Square Enix: Please reconsider putting the Native American war bonnet attire in-game.

[Alysanne]

Honestly, if it bothers you that much, take a stand against people who make a business out of selling war bonnets.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/3816193...&ul_noapp=true

I'm not bothered even a scintilla, the joy of capitalism is that people are free to make whatever crap they want and other people are free to spend their money on it.

I'm wondering if you completely missed the point of what I said.

[OniKimoto]

I'll try to keep this as succinct as possible.

War bonnets are extremely sensitive cultural items that are generally "restricted" items. That is, it is offensive for non-Native Americans to wear them, or anyone to wear them who hasn't earned the right to do so.

They are earned through acts of heroism and putting them in the game where player characters can access them at all is trampling all over Native Americans.

Native American cultural attire is not a costume.

Especiallythe war bonnets.

Please consider removing the war bonnet from the upcoming patch. It is deeply offensive and racist to include it.

Thank you.

In some ways I can understand what you are saying, BUT cultural appropriation DOES NOT belong in a game. Especially one titled "Final Fantasy." Furthermore! It's nobodies business what gender or ethnicity you are behind your character unless you make it their business.

[Lokier]

snup

Aye, I'm neutral too; I'm also surprised that gif didn't show up sooner. I'm not even American and only know about that commercial via a Black-American Youtube blogger, haha.

(On a side note, my Firefox dictionary is slightly racist o.O It tried to correct 'Black-American' to Anti-American, wtf?)

[Vantilles]

I posted earlier on this thread, and it was entirely out of a kneejerk response. So, after taking a bit of time to think about things I’ve come to a realization. Now, first of all, I’d like to thank Masquerade in his posts - recognizing how frustrating it was for the few native peoples who were not recognized when saying this was a problem for them.

But, ultimately, after doing some thinking I’ve come to realize that the implementation of this headdress really doesn’t matter. Now, I personally dislike it. I would not be sad if this outfit was removed from the game - but, ultimately, it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Maybe that’s an unpopular opinion - or makes me apathetic. But, when you look at issues like the current pipeline controversy in America - perhaps this attention should be spent there. (Seriously, they need food, water, medical supplies - not to mention extensive legal services. Check it out.)

There have been some things said which are quite callous. I’d like to take the time -- to offer, as some people have requested, a bit of information regarding headdresses as a whole - not just war bonnets, and why Indigenous peoples can possibly be frustrated by this sort of thing.

I’m going to talk about a few things that are not quite popular to talk about. Keep in mind, when I speak about these things - I am not devaluing the struggles of other Indigenous peoples, nor minority groups. I am talking about North American Indigenous peoples. I’m trying to do my best here in keeping it relatively simple. Not everyone is North American here, I’m assuming.

The war bonnet specifically is a link to the Creator. It’s meant to reward not only heroism, but honor them in the eyes of the Creator. Specifically, the war bonnet is comprised of eagle feathers - as the eagle is seen as the closest to the Creator. It’s used extensively by the Indigenous peoples in current day Canada and the United States. Veterans wear them, honored activists wear them and quite often elders who have fought for Indigenous rights. These feathers -can- be painted. It’s usually the more northern styles that end up decorating the feathers with dust or earth-based paints.

Headdresses, while not necessarily created from eagle feathers, sometimes are. They’re made as an achievement for our people. Same people can wear them - but they’re most often used in ceremonies. They are honored extensively through ceremonially dance -- as a matter of fact, it’s a massive deal if a feather were to fall from your headdress, for example. The entire dance ‘circle’ will come together and raise it with a blessing. They are still spiritual thing.

They weren’t worn out of ceremony. The headdress is basically an entirely ceremonial thing. Feathers, especially eagle feathers, were used. Braided into your hair, mostly. Youth earn feathers for a number of thing - for passing trials to become a man, and to now in modern day for graduating college, or achieving something. They’re meant to represent your growth. Now, however, this practice is obviously falling to the wayside.

