Look down at what you're wearing.
Have you been labouring for hours over every choice of design, every specific colour, the placement of every single bead? Does what you’re wearing hold immense value, connecting you to a your heritage and ancestors? Do you store your outfit with precious care, giving gratitude every time you think of it? Is it only taken out with intention, brought out for an organized event that roots you to yourself, your community, your heritage, and your land?
No?
Many of you reading this are not Indigenous in Canada or the USA, and don’t have Indigenous regalia such as described. The kind that costs quite a bit of money, and is a very honoured part of Indigenous ceremonies in North America today.
What many non-Indigenous people might have instead, is a cheap, knocked-off Halloween costume built on appropriations of various Indigenous nations’ regalia in North America.
Example: Walmart sells something called “Women’s Native American Costume”. They also have many costumes for children on their website, built on cheap, appropriated versions of Indigenous regalia.
I try to assume people care about other people. I try to assume people want to make the world a better place. So here’s me banking on your goodwill and care for others, with an offer of some advice:
Please don’t buy costumes like this.
And please let friends, family, and your communities know that this is not okay to purchase.
If you need an argument when speaking with others about this (as we usually do in this world), let people know that it's simply offensive and disrespectful to degrade these meaningful items.
Let them know they’re also making the world a more dangerous place than it already is for Indigenous women and girls across North America. This one, also from Walmart, is literally labelled “Native Beauty Women's Halloween Costume”, which is not only degrading but it's also fetishizing the image of an Indigenous woman.
Here’s an excerpt from a great book, which reminded me of this problem which every Halloween seems to bring (emphasis added):
“‘Borrowing’ from another culture is symptomatic of the history of colonialism in which the colonizing culture assumes everything from the colonized culture is there for the taking. It is culturally disrespectful to randomly pluck popularized images of a marginalized culture from entertainment without respect for or understanding of the culture.
Cultural appropriation contributes to the endangerment of Indigenous women. The example of the “sexy Native” costume that appears every Halloween perpetuates harmful and dangerous stereotypes that contribute to sexual violence against and human trafficking of Indigenous women and girls. When a woman of non-Indigenous heritage dresses up as the “sexy Native”, she demeans Indigenous women and insults the hundreds of missing and murdered Indigenous women and all those who love them. She is unwittingly contributing to the endangerment of Indigenous women and girls.”
- Bob Joseph and Cynthia F. Joseph, Indigenous Relations: Insights, Tips, and Suggestions to Make Reconciliation a Reality
If you’re not wearing one of these offensive costumes, that’s great. However, if you’re a party-goer at any event this Halloween, you may see one.
Please take this opportunity to ask people if they are aware of the disrespect and danger they’re offering to Indigenous people by their choice. Let them know that, regardless of their intention and potential unawareness of these issues, they should probably choose differently next time.
Although I’ve never dressed in this kind of costume, I’ve stood beside many people who did, and I didn’t take the opportunity to educate them. Growing up, I didn’t know there was anything wrong with it.
Why did I not know? Because I was a young white person who was taught that Indigenous cultures were like legends and fairy-tales, not actually a reality today in my country. How I understood it, this regalia only existed in old stories and a “wild west” history. Worthy of a Halloween costume.
I now know many people who dress in carefully created regalia for important dances and ceremonies, and they have immense meaning tied to this. I would feel really awful and weird if I were to appropriate something that is so highly important to someone else in this way.
Hopefully we can all learn something from our errors, spread helpful knowledge, and continue to create a better world.
