31
Oct

Would people dress in blackface for Halloween? Probably not. They shouldn’t dress as Native Americans, either.

   Posted by: admin   in Assiniboine, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Flathead Indian Reservation, Fort Peck Indian Reservation, racism

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Costumeshopper.com photo

Costumeshopper.com photo

Clover Anaquod was shopping for Halloween with her son this week when he gasped and pointed to a display.

Headdresses. Tomahawks. Peace pipes.

Anaquod, who is Assiniboine Sioux from the Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana, tells the Missoulian that she was taken aback.

“Native American regalia is not a costume,” said Anaquod. “I took it personal.”

As for 10-year-old Matthew, “he was shocked. It hurt his feelings to see these.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai elder Tony Incashola says Indian costumes on Halloween make people view Native Americans “more as a display than humans.”

On the plus side, said Incashola, it seems as though fewer people these days tend to sashay out on Halloween in feathers and paint.

“They feel it’s time to move on, that those days are gone,” he said. “Gradually, more and more people are starting to understand the feeling.”

Gwen Florio

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 9:29 am and is filed under Assiniboine, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Flathead Indian Reservation, Fort Peck Indian Reservation, racism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 comments so far

Harlequin
 1 

I know what is meant is that someone wearing the costumes of another culture is automatically a mockery of said culture. And I always want to know, how? Even if someone is from the reservation of a given tribe, they’re not from the time when their clothing was common. Or, to quote some other natives I was talking to just the other day, in response to the question “What tribal moccasins do you prefer?”, the overwhelming reply was “Nike”. Likewise, Renaissance Fairs aren’t covered in manure and Plague either, does that make them insulting to all the people who died of Black Death?
I think we have better things to worry about. One person’s opinion.

November 3rd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Jackie Trotchie
 2 

Costumes? That would be a dunce hat sitting on top a goblins head to represent the KKK

November 3rd, 2009 at 11:49 pm

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