While the majority of us have enough sense to know that cultures should not be treated as costumes, there are those of us who would much rather dress up as “pow wow princesses” during Halloween or attend Kansas City Chiefs games rocking bootleg war bonnets.
The Chiefs have dissuaded their fans from engaging in this behavior for years, but now that our current climate is allegedly less tolerant of such offenses, the team is now banning headdresses outright—because about damn time.
In a statement released on their website, the team explained that they’ve consulted with “a group of local leaders from diverse American Indian backgrounds and experiences” and are making the following changes:
- Effective immediately, fans are prohibited from wearing headdresses into the stadium.
- Face paint is still allowed by fans, but any face paint that is styled in a way that references or appropriates American Indian cultures and traditions will be prohibited.
The Chiefs also announced their signature Arrowhead Chop—which you can behold in all of its racially insensitive glory here—is undergoing a “thorough review process.”
“These meaningful conversations with the American Indian Community Working Group helped us educate ourselves and our fans, and our partnership with these leaders has helped guide our American Indian Heritage Month Games, as well as the ceremonial Blessing of the Drum and the Four Directions of Arrowhead Stadium,” the team wrote in its statement. “We are grateful to the members of the working group for their counsel and collaboration, and we look forward to continuing our partnership.”
As to be expected, these decisions have been met with a deluge of unseasoned tears and manufactured outrage now that the Chiefs want no parts of openly mocking Indigenous cultures and traditions.
She’s done, y’all!
While this doesn’t erase decades of redface, tribal headdresses or other racist-ass behavior that the team and its fans have actively engaged in, it is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, it forces the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians and other offenders to follow suit.
All Lives Matter Twitter will just have to deal.