It is with great disappointment that we have decided to no longer participate in Tribal Fest®.

It has come to light that offensive posts, photographs, and photo albums, which included sexual objectification, derogatory statements, and sexist comments, were regularly posted in a private Facebook group. The person who facilitated this group and participated in the behavior is involved in the production of Tribal Fest.



Because of this person’s involvement in and access to the festival, much of this content was focused on Tribal Fest® teachers, participants and attendees, and targeted our friends, colleagues, and students.This behavior was a violation and abuse of trust.



As leaders and members in this community, we strive to create safe, positive spaces for self-expression, personal growth, and healing. We cannot participate in an event or associate with an organization whose members use their standing in our community to engage in and promote stereotyping, dehumanization, and belittling comments.We cannot participate in an event or support an organization that does not reflect our own morals, ethics, and beliefs.



We have no desire to start a campaign against anyone or fight hate with hate. To the contrary, we hope to bring attention to the deeply negative impact of derogatory speech toward any group of people so that something positive may come out of this experience.

We are thankful to Kajira for the effort and vision she has brought to creating this 15-year event, which has nurtured the tribal belly dance community. We value her and honor her contributions to our art form. Our decision is not a reflection of our feelings for her as a person or a dancer.

Our non-participation comes only after much thought and deliberation. Each of us came to this decision as individuals of our own accord, but we stand together as a community.

Terri Allred

DJ Amar

Rachel Brice

Lilly Freeland

Aubre Hill

Mat Jacob

Zoe Jakes

Sharon Kihara

Kami Liddle

Nathalie

Carolena Nericcio-Bohlman

Jill Parker

Ebony Qualls

April Rose

Calamity Sam

Colleena Shakti

Amy Sigil

Michelle Sorensen

Sarah Stinson

Sherri Wheatley

Upon reflection and conversation the following people who were previous or scheduled instructors and vendors and leaders in our community would also like to be listed as in support of this statement.

Jenn Aguilar

Emily Aiyana

Ariellah

Wendy Allen

Cera Byer

Hilde Cannoodt

Nic Tharpa Cartier

Julie diVerdi

Samantha Emanuel

Jennifer Faust

Brandie Franks

Doreet Didi Gordon

Martina Hewett

Rufio van Hoover

Katrina Ji

Juliet Kittleson

Lee Kobus

Medina Maitreya

Jen McDonald

Donna Mejia

Dusty Paik

Bex Priest

Samantha Riggs

Ella Rogers

Silvia Salamanca

Lacey Sanchez

Violet Scrap

Zahara Solomon

Alexis Southall

Heather Stants

Tjarda van Straten

Amel Tafsout

Charles Thomas

Jodi Waseca-Jenkins