It’s that time of year again where everyone dresses up and celebrates Halloween. Everyone gets excited picking out costumes and displaying their hilarious and/or creative side. It is a fun time. However, it’s also that uncomfortable time of year where we anticipate what ridiculous and offensive costumes are going to be for sale. One costume that keeps coming back every season is the native man or woman. It’s like they never got the memo: this is highly offensive.
Why is it offensive? Speaking with Sydney Ned, a student here at UFV who is from the Sumas (Semá:th) First Nation, she makes it clear.
“The costumes are so inaccurate, it’s a joke. Making fun of everything our Indigenous people have fought and died to hold onto.”
The costumes sold on Amazon.ca vary from “Women’s 3 Piece Noble Indian Sweetheart Costume” which sexualizes the female native woman, to a “Deluxe Men’s Indian Costume” with an inaccurate head piece and bland colours.
“Our regalia and clothing is usually used in sacred ceremonies and gatherings,” explained Ned. “Some gatherings are so sacred that they can’t be spoken of outside our longhouse. This is where it shows that wearing native costumes is wrong. It is spiritual and powerful when our families wear our regalia/clothing and there’s a deep meaning behind why we wear it.”
Making a mockery of this special and important cultural artifact is highly unethical. It’s up there with the use blackface in films during the 1920s and ‘30s, where white men would paint their face, exaggerate their features, and pretend to be simple-minded. This practice was stopped in the television and movie scene, especially during the civil rights movement. In 2018 there’s still an abundance of racism, but the fight is growing stronger to eradicate it. We need to take steps to move away from oppressive tactics, and eliminating racist costumes is one of them.
“[It’s especially wrong considering] how the clothing is made — most times it has come from a living being,” Ned said. “We honour and respect the life that was taken in order to provide for our families. We don’t just throw it on and show off. There is a whole process.”
Just because the majority doesn’t care, doesn’t mean it’s not hurting someone’s identity.
“It’s disrespectful towards Indigenous people, our families, our children, our Elders.”
The mere fact that there are profits being made (on top of people parading around in these costumes) augments the severity of these unethical practices of these companies. So why do they continue? Why aren’t these companies taking these costumes (and others like it) off the shelf? In the dominant culture, it is accepted to dress up and mimic other cultures. This principle needs to change, because there is a shift of dominance in this day and age. Minorities are speaking up and claiming their voice, and they’re telling the world it’s not okay to mock them and oppress them. The Indigenous people have suffered all types of atrocities throughout history, so give them a break and refuse the native person costume. You have other options.
