OK so bc Carnival Headdress Appropriation Discourse is roaring up again, a few points:

(Before we start, I am a Dominican American. I understand different communities do Carnival differently. I am talking generally about all of them. If I misspeak please let me know!)

1. Black communities across the Americas including the and most famously the Caribbean have feather headdresses, the end.

It’s a ln expression of the mix of African Diaspora and Indigenous American cultures. Even if we do not have direct or current tribal connections, our oldest traditions are Afro-Indigenous. Also, many people are yet Afro-Indigenous and do have those relationships today.

2. That said, while it is true we do have our own feather headdresses, they do not look like Plains Indian headdresses (or Amazonian headdresses, which I have also seen). They just don’t.

I don’t think it’s cool or respectful to be rocking non-Carnival Indigenous headdresses or that of any other totally unrelated Native ppls during carnival. They have deep ceremonial meaning in their culture and it should be respected.

Some non-carnival style Indigenous headdresses have been however slowly incorporated into some carnivals. I’m pretty sure very similar headdresses have always been a part of Mardi Gras, again bc of those Afro-Native/Creole roots (correct me if I am wrong though).

Many do not see the issue, or understand fully the dynamic. Many feel we are just honoring our cultural roots. Many feel we are entitled bc we have long histories with these roots and Native communities. It’s complicated. Carnival can be a really complicated space politically!

But most tricky-and where I think lots of people get tripped up-for many, when we read “Hey, THIS headdress is appropriation, this is not your culture,” we think you’re saying *ALL* of our headdresses and celebrations are not ours. And many of you ARE saying exactly that.

Don’t think we forgot how y’all acted over Nicki Minaj’s carnival headdress.

It’s frustrating as hell to have a bunch of ignorant non-Black outsiders show their whole ass about carnival, like they do EVERY year...

...telling us traditions that have been with us for CENTURIES aren’t authentically ours. It’s exhausting and it is absolutely rooted in deep ignorance about our communities and history, erasure and anti-Blackness.

3. Even as I don’t condone Black people disrespecting and taking of things that are not theirs or reinforcing colonial erasure and violence, we can’t actually oppress nobody! We lack that power. So coming at Black ppl who misstep with the energy like we’re white is not it.

I understand and respect confusion or upset, even as I ask for and offer understanding, but you lose once you lean and rely on anti-Blackness to call us out or dismiss our culture and our roots and practices. /end