Glastonbury has become the first UK festival to ban the sale of Native American headdresses. A Change.org petition garnering just 65 signatures was enough to sway festival organiser Emily Eavis, who added the item on the list of products that traders will not be allowed to sell. 

 

Daniel Round says he started the petition after noticing a "concerning trend" for festival-goers to don Native American headdress as a fashion item. 

He wrote on the petition page: "There has long been consensus among indigenous civil rights activists in North America about the wearing of headdresses by non-Natives – that it is an offensive and disrespectful form of cultural appropriation, that it homogenises diverse indigenous peoples, and that it perpetuates damaging, archaic and racist stereotypes."

Canadian festival Bass Coast was the first to ban the headdress, arguing that it was a necessary step to protect "dignity of aboriginal people" of the country. Native American musicians such as A Tribe Called Red have previously called out fans who would turn up to gigs in war paint and headdress: 

"I was completely ignorant about the issue myself until I went to Canada in 2012," Round told Dazed. "I have a mixture of feelings at the moment: relief and happiness at the festival's decision; hope and promise for the future if the discussion takes off in a bigger way over here (and elsewhere); but also frustration and disappointment at the online backlash which demonstrates how much work we have still have to do to raise consciousness and counter racism and intolerance."

Unlike Bass Coast, the Glastonbury ban only applies to selling the headdresses on site –  desperate festival stereotypes and fans of cultural appropriation will still be able to bring their own treasured warbonnet to the festival. 

What do you think? Is Glastonbury right to nip the headdress trend in the bud?