Halloween is approaching us faster than any news about our midterm grades (which take forever to get posted), which means a wave of offensive costumes are on their way to our doorsteps (literally).
Every year, Halloween stores are stocking their shelves with some new awesome costumes ranging from “punny” new characters from our favourite Netflix shows, to some not-so-awesome, racist, culturally based costumes like the “Sexy Indian” costume that I just saw last week at the Halloween store on St. Catherine. The outrageous labels on these packages read anything from “Tribal Temptation” to “Sexy Dream Catcher” to “Sexy Pocahontas.” The outfits are made of cheap fabric that barely covers one’s chest or bottom, none of which realistically nor respectfully reflect upon the various kinds and intricate, symbolic details of traditional dress that different tribes wear.
In response, every year there are hundreds of articles criticizing the stores for selling these costumes, and the wearers. Every year celebrities come under fire for cultural appropriation, like Chris Hemsworth and his wife who wore a headdress and war paint during last year’s Halloween. No amount of his charm and body can make up for his ignorant choice of dress. Yet, no matter how much emphasis is put online over the sheer inappropriateness and sexualization of these indigenous-inspired costumes, stores are unwilling to remove them from their shelves, and display these outfits right next to costumes of fictional characters or creatures. What does that say about the long history and beautiful heritage of Native Americans?
This year, activists in Saskatchewan named Colonialism No More are taking an active stand against the offensive “Indian” costumes sold at the Spirit Halloween store, which has locations in Canada and the USA with online shipping available across the country. The group started by taping warning labels on their packages with explanations of how the costumes promote the sexualization of Indigenous women, who have often been the target of sexual violence in Canada.
The group also wrote a public letter regarding the costumes as reflecting a “racist and stereotyped understanding of Indigenous peoples.” However, the labels were removed the next day at the Spirit Halloween store. The Spirit Halloween spokesperson, Lisa Barr, later commented, “while we respect the opinion of those who are opposed to the sale of any cultural or historical costumes, we are proud of our costume selection for men, women and children” and we “have no plans to remove Indigenous themed costumes from our shelves.”
This seems to be the general attitude of most companies as their focus is on profit, rather than respect for Indigenous culture and history. You can see for yourself when you go to the Halloween store on St. Catherine, where you will encounter the “Sexy Indian” costume that was mentioned earlier, and a few others with similarly offensive names and styles.
It cannot be more simply put that these items reinforce stereotypes, while reverting and making the First Nations tradition and history insignificant and even unreal. The fact that a product that ridicules a whole culture is explicitly being sold and bought at this very time of supposed modernity in a country where human rights, equality, education, and cultural awareness is said to be highly placed is absurd. If this is the case, then we need to be more respectful and aware of the many cultures that Canada embodies, and it most definitely includes First Nations people as well as the history of abuse and the stripping of their culture that they have endured. These costumes are definitely not the way to do so.
Image and Information obtained from:
http://everydayfeminism.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/halloweencostumea…
http://www.powwows.com/2013/10/17/i-am-not-a-costume-native-american-hal…
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/stop-selling-racist-garbage-shop-…
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/spirit-halloween-indigenous-costu…
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/10/18/indigenous-halloween-costumes-wa…