So this happened tonight in New Jersey...

So this happened tonight in New Jersey...

Background:

The man dressed in a war bonnet, loincloth, and scarf(?) is a member of Funhaus, a group associated with Rooster Teeth (makers of shows like Red vs. Blue, RWBY, and the Rooster Teeth Podcast) and Achievement Hunter. Several times in the past, Achievement Hunter has put on a live show in which they and other performers in the Let's Play network play video games in front of a live audience; this is the first time Let's Play Live has gone on tour and tonight was the first show of said tour. These five members of Funhaus are dressed to mimic their characters in the wrestling game they're playing. Bruce, the man wearing the getup in question, has previously claimed to be a descendant of Pocahontas.

Now, there's a myriad of reasons why this is unacceptable. The first is that, no matter your heritage or ethnicity, headdresses like that one are not meant to be worn without the consent of your nation so at the most basic level the act of wearing it is disrespectful. Then there's the issue of culture not being a costume, specifically that actions like this cheapen the meaning of what they're meant to stand for. The context and other aspects of the apparel only further muddies the waters between "Indigenous man wearing a headress" and "savage".

Lastly, there's the simple issue of nationhood: one's genetic ancestry does not make them Indigenous. Blood quantum was created to help perpetuate the genocide against Native Americans and most everyone you talk to will say that actually belonging to a band, to a nation is what makes a person capable of calling themselves "Native"; Bruce belongs to neither and Indigenous band or nation. Even if his ancestry tied him to Pocahontas, there's one more clear problem: the Powhatan don't wear headdresses like that.

Between this and Coachella, this is your general reminder that culture is not a costume and wearing the regalia of the Indigenous peoples on whose graves you built your country is very much a racist act. Seeing a group like Rooster Teeth - which has touted a progressive attitude and derided racism for a while, especially since the 2016 presidential election - put on so blatantly bigoted a show has made me lose a lot of faith in them as a company and as people. That anti-Native racism is so engrained in American culture people can get away calling themselves "tolerant" but still pull this shit is disgusting.