Buffy Sainte-Marie says wearing a headdress as a fashion trend is painful and disgusting to Aboriginal people.
The 74-year-old musical innovator says there are some things that are: “actually, factually, personally, deeply cultural to our heritage.”
Sainte-Marie says she wants people to understand why it’s negative for Native people to see: “a guy who’s got models in high heels, bikini bottoms, pasties and a big headdress, and everybody’s drunk”, calling it inappropriate and not funny.
Headdresses have become a popular and controversial fashion accessory in the past few years, with Jessica Simpson flaunting one on Instagram, Pharrell Williams donning one in the pages of Elle UK and Gwen Stefani wearing one in a music video.
Recently, festivals have fought back against the misguided trend with many issuing bans on various forms of fake Indigenous headwear.
Still, Sainte-Marie says the trend endures, which she thinks is mostly out of ignorance.
(The Canadian Press)