The beginning of summer ushers in a wave of music festivals, brining hordes of attendees flaunting the kind of neo-hippie fashion that has become so closely tied to festival culture. However, in the crowds of festivalgoers donning beads, feathers and elaborate headdresses, there is an unwelcome guest that many may not realize is present: misappropriated Native American culture.

Thanks to powerhouse events like Coachella, which just wrapped up its second weekend, “festival fashion” has become a ubiquitous term in the fashion industry. Major retailers such as Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters have capitalized on the popularity of music festivals, creating annual lookbooks encouraging people to look their “fest best.” While there is nothing inherently wrong with adopting a festival-centric style, the mainstream adaptation and use of traditional Native cultural elements is a trend that demonstrates a severe lack of respect for this country’s oldest cultures.

Regardless of which minority group’s culture is in question, its function is invaluable. When a population has spent centuries being systematically abused, its culture can be a saving grace. It serves to keep individuals connected and provide a sense of self-direction to communities whose rights and opportunities are continually dictated by the white majority.

Native Americans have suffered abuse since the European invasion of the 15th and 16th centuries. Throughout this country’s history, our First Nations have been murdered by white settlers, robbed of their tribal lands, driven onto reservations and whipped into religious conversion. My own tribe, the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, exists because a portion of the Tiwa tribe was taken prisoner by the Spanish after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and marched in chains from their home of Taos, New Mexico to El Paso, Texas.