Kondabolu Bros- Wearing Feathers at Sasquatch Festival

The Kondabolu Brothers discuss the appropriation of Native American culture by festival goers at this year's Sasquatch Music Festival. Filmed during the Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Project on June 25th, 2011 at Seattle's Theatre Off Jackson.

• Category

  Comedy

[Michelle Tran]

In a nutshell, cultural appropriation is when a group of people of power takes parts of a minority's culture, generalizing it. Headdresses are sacred parts of Native American culture, a culture that has gone through historical genocide and racism. It's not fair that white people get to pick and choose what part of N.A. culture to monetize. Why do white people get to be seen as cool for wearing a headdress when in the past, the same group of people killed those for wearing it?

[Roxxi33]

"No, don't feel bad, fuck these people." exactly!

[LetUsFloatLikeAngels]

I didn’t miss the punch line, no. Hearing that anybody should die resonates deeply with me, reguardless of intended jest. Of course that is an individual issue that I have with the joke based on my views and nature. I’m only sharing an opinion here, and although the joke links to the point about attitude that I raised in my original comment, it was only a part of the basis.

[LetUsFloatLikeAngels]

Very importantly - I never said all forms of cultural appropriation were purely stupidity and ignorance; I specified the forms shown in the pictures. I’m aware the issue runs very deeply, but thank-you for suggesting Smith’s article; a very insightful read.

And yes, thank-you, I am quite aware of headdresses used within ceremony. I’d be insulted, but this is the Youtube comment section, after all. However may I observe that to assume ignorance often starts you much further back than need be?

[whitenoise23]

Maybe equality isn't the goal, but justice.

[whitenoise23]

Cultural appropriation is more than stupidity and ignorance. Read Andrea Smith's article "Spiritual appropriation as sexual violence" to get a sense for how deeply this issue impacts indigenous people.

Did you miss the punchline of the "I hope these people all die" joke? He said "At least they could be historically accurate." Appropriating people's culture and spiritual practices (yes those headresses are used for ceremony) is a form of violence, perhaps much less than genocide... but still.

[LetUsFloatLikeAngels]

...) The cultural appropriation here is stupidity and complete ignorance, not ‘fucked up shit’. They didn’t wear those things to provoke or hurt.

Saying white people should die because of ignorant choice of attire is, in my eyes, neither fair nor productive. I understand the attitude completely, but I don’t think having separate standards for different races will ever achieve equality.

[LetUsFloatLikeAngels]

I'm not saying white people aren't still doing shitty things. My point is the pictures here are so offensive because of the historical context. If those people were any colour but white there wouldn’t be such a reaction. But they didn’t commit the actions that caused the context and they didn't choose to be born the same colour as those who did. (cont...

[whitenoise23]

yes, the people in those photos were doing fucked up shit "in the past"

[LetUsFloatLikeAngels]

As much as I enjoy a lot of Hari's comedy, some of the attitudes to white people that these two can show is pathetic. Why should the white people of today be treated any different to anyone else of another skin colour? White people did a lot of fucked up shit in the past, but why does that mean new generations should be critisised for the actions of others when the only link is their skin colour? If you wanna fight racism, preach equality, not further racism.

[dewfish]

cool.

[wits66]

I see the points they are making are valid, however hari can come off as preachy at times.