Halloween highlights cultural appropriation, panel says

It may be 2014, but the rows of any Halloween supply store are still peppered with cultural and racial stereotypes.

For example, the Spirit Halloween chain store temporarily set up on 8th Street in Saskatoon offers selections like “Noble Warrior,” “Pocahottie,” and “Reservation Royalty” which are all versions of the “Indian” costume.

This type of cultural appropriation was the focus of a panel discussion at the University of Saskatchewan on Monday, presented by the Student Teacher Anti Racism Society (STARS) and the Indigenous Students’ Council.

Panelist Erica Lee said it is frustrating because she loves Halloween dressing up in costumes, but she finds it disheartening to visit some Halloween costume stores. Lee is a student and the driving force behind a campaign to change the Bedford Road Collegiate team name and logo earlier this year.

“Basically what these costumes do is depict a one-sided, archaic, stereotypical image of what a native person is,” she said, adding that this type of generalization isn’t limited to First Nations. Arab, gypsy, and geisha costumes are also common on Halloween.

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Lee argues that to dilute, homogenize, and package for sale the cultural identity of a group of real people has a dehumanizing effect, and can have racist, violent consequences.

“Everyone wants to see other cultures and embrace other cultures and maybe, for that day, live that culture… that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but… at the cost of who, right?” STARS organizer Annie Battiste said.

“As an indigenous person, when I go to Halloween parties and you see that misrepresentation of culture, it’s very much a soul wound… the bare minimum of what they think of our culture is headdresses and tomahawks and bows and arrows when we are such a vast, interesting, diverse culture.”

Battiste added that costume items used to represent a culture often have special significance, and should not be taken lightly. The traditional headdress for example is mostly restricted to a plains nation man who has done something to earn one, not unlike a military commendation.

This issue is far from new, and Lee said she has started to notice a shift in understanding as the conversation continues.

“I think the only thing we can do is just continue expressing that First Nations people are diverse groups. We’re not these costumes,” she said.

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