The Sami Council, an indigenous organization from Scandinavia, requested that Square Enix remove a certain outfit from Final Fantasy XIV, citing cultural appropriation. Twitch streamer Asmongold reacted with incomprehension.
This outfit is about: The Far North Costume Set appeared in the FFXIV cash shop on December 14th, 2022 and is now causing trouble for some time later. The developers took inspiration from traditional costumes from Norway, Finland and Denmark for the set.
The strongest influences came from the clothing of the Sami, an indigenous people from northern Fennoscandia. The sale of the outfit was seen as a violation of their rights and cultural appropriation by the Sami Council, an independent non-governmental organization representing the interests of the Sami people.
In a letter dated Jan. 27, Square Enix responded to the Seed Council’s request and denied removing the outfit. The council representatives then went public and posted their demands on the official website and social media such as Twitter.
“You can’t steal a culture”
Asmongold says: The biggest MMORPG streamer has spent some time in FFXIV and continues to follow the news about it, even though he no longer actively plays it. Asmongold doesn’t think much of the seed council’s statement regarding cultural appropriation and the violation of their property rights.
In a stream he commented on the situation:
You can’t steal a culture. Everyone has access to these things. If you want to dress up and use a katana, and you’re from Germany, that’s ok! […] It is not copyrighted. Is not it. Nobody should take these people seriously. What a joke […] Cultural appropriation is just the politically correct segregation.
There are still these reactions: Asmongold is not alone in his opinion. In the comments below the seed council’s tweet and in the retweets, there are many who take a negative view of the organization’s demands.
It comes across as the Seed Council trying to whip up the public against Square Enix and blackmail the company after the direct route didn’t work. It is also argued that the council is not an official organization and would not represent the majority of the Sami.
However, there are also dissenting voices that insist that the representatives of the indigenous people should not be denied the right to their culture. A billion-dollar company like Square Enix shouldn’t be able to make a profit simply by selling cultural property.
It remains to be seen whether Square Enix will again and publicly comment on the situation after the original answer. In the past, however, Final Fantasy XIV director and producer Naoki Yoshida has often made personal statements on controversial discussions.
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