North American Indian Headdresses

[Jacque67 7,328]

Please explain.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2664707/Khloe-Kardashian-slammed-posing-feathered-American-Indian-headdress-North-Wests-birthday-party-dubbed-Kidchella.html

When someone wears a yukata or quasi kimono , no one here in Japan complains of racism. As I work in the fashion industry I am curious is to why Native Americans get upset by this.

My friends and I think headdresses are cool.

Why is it offensive - and no, I am not baiting. Living in a different country I am curious as to this state of affairs in the US.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Was J Depp's portrayal of Tonto considered racist over there?

[LibCampFireClub 635]

Surely everyone knows that Japan is the model of world morality.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Surely everyone knows that Japan is the model of world morality.

Ha ha!

But my question is about headdresses . We're Native Americans forced to wear them by white folk??? Iwhere is the offence?

Seriously want to know.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

You already know that American Indians were no more forced to don their tribal wear any more than the Japanese harpoon and eat thousands of whales under the guise of research.

[Jacque67 7,328]

You already know that American Indians were no more forced to don their tribal wear any more than the Japanese harpoon and eat thousands of whales under the guise of research.

Yeah . I thought I might have been missing something.

So why is the headdress considered offensive , is my question?

Edited June 22, 2014 by Jacque67

[LibCampFireClub 635]

Yeah . I thought I might have been missing something.

So why is the headdress considered offensive , is my question.p?

Are you feigning naivety to make a point of how knee-jerk world liberalism has become toward anyone who claims to be offended?

[Jacque67 7,328]

Are you feigning naivety to make a point of how knee-jerk world liberalism has become toward anyone who claims to be offended?

Seriously. No joke. I and my Japanese friends just don't get it.

Btw, until I visited NY 2 years ago I had no idea who Kim Kardashian was- she doesn't feature in news here. I find American low brow culture fascinating . I was glued to early afternoon shows whilst working out at Equinox!!!!

[Jacque67 7,328]

For example, as a non-American , I was first introduced to John Belushi's Samurai Delicatessen , by a Japanese boyfriend. We both found it hilarious.

No offence was taken.

Don't get the headdress thing. Pharrell looks hot in his.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

It's not all that surprising that you would lose track of low-brow happenings outside of Japan's own low-brow entertainment freak shows. Japanese people consider anything outside their own world as being a freak-show.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

A feathered headdress, worn only by certain tribes and nations, has always been something that you earn. You earn it through successful hunts and other acts. A full warbonnet is similar to a soldier's medals. Every part of it is earned and tells a story, the story of the warrior's valor. If I were to pull out a veteran's medals and parade around wearing them and flashing them around, people would be offended, as I have not gone to war and have not earned the medals.

A person who is not first nations/Native American or a person of another tribe or nation may be gifted a war bonnet by the tribe and may wear that, but simply creating and putting one on is most akin to an act of forgery and a theft of a cultural artifact that people work very hard to earn.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

There should be new rules for all earth people to follow that disallow a victor in war battle from donning their opponents headress. No more scalps and shrunken heads either. It should be everyone's mission to make sure they live their life so as not to offend anyone ever in life.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

*slowclap* Way to miss the point of my post. I don't pretend to know how each tribe or nation would count something taken as the actual spoils of battle--as I stated, not all nations have war bonnets, which implies that the cultural mores are different from one to another--but wearing a war bonnet as decoration is like forging a veteran's medals. It's that simple. Do you not respect veterans?

Because I do. I respect the veterans and I do so by not violating the ways in which we show respect to veterans.

Scalping people isn't something that I've heard of any nation or tribe sanctioning for decades, probably longer. I don't believe shrunken heads were ever a part of any north american indigenous peoples' practices. Bringing these up is a simple act of poisoning the well, here.

It is disrespectful to wear a war bonnet without earning it in some way. Simple fact.

[Jacque67 7,328]

A feathered headdress, worn only by certain tribes and nations, has always been something that you earn. You earn it through successful hunts and other acts. A full warbonnet is similar to a soldier's medals. Every part of it is earned and tells a story, the story of the warrior's valor. If I were to pull out a veteran's medals and parade around wearing them and flashing them around, people would be offended, as I have not gone to war and have not earned the medals.

A person who is not first nations/Native American or a person of another tribe or nation may be gifted a war bonnet by the tribe and may wear that, but simply creating and putting one on is most akin to an act of forgery and a theft of a cultural artifact that people work very hard to earn.

Thanks for the explanation. Got it!

It's not all that surprising that you would lose track of low-brow happenings outside of Japan's own low-brow entertainment freak shows. Japanese people consider anything outside their own world as being a freak-show.

Hmm. Showing your true colours. Disgusted!

[Jacque67 7,328]

Mods- please close this thread as Not a Tailor has given me a satisfactory answer, and I don't want this to descend into race baiting (unlike a certain other poster).

Thank you for the lucid explanation Not a Tailor. This question had puzzled me for a while.