Glastonbury bans Native American headdresses

Girls in the crowd watch the main Pyramid stage at Glastonbury music festival, England, 2014. Photo / AP

Traders at next year's Glastonbury Festival have been banned from selling Native American headdresses following an online petition that got just 65 signatures.

Daniel W Round launched a campaign to ban the popular festival accessory on Change.org, arguing that wearing them is "offensive and disrespectful".

The ban does not stop festival goers from wearing them.

Mr Round said the headdress had become "increasingly prevalent" over the past few years at Glastonbury and other music festivals, which was a "concerning trend".

He wrote: "This summer in particular, I noticed far more festival-goers wearing the headdress as an item of fashion than at previous events - hence this petition.

"There has long been consensus among indigenous civil rights activists in North America about the wearing of headdresses by non-Natives - that it is an offensive and disrespectful form of cultural appropriation, that it homogenises diverse indigenous peoples, and that it perpetuates damaging, archaic and racist stereotypes."

Glastonbury organisers have added the headdress to a list of things traders at the event can not sell without prior consent.

The list also includes alcohol, cigarettes, phone charges, candy flares, flags and gazebos.

Mr Round was pleased with the result: "Our petition, small in numbers but passionate in support, pushed this issue right up to Emily Eavis, and she listened."

"The campaigner said he hopes to take the campaign to other festivals in the UK.

All 135,000 tickets to next year's festival at Worthy Farm have sold out, with standard tickets selling in just 25 minutes. Fleetwood Mac are among the bookies' favourites to headline.

- Daily Mail