Attendees at this weekend’s Bass Coast electronic music and arts festival are being asked not to don feathered headdresses similar to traditional aboriginal wartime bonnets.
Headdresses began appearing at music festivals several years ago and have since become trendy among some festival-goers.
This year’s headlining act, Ottawa-based A Tribe Called Red, has strong indigenous influences and praised Bass Coast organizers for the ban on Twitter.
The ban extends to anything resembling feathered war bonnets, a Facebook post announcing it states.
“We understand why people are attracted to war bonnets. They have a magnificent aesthetic. But their spiritual, cultural and aesthetic significance cannot be separated,” the post reads.
The festival’s on-site security team will enforce the policy as well.
Festival organizers noted the event takes place on indigenous territory.
Bass Coast takes place from Aug. 1 to 4 at the Merritt festival grounds.
