You don’t need to be a high profile promoter to know that making regulation calls based on gray areas can be the most difficult part of your job. Possibly inspired by Dirtybird Campout’s approach to the issue, Insomniac has decided to stop Native American Headdresses from being worn inside the gates of one of their biggest festivals, Electric Forrest.
As the company known for championing totems they’ve also taken a strong stance on totems with negative messages, stating that they will not allow anything they deem disrespectful. The official statement they’ve released encourages people to explore better costuming and totem decoration options out there. While many may be upset because this can be seen as stifling creativity, it is a move that must be done to make the shows less riddled with conflict. This certainly isn’t the end of the push to remove offensive things from shows and thus is not the end to the discussion regarding what is and isn’t okay.
Read the statement regarding this here and stay tuned for details on other event regulations going forward.
*A note on headdresses & threatening messages: at Electric Forest, all should feel safe, comfortable, and welcome.
In this spirit, HQ requests that those who would bring American Indian Headdresses to the festival leave them at home. Out of respect for this community, it is inappropriate to wear headdresses outside of traditional ceremony.
Additionally, while HQ supports diversity in signs, totems, and articles of clothing, words or images that threaten harm to others are not welcome at the festival.
The Festival reserves the right to confiscate items deemed to be in violation of these two policies at its discretion.
In such a creative community, HQ is confident that these requests will open up new, more inclusive creative opportunities for all who attend. Thank you for making choices that support and inspire all members of the Forest Family.
Leave a Reply