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‘Cultural appropriation felt by Indigenous communities because of this’
Organizers of an annual Earth festival at the University of California Davis have apologized a drum circle that materialized during the event, calling it cultural appropriation.
A statement from the Whole Earth Festival posted on social media read: “WEF staff is aware of a group of drummers that have congregated near the quad. We acknowledge the harm of cultural appropriation felt by Indigenous communities because of this.”
“We want to make it clear that the WEF staff does not associate with or condone the actions, cultural appropriation, and values exhibited by these individuals,” the statement continued, adding organizers hope to find some sort of solution.
“Because of freedom of expression policies on campus, we are unable to remove this group.”
The 57th annual Whole Earth Festival, which took place May 8 to 10 on campus, is billed as a family friendly and zero-waste event during which visitors learn “about the realms of activism, wellness, and environmental sustainability in an interactive and creative way.”
While the apology note does not provide details on the drummers who caused the concern, commenters on the UC Davis subreddit described it as an unofficial drum circle that has always been part of the annual festival. Most of the comments expressed incredulousness that an apology was warranted.
“No culture owns drums, and the drum circle has been one of the best parts of WEF for many years. Sad,” one poster stated.
“The drum circle was always one of my favorite parts because nobody is there to pressure you into doing anything particular. You can dance or not, but when there’s a huge number of people drumming and suddenly it all hits the right rhythm, it really does feel magical,” another wrote.
“I’m pretty shocked to hear of the drum circle as being termed as not being part of an inclusive aspect of WEF. First time I went was nearly 30 years ago and I still think it’s one of the best parts.”
(This video shows a drum circle circa 2014 at the Whole Earth Festival)
Another posted: “I remember there used to be an area near Hart hall just for the drum circle. Seems like instead of banning it this would be a good opportunity to have drumming workshops led by whoever is deemed appropriate and with particular intention.”
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