic festival (and life) etiquette to avoid making assumptions about others' identities in terms of race, gender, sexuality, abilities, class or background, and to try your best to be mutually respectful of others, how to get all festival attendees on the same page regarding what effects their actions may have on one another remains in something of a gray area.
There is a very fine line between appreciation and appropriation, but the bottom line is: if someone tells you that your actions are hurting them, don't be that guy. If you were planning on wearing an American Indian ceremonial headdress while dancing in the Sherwood Forest this summer, this article from the social activists over at Everyday Feminism highlights a few ways you can honor Native Americans without dehumanizing them.
