Cultural appropriation isn't okay: part IV

It seems like this should go without saying: that sexualizing Indigenous women and cultural appropriation are both pretty awful things to do.

But it also seems like some people don’t get it.

Take David Guetta. This week the DJ came out with a F*** Me I'm Famous (which is a series of EDM compilation albums by Guetta) promo video that had people up in arms on the internet — it featured scantily clad women wearing Native-inspired bikinis and headdresses on a beach. 

Guetta was called out for his "racist bullshit," facing significant backlash on the web, especially on the F*** Me I'm Famous Facebook page and it looks like, now, the video’s been taken offline.

Aux.TV put it this way:

"The new F*** Me I’m Famous promotional video (asterisks because foul language can be offensive, you see) packs one minute with models outfitted in headdresses and face paint, doing 'war cries,' decked out in feathers. We’re also presented with a peek at the show itself where dreamcatchers hang from the ceiling and 'Native' dancers in pasties strut around. THIS IS A REAL THING THAT IS HAPPENING IN 2015."

The whole situation didn't sit right for Cody Coyote and the Ottawa-based hip hop artist started a Facebook group called "End F*** Me I'm Famous" to try to get Guetta's offensive party shut down. 

We know it doesn't have to be this way and others are moving in the right, more respectful, direction. Music festivals — like Osheaga and Edmonton Folk Fest — are finally telling attendees and artists that wearing headdresses on festival grounds isn’t okay.

How does the video make you feel about the treatment of Indigenous culture?

Photo source: @FMIFOfficial