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Glastonbury asks traders to ‘hold off’ on sale of Native American-style headwear
By Aly Barchi | Published on Thursday 16 October 2014
The proprietors of on-site shops at the Glastonbury Festival have been asked nicely not to sell Native American-style headdresses (kind of like the one Pharrell wore on that cover of Elle magazine, and later apologised for) at next year’s event. Speaking to NME yesterday, Glasto co-organiser Emily Eavis emphasised that “it isn’t a ban, it’s just that we’ve asked the two traders selling them to hold off”.
This mirrors a similar, far more strict prohibitory move by Canada’s Bass Coast festival earlier this year, which as well as veto-ing its on-site shops from selling items of feathered headgear, also asked ticketholders to refrain from bringing in and wearing the garments.
The less severe decision over at Glasto – which presumably doesn’t cover individuals who want to carry in and sport the ‘hats’ for their own potentially-racially-insensitive pleasure – follows the launch of an online petition on Change.org calling on Emily Eavis et al to “lead the way this side of the pond and take a principled stand”. It only attracted 65 signatures but I guess the saying is true, that from little acorns mighty oaks do grow.
“Our petition, small in numbers but passionate in support, pushed this issue right up to Emily Eavis, and she listened”, confirms the campaign’s creator Daniel Round, adding: “Although it is only one UK festival, I hope that if we spread the news of Glastonbury’s decision online, positive discussions about the stereotyping of Native Americans and the headdress will grow in the UK and elsewhere”.