To respond to inquiries; no, this is not a war bonnet exactly. This is a caricature of one. The flashy green colors and bone-shield breastplate are clearly an attempt to make a Plains People’s attire. It’s stolen from cartoons and old hollywood media - which were pretty non-discriminatory. Most ‘Indian’ things you will see in media today -is- a mixture of Plains people and River people attire. Recognize that it’s pretty much a cartoon inspiration. Ever see those wooden statues of the Native American man at a casino? Ever think about how much they resemble this set?

Now for the second part. Why does this matter?

It matters for some people for varying reasons. Some people are okay with it, and that’s their viewpoint. Many people are sensitive about it because of the levels of cultural appropriation that Indigenous peoples are facing. I could never fault the OP for posting this initially. I think it was well-intentioned. I thank them for it, personally.

Indigenous peoples in North America, upon Early Contact, suffered a 88 - 93% death rate. This is the most broad and acceptable figure from most scholarly sources. This was an extinction level event for the Indigenous peoples from disease, invasive procedures by the colonists. By around the end of the 19th century, there were around 250k Indigenous peoples remaining the United States. The numbers have not risen much in comparison to the death rate.

The reservation systems were created, residential schools made to then ‘breed out the indian’. Government policies turned to self-containment and control of the Indigenous peoples. Lands were seized despite treaties made by the governments.

Post-colonialism is something that happens today. We’ve moved on from the past, sure, but there is always an aura of conquest in regards to Indigenous relations with the majority of society. They are seen as the taxpayer’s burden (which is entirely false propaganda made centuries ago by a disgruntled politician), and generally ignored in terms of self-governance.

There is little media presence on issues such as governance, basic services, drug issues, woman who have been missing and murdered or police brutality. All this leads to a general frustration amongst the population - especially those unlucky enough to not be able to leave the reservation, or start well financially.

This creates a sense of resentment and frustration. When faced with something as simple as cultural appropriation - it gets difficult to let it pass, or not have -some- feelings about it. Some might think it’s great that our culture gets the light, sure. But some might dislike it.

My best advice? Someone said it earlier. Contact an organization that you can offer aid to, if you are keen on helping. Great. If not? Please, just be aware. It doesn’t take long for you understand -- or at least understand.

I genuinely hope this post helps people unfamiliar with it understand frustration, or attitudes taken by Indigenous peoples.

[Kathyz]

#Vantiles

Im glad you change your opinion after thinkin. In my point of view this isn't racist or disrespectful, is a way to start takin interest in another cultures, thanks to this headdress and you now morepeople know about this culture and in my opinion this its whats important.

My signature already say it but again , sorry for my bad english

[butt]

im a native, and i want a head dress.

i also want a war call emote and stick games

[Masekase_Hurricane]

#Vantiles

Thing is most of what you wrote I never knew about. So isn't having this item a good thing, as now it brings attention to issues like you described and reminds people what happened in the past. Otherwise in the end people forget what happened and history could be repeated with another race, tribe etc.

[Enkrateia]

Greetings, all!

This thread will be getting cleaned up to focus on the discussion that was raised and remove posts found to be in violation of the policies. While this is being done, the thread will be closed. Once we have fully evaluated the thread and what remains, as well as the potential of further discussion to be productive, we will make a decision on if the thread should be reopened. Thank you for your understanding and patience while we work on this.

LGM Enkrateia

[Enkrateia]

Greetings, everyone!

We've completed cleaning up the thread to make it much more focused on the original topic of conversation. This meant removing a number of posts, such as:

• Requests in the thread to close the thread. For future reference, making a report on the thread is a much more effective means of accomplishing this in the future.
• Posts that did not contribute to the discussion, including those that were sarcastic, those noting they were there to watch, and an enjoyable collection to images, both animated and not.
• Requests to add other types of gear to the game, since that was not on topic.
• An interesting sidetrack about Balmung.

On review of the thread, including the topics discussed and how it has progressed, we will not be unlocking the thread. There were a variety of posts covering multiple aspects of the discussion; however, the discussion itself had become circular, and further discussion does not seem like it would yield new points of view or results. I have made sure to bring this discussion, including posts and ideas that may have been removed during cleanup, to the Community team's attention, so they can relay your thoughts on the matter.

Thank you for your patience in this matter, and please remember to be respectful to one another in the forums in the future, since this can help to generate more productive discussions (and avoid account actions for violations of the rules).

LGM Enkrateia